Read Her Mind; All You’ll Hear Is A Busy Signal
Some time ago, my company transferred me and I had to change my family’s medical plans. Shortly thereafter, I got a small bill from our previous doctor. I had no idea what it was for, so I called the billing office.
I got a busy signal. This was in the days before call waiting, phone trees, and voicemail; they just answered them as their phones rang. So, I sat at my desk at work with the bill in front of me and periodically hit redial on my phone.
I started this on a Monday morning. On Thursday at 11:00 am, after an interminable number of tries, someone finally picked up. She identified herself by first name only.
Me: “Hello. I received this bill from your office and I don’t know what it’s for. Can you help me?”
Representative #1: “I’ll need your patient number.”
I no longer had my old card with me.
Me: “Where can I find that number on my statement?
Representative #1: “I can’t tell you that.”
Me: “What does it look like?”
Representative #1: “I can’t tell you that, either.”
It’s hard to judge but I sensed she was enjoying herself. After going around in circles for a few minutes, I hung up, frustrated.
I went home and found my wife’s old card; from it, I learned that the patient number was just my Social Security number, and it was displayed on each page of the bill without defining it as such. Armed with this, I started the redial process again.
It took me another three days to get through, and luckily, I got a different representative. When I told her my issue and started to give her my number, she said:
Representative #2: “Oh, I don’t need that. I can find you by your name.”
To say I was irritated was a massive understatement.
It turned out that the charge was legitimate, but I had wasted hours unnecessarily due to the first rep. I thought for a day and composed a letter to the office referencing the bill. I described what I had gone through with the first rep, mentioning her by name, and ended the letter thusly:
Me: “I don’t know if [Representative #1] was lazy, incompetent, or just nasty, but her lack of service was inexcusable. She made me waste far more time than the value of your bill; if you wish payment, I suggest you get it from her as you are paying her for a job she is unwilling or unable to perform.”
I never heard back and never got a second bill.