A no show twice in a row.....
By cream97
@cream97 (29087)
United States
March 14, 2009 8:52am CST
I had an appointment on Wednesday to go to The Health Department so that I could meet with the Registered Nutritionist. I decided to call her to tell her that I was going to be running late. I ended up talking to the other department of Wic. Well, it comes to find out, that the nutritionist was on leave.. I am assuming that it meant that she was on medical leave. Okay, last year, I had an appointment with her in May, and this same no show happened then. It is like the second time that this has happened. When I go to the appointment, she is not there. In May, I came to see her for an appointment, and I was waiting on her to call me from the waiting room, but instead someone else called me. They asked me what I needed, and I told them that I had an appointment with the nutritionist. And the lady told me that she was not there.. She called her office to make sure. And she was not there, and they told me that she had other appointmenents that she had for that day with others as well. And that was including my appointment.. So, it was like she did not come into work that day, and had many appointments with clients and she would miss them all. I was wondering why she didn't try to call in and tell someone in the office that she will not be able to make it that day. Now comes last Wednesday, and she is on leave.. I was wondering if it would have been nice for her or someone that works in the office that does the appointments, would be so enough to contact me by mail. It would have been nice to get a letter letting me know that she was not going to be present due to her leave.. I am not too sure what her leave involves but I felt that, to be considerate to clients, this could have been informed more to people that have appointments with her. I symphathize with her leave even though I am unsure what she is on leave for.. I think that if a worker is not going to be there that day for appointments, and they KNOW, then all clients should be contacted immediately! It would be very rude for me and to others to come all the way to the Health Depatment, and to find out that she was not there, and is not planning to come to the office on that day too. On Wednesday, I was in a rush trying to get there, and I rushed for nothing, she was not even there.. I am sorry for her leave, but there is the fact that client's need to be respected as well.
I remember one time she would get on me about showing up a little late to her appointment. She would want to turn me back around, and I told her that I could not just come back to Wic like that. I lived in another city and it was hard for me to just keep running back and forth up the road like that. So she saw me that day.. She is a nice person, very calm in manner and speech. And I do respect her. I just wished that she would be more considerate about showing up to her appointments with clients. I do understand that situations and circumstances can come up without her knowing. But, she should at least contact client's to let them know that she will not be in her office for their appointment on that day. It saves time and frustration. I may need to address this next month at Wic.
4 people like this
12 responses
@rogue13xmen13 (14403)
• United States
15 Mar 09
I agree with you, as common courtesy, which seems to be a dying thing these days, she should call her clients and tell them that she will not be there, and another thing, you should complain to Wic, and tell them your situation and what is going on. Tell them that you need to see the nutritionist as soon as possible and that you have gone there twice now and she has not been there. Ask the people at Wic: "What is going on? This is the second time that this has happened to me. Do you people know how frustrating this is? My time is just as important as yours. Don't you people care about your clients?"
Seriously, Wic should not be doing that to people.
@hotsummer (13837)
• Philippines
15 Mar 09
it is really quite a hassle if we keep showing up and yet we will not see the person we have appointment with. cause i will feel offended and angry if they keep doing that to me. like are they making their job such a joke and they are not taking seriously t heir clients. they should consider how important our time is also. and yes being reminded and notified that our appointment is or will be canceled will be much better than us going there for nothing and wasting our time and energy and specially the money we have to spend just to be there. actually i easily get angry with these kind of people, cause my time is pretty important. i do so many things at homes i have so many responsibilities and rather stay at home than waste my time for nothing.
that is why i make sure that in every appointment that i am going to have the person show up in our appointment. like i call the office the day before the actual day i will visit that office or appointment.
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
16 Mar 09
Personally this does seem odd that this woman would not be there, and no one contacted you and let you know. If it was me, I would be making sure that they had my Phone number, etc. and tell them next time to make sure they call and let me know so I can plan other things instead. For me, this does not sound like Good office practices, and I would be upset for sure.
1 person likes this
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
28 Mar 09
This is all wrong and very unprofessional. Someone should have at least called you and let you know to reschedule. Some people are from out of town like yourself and still others don't have their own transportation. They have to find rides to keep these appointments and often pay money that they don't really have to get there. If it were the other way around and you did not show up...I guarantee you would be booted from the program and you'd have to re-apply and start over. Your time is just as valuable as hers. I would without a doubt have to say something to someone that matters about this. it is wrong and you have every right to feel angry.
1 person likes this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
14 Mar 09
It's because it's a government agency and, for some reason, they're not required to treat clients like *clients* but, instead like slaves. My daughter had this happen to her once with WIC, another daughter has had this happen with the Health Dept.'s family planning clinic. My son got into some trouble several years ago and ended up on probation. He had to report to his probation officer monthly and I can't tell you how many times he took off from work to show up for his scheduled appointment and the woman wasn't there. So, he missed an entire day's pay because he was part of a crew that had already left to go onsite. He was smart enough to get something from the office to document that he had shown up and she wasn't around to see him. Then she would call him the following week and demand that he see her the following day...which he wasn't able to do as he had to give his boss time to arrange someone to cover for him. She actually threatened to bring him back before the judge once and he said he'd welcome the opportunity to show the judge his proof of how badly she treats her clients and how much work he was missing because of her. It stinks that these people treat clients like cattle but common decency apparently isn't in their employee handbook. 
1 person likes this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
15 Mar 09
that is really a bad thing to do... i don't like people who don't keep their appointment and just no show... especially the person is a professional... i will definitely say something at the Wic next month to prevent this incident from happening again... take care and have a nice day...
