quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
I say yes ma'am to the 16 year old girl at the drive through window....I don't think this rant was directed at me

Excellent!

I like to ask for a manager if I’m getting really great service. It seems to make their day when I praise them for a waiter/waitress.

Try a tech support job. I got treated like dirt and rarely an apology when it was a customer’s fault for the interruption in service. The people that were nice got the most incredible service anyone could hope for. The assholes were given a chance then I did whatever I could to end the call as quickly as possible. I only ever hung up on a few people for their language.

Never marry a woman who is mean to your waitress.

quote:

Originally posted by Herknav:

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
I say yes ma'am to the 16 year old girl at the drive through window....I don't think this rant was directed at me

Excellent!

I like to ask for a manager if I’m getting really great service. It seems to make their day when I praise them for a waiter/waitress.

We have actually done this. Fairly often actually. It's kind of funny when you ask for the manager and they come up sheepishly and hesitating, thinking they are going to be lambasted, and then they are complimented. It really does make their day.

Just this week I had a UPS guy go above and beyond to leave a rather large package for me. I texted him back saying thank you, and his reply was that it's nice to know that some customers out there still do appreciate him.

quote:

Originally posted by captain127:

I have been practicing medicine now for close to 30 years and it seems over that period of time patients and family have gradually treated medical providers worse over time. I often say in my current urgent care clinic I feel like the Rodney dangerfield of medicine.

30 years is a long time. How much longer will you have to practice, before they let you actually do it?

More serious comment: You state that attitude toward medical providers has gradually deteriorated. Do you think that might be related to the gradual deterioration in the way that patients and their families perceive the way that the doctor and his staff interact with the "customers?" In my 82 years, I have seen a steady decline in this with most medical practices. I am not saying that this is the fault of the medical practice, if we had to assign culpability, I would start by pointing at the insurance model that we now have, and the fact that the doctor and his / her staff are pressured into using time efficiently.

I think back to 60 or 70 years ago and I remember doctors who were able to take time to interact with patients. We went to the office for an appointment and saw the doctor, who actually seemed to be interested in the patient.

Now, it seems that the patient is processed through a succession of staff members who take vitals, ask questions, fill in forms on a computer or iPad, pass the patient on to the next staff member who asks many of the same questions that have already been answered, finally the patient is closed in to a small, uncomfortably cold exam room with the door closed. Maybe 30 minutes (if the patient is lucky, it could easily be much longer) after the appointment time, the doctor finally bustles in, looking somewhat harried, and is surprised to find that the patient might be a bit annoyed.

Again, not saying that this is the doctor's fault, but the doctor should understand how the system affects the patient.

Fortunately, I have a primary care physician who limits the number of patients he accepts, who genuinely cares about each patient (he asks the patient's permission to end each visit with a prayer), and who practices what he preaches in a way that his attitude filters down to every member of his staff -- nurses, assistants, receptionists, office manager, etc. He is one in a thousand.

I have another doc -- the prostate cancer guy -- who is also great with patients, remembers non-medical details to chat about. Unfortunately, he has an office manager who thinks that she is in charge of the universe, answering only to God (maybe), and I have to get past her in order to see the doctor. I know that he (the doctor) is great, and I do my best to suppress the aggravation that is created by having to interact with the office manager before seeing the doc.

Please note that I am not trying to excuse the unpleasant demeanor that doctors might observe in patients, I am just trying to explain some of the contributing factors.

I try to be unfailingly nice to staff. In a restaurant, it may be your waiter's fault, that of the kitchen, or other patrons. It's not that something goes wrong, it's do those with the ability to fix it, do something to fix it.

I'm never mean. I might not go back if it was a bad experience, but I'm never mean.

Try driving a school bus. You won't believe how rude and unpleasant people can be. This isn't from the kids ether, we are taking parents. Then there are the kids and then school staff....wow, just wow. Besides not the best pay compared to other jobs, no wonder there is a nation wide driver shortage. Which in turn have people yell, cuss and complain to and on the driver, just doing the job, in most cases a great job, with little to no surport from school staff, the board of education.

That said, I do love my job, and there are days that stand out as wonderful experiences. Days that makes it all worth it, unfortunately they are happening less and less.

ARman