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at the time
January 5, 2005
M.D.
Austin, Texas
Dear De
my decision
118 Part Three Mini Swim
later, Ms SP2 appears at the door and summons the di
care. There are several patients seated the warm
tressed patient. At this point, Mrs walks to the back area
(she's a long time patient and knows the territory), seeks out
There an epilogue to this case, Mrs were
Ms. SP2, and says wonder ve been forgotten. I was
and wrote the following letter to De Xing
Treatment she had not received at his other the
here before those two people who have just been taken in
she and her family would seek care elsewhere
ahead of me
Ms. 5P2 replies very brusquely. "Your files been pulled. Go
sit down
Once again occupying an empty waiting room, Mrs. F
returns to her reading. At 2:15 PM (no patient has yet emerged
from a treatment area). Ms. 592 finally summons Mrs. F
and takes her to room I, where she uses two instruments
to make some preliminary measurements of Mrs. F's eyes
It is with very real regret that I am transfer ye
This is standard procedure in Dr. X's practice. Also standard
to another physician and I want you to know the
is measuring the patient's present eyeglass prescription on a
third instrument in room 1. Mrs. F extends her eyeglasses to
It is 4:22 PM, and I have just returned home from
Ms. SP2, but Ms. SP2 brushes past her and says curtly. "This 1:30 PM appointment without you. The appointment
way. Mrs. F then is led to a seat in the dilating area," although
made because I had received an adverse report from
Hospital's recent home vision test. I was kept waiting in the
no drops have been put in her eyes to start dilation
The light in the dilating area is dimmed to protect dilat
dilation area and in examining room 3 for more than
ing eyes, but Mrs. F is able to continue reading her book. No
and-one-half hours, during which time not one single
one else is seated in the dilating area. At 2:45 PM, Ms. SP2 ber of your staff gave me any explanation for the delay
reappears, says. "this way" (a woman of very few words, our assured me I had not been forgotten. When I finally
Ms. 5P2), and marches off to examining room 3. Wait here." were forgotten, I was treated with a very bad attitude
she commands, leaving Mrs. Fto seat herself in the darkened dare I even ask!" and still was given no reason for the delay
room
or any estimate of how much longer I would have to
Mrs. F can hear Dr. X and Jack laughing in the next exam. Consequently, I left without seeing you
ining room. At 2:55 PM, she hears the two men say goodbye As I stated above, I make this change with very real regret
and leave the room. Mrs. F expects Dr. X to enter her room because I value your expertise and the treatment you person
shortly. At 3:15 pm, however, when he still has not appeared, ally have given the four of us during these past many year
she walks forward and interrupts Ms. SP2, the receptionist, But I will not tolerate the callous treatment of your start
the bookkeeper, and Ms. SP3, who are socializing. "Excuse
me, but have I been forgotten?" she asks. Ms. SP2 turns her
Mrs
head from her companions and replies, "No, he's in the line
Go sit down."
Questions
Mrs. F wonders what that means but returns to her assigned
1. In this chapter, we referred to Maister's First and Second
place. She is here, after all, for a particular visual problem, not
Laws of Service. How do they relate to this case?
just for a routine check-up.
2. What features of a good waiting process are evident in
All good things, however, including Mrs. F's patience and Dr. X's practice? List the shortcomings that you see.
endurance of abusive treatment, eventually end. At 4:00 PM
Mrs. F does some marching of her own to the front desk,
3. Do you think that Mrs. F is typical of most people waiting
vhere she announces to the assembled Mss. SP1 through
for a service? How so? How not?
5P4 that she has been waiting since 1:30 M, that she has
4. If Dr. X were concerned with keeping the family
been sitting in the back for 2 hours, and that not once
patients, how could he have responded to Mrs. Fsletter!
uring that time has one member of the staff come to let
Write a letter on Dr. X's behalf to Mrs. F
er know what the problem is, how much longer she can
5. How could Dr. X prevent such incidents in the future?
xpect to wait, or, indeed, that she has not been forgotten. 6. List constructive ways in which customers can respond
he adds that she will wait no longer, and she feels forced to
cek the services of a physician who chooses to deliver health
when services fall seriously short of their requirements or
expectations.
Sincerely your
ield Study
CASE 12.3
forth armed with clip board and stop watch and study an
tual waiting experience (e.g. post office, fast-food restau-
retail bank). Begin with a sketch of the layout noting the
rue configuration. Describe the characteristics of the can
population and the queue discipline in use. For the arrival
process, take a large enough sample of the time in minutes
between arrivals to determine if the distribution between am
als is exponentially distributed (or arrivals per hour are Polissen
distributed) Collect a sample of the service times to determine
if they we distributed exponentially
Eye'll Be Seeing You5
CASE 12.2
Mrs. Farrives 15 minutes early for a 1:30 pm appointment with
her Austin, Texas, ophthalmologist, Dr. X. The waiting room is
At 1:40 PM, a very agitated woman enters and approaches
empty and all the prior names on the sign-in sheet are crossed her 1 o'clock appointment and asks if it would be possible for
the receptionist. She explains that she is very sorry she missed
out. The receptionist looks up but does not acknowledge her Dr. X to see her anyway. The receptionist replies very coldly,
presence. Mrs. F, unaware of the drama about to unfold, hap- "You're wrong. Your appointment was for 11.
pily anticipates that she may not have to wait long beyond "But I have 1 o'clock written downl" responds the patient,
her scheduled time and settles into a chair to read the book whose agitation now has changed to distress
she has brought with her. Large windows completely surround "Well, you're wrong."
three sides of the waiting room. The receptionist sits behind a "Oh dear, is there any way I can be worked in?" pleads
large opening in the remaining wall. Attractive artwork deco- the patient.
rates the available wall space, and trailing plants rest on a shelf "We'll see. Sit down."
above the receptionist's opening. It is an appealing, comfort- Mrs. F and her two "companions" wait until 1:50 PM
able waiting room.
when staff person number 2 (SP2) opens the door between
At 1:25 PM, another patient, Jack, arrives. Mrs. F knows the waiting room and the hallway leading to the various
his name must be Jack, because the receptionist addresses treatment areas. She summons jack, and they laugh together
as she leads him to the back. Mrs. E thinks to herself,
him by first name and the two share some light-hearted
"I was here first, but maybe he just arrived late for an ear-
pleasantries. Jack takes a seat and starts looking through a
lier appointment," then goes back to her book. Five minutes
magazine.