1 person likes this
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
15 Mar 09
Hi cream dear! I agree with you that when you make appointments and could not keep up with the appointments, you should be professional about it and show courtesy and respect on the other person by calling her/him up that you can not make it. She should be considerate of other people's time and schedule too.
Take care and blessings to you dear!
lovelots...faith
1 person likes this
@walijo2008 (4644)
• United States
14 Mar 09
I hear ya...I've been through that before a couple times, I rushed to the clinic one time to hand in some papers, and when I got there they said oh, they're not here today, those papers had to be in by a certain day, so I was rushing to get them there, then nobody was in the office, it made me so mad, I told the lady in the front, I came up here for nothing, she just looked at me, and its not like I live just right there in that town, its a 20 mile drive one way. I kept thinking well somebody could have told me that when I called. Then when you have an appt. w/ someone you show up and they aren't there it makes you frustrated too, it would seem that they would have the courtesy to call the patients and tell them they need to reschedule, or at least send you a letter ahead of time. I know they want YOU to call and let them know if your not going to make it for an appt. so that they can give that time to someone else, I think they need to do the same, it does save time and frustration. The place you go to the doctor sounds like the same place I go, they act like its an inconvenience for them to get up and do something for you, makes me mad sometimes. If they don't want to do anything for people then why are they working there?
1 person likes this
@ihearttinytim (614)
• United States
14 Mar 09
I am going to state what I know, from having worked in a doctor's office. It is rude to be late repeatedly (by repeatedly, I mean you become known in the office as "Late Lisa," etc.) I know that circumstances happen - like in your case - you do not live right around the corner from their office. Your particular circumstance is somewhat understandable. By 'somewhat' I mean, I understand where you are coming from, but at the same time, if you know that you live far away, you should put more effort into planning your trip accordingly so that you are not late - especially since you also know they turn you away if you are late. It is a typical office procedure to turn late-comers away - especially if they have not even shown courtesy enough to call ahead and say they are running late (but you called; this is good). Sometimes, you can make all the necessary arrangements to ensure that you get there from far away on time, and something happens beyond your control (you get stuck in traffic because of an accident down the road, etc.) She should be more patient with you, knowing your circumstances; however, I can better understand her turning away someone who was constantly late to appointments, whether or not they lived right around the corner, and I will tell you why. It all comes down to the fact that - yes, we know it was not your fault you were late - however, you are not the only appointment for that day; your lateness throws off the whole entire schedule for their day, regardless of if it was your fault or not. The better thing to do would be to call them and tell them you were running late (which you did), and let them reschedule you.
Now on to Miss "Never-there-when-you-need-her." lol The entire office staff is at fault here. The office personnel who answered the phone when you called to tell them this should have taken the initiative to offer to reschedule you, knowing that they turn people away when they are late, knowing that the lady was not there anyway, and to keep their schedule flowing. Also, if the woman knew she was not going to be there, and if the rest of the staff knew this woman was not going to be there, and they knew that she had appointments booked for that day, SOMEONE should have taken the time to call all the patients to let them know this, and reschedule them so the patients are not running around like headless chickens trying to get there! If the office secretary was swamped with work, then someone from the back should have stepped up and helped her out by calling and resceduling those patients. That is what we had to do in the doctor's office I worked in - everyone worked as a team - there were no excuses! It is a necessity to do all of the above, otherwise you will lose patients (or in your case, clients), and in this economoy, if business is slow, you will be laid off, guaranteed! No patients/clients, equals no more job. That office staff should think of that!
Another scenario: Perhaps this woman you were supposed to meet with keeps taking time off, without giving anyone in the office any notice? Maybe their "she is on leave" excuse was a nice way of telling you she had been canned. 
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
28 Mar 09
Hi, ihearttinytim! Me being late happened only once. I lived 20 minutes from The Health Department. And, being that I lived far away, I had no reliable transportation to just keep coming back like that.. So, she saw me that day, after I frantically explained my situation. I was not late on purpose. And I had to get all three of my kids in the car too. It was a lot.. But, yet she has been a no show twice in a row. At least, I did show up to all of my appointments, unlike her. I agree with you, her not showing up should have been handeled better than it was. The staff and her should make sure that all persons whom had appointmenets with her was contacted. That way, no one would have wasted time and gas just to come to an appointment that was even scheduled for that day. As a matter if fact, I saw this woman yesterday, just coming into work. It looks like she is back from her leave. She saw me and then turned her head and kept on walking.. I wonder is she knew that was me?
@ihearttinytim (614)
• United States
28 Mar 09
She saw you and she just kept going? Wow! That is really rude! I can not stand people who act like that.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
15 Mar 09
Hey cream~ One thing that you have to understand is that when
you are on WIC or any other kind of Public Assistance is that
they don't care about your problems! They don't care if they
put you out and how you get there! You have an appointment, you
just better be there no matter what! If they can't be there,
then that is too bad, but you better be there anyway! I am
on Public Assistance in NY and I know the rules! If my Case
Worker wants me there and for whatever reason she doesn't show
up, it doesn't matter, I had better show up anyway or I will
lose my benefits! She happens to be really cool with me, but
the rules and laws are the way they are and they don't care
or change for you or anyone no matter what the circumstances
are! So if you are put out, it doesn't matter! You are being
run by the State and that's that! You need the benefits and
you had better obey the rules or you are sh!t out of luck!
@sanuanu (11235)
• India
15 Mar 09
She must be a Govt employee. It happens many times here in my country. Govt employees think that they are God and can do whatever they would like. They would ask us for bribe before even talking. yes, they would take bribe for even an appointment.
That is really shameless act. One should understand that they might also be in a position like us and they will also not get the treatment as they would be expecting!
1 person likes this
