I work in a medical office and I know our staff is usually exceptional. It always surprises me when I go to a drs appointment and the front desk is rude! It really makes me second guess my decision to come here. 
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it has definitely happened to me at my PCP's office... but I am thinking of leaving their practice anyway.
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Yeah a few times. It's always when I didn't know their procedure. Like the first time I went to an office I said I'm here to see Dr.Soandso instead of giving my name and birthdate. And then I didn't stand behind a sign when I was checking out. Both times I got eyerolls, a really rude way of explaining what the proper office procedure was, and then heard them gossiping about me as I walked away. But I also heard them gossiping about other people in the waiting room while I was at the desk so at least I didn't feel singled out.
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I had medical assistant be extremely rude to me once and denied me an appointment with my doctor... she got fired after I ended up in the ER with pneumonia.
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that's the worst! if the front desk is bad that's enough of a reason to go elsewhere, i feel like i spend more time dealing with other staff in the office than i do with the dr herself. my ob/gyn office has some really mean nurses working there, luckily it was a pretty big office so you didn't get the same mean nurse every time, but when you did it really made the experience that much worse. my PCP has wonderful people working in her office & she is amazing, interacting with them makes up for the crazy wait times
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Yeah, definitely. I mean I'm sure they deal with a lot of annoying people, but that's no reason to treat every single person who comes to the counter as if they're a waste of space. It seems extra mean when you're sick or sprained something and you're just looking for help.
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Most of the staff I've encountered is pretty nice. The last time I got someone who was both rude and clueless, I was in hard labor so I let her know how I felt about it. lol.
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I don't think I've ever had a medical professional (from front desk people to nurse to PA to doctor) be rude to me! I do make an effort to be extra nice to them though because I figure dealing with a happy chatty person is more pleasant than dealing with cranky person, regardless of how my day is going haha.
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I've had people be rude over the phone if I'm asking them to help me with something like an issue with a referral or a billing issue. Probably more so when it's something for M rather than something for myself. I'm sure I'm a little more insistent when advocating for her than more myself. Oh well!
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The receptionist at my doctors office has always been a little snarky with me and I don't know why. The doctors are all nice and she is polite to my mom and other patients I see here interacting with, so I dunno why she has a hate on for me. Otherwise, I usually experience polite and helpful service elsewhere!
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Not often, but I had a check up with the OB-GYN this week and they wrote down that I was one minute late on my check out slip. It definitely rubbed me the wrong way, since this is the first time I've ever not been fifteen minutes early and they always make me wait at least half an hour. Plus, I kind of feel like they should understand that late happens with a baby!
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Yes, one of the reasons we switched pediatricians was an exceptionally nasty front desk staff. If the doctors allow that, it makes me think much less of the practice.
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Yes! My OB office's reception is terrible. And I hate it when they try to give me medical advice. I am only giving you a message to relay to the nurse/doctor - not for you to chime in on! They are also really bad at scheduling.
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I think it's something they've built up because of patients being really rude to them. Patients complain about the long waits when there's nothing the staff can do. My OB's receptionist comes off as rude but is nice to me because i'm nice about asking her what's up with the delays.
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Yeah, in their defense, they are extremely overworked. I have also seen some get seriously bullied by the doctors.
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More often than not, yes. And I'm a very punctual, friendly, patient person. I have switched practices once because of this.
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@cmomma17: I'm in the middle if finding a new doctor because of this too! Frustrating!
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One receptionist at my OB's office is sort of snarky, she is just really good at making you feel dumb, and I called a few times to ask questions of the Dr or his MA and she gave me answers without talking to them (for example, I thought my water broke, she told me that it was remnants of mucus plug, did not give me the option to come in, and my water had in fact broken). I also recently had a bad experience at my ped's office but I talked to the Dr about it and he was not happy and let me know he had heard other things about the staff recently and was VERY appreciative that I talked to him.
I have also worked front desk at a medical office and it is hard work, you do get hounded by a ton of patients, but that does not give them an excuse to treat people poorly, and I know for certain that most Dr's would be furious if they found out their staff treated people like that. Dr's often rely on referrals.
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@JerricaBenton: I agree. If the physicians don't care that their staff is rude, then I would go elsewhere. A rude front desk staff and schedulers are absolutely not tolerated in our office.
Like @MrsStormy: said, if it is a consistent problem, bring it up to the doc or the office manager. If they ignore you, then they clearly don't value you as a patient.
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Yeah and I usually let the doctor know that their staff was rude to me.
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Yes, at my (former) dermatologist's office. I don't go to that practice anymore!
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Yes, I was happy to follow my doctor to another practice, their main receptionist was not very nice. I called her The Henchman. I love the girls at my new office, they are so sweet!
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I don't think I have dealt with rude staff but I frequently come across unprofessional staff. I hate when they keep me waiting while they chat about The Bachelor or whatever else with a coworker.
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@MsLipGloss: that's the type of office I went to today!
It was really off putting but I really liked the doctor. Oh well! Maybe they were just having a bad day
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Not really - most front desk people I interact with are polite if not friendly.
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always. i think its a given in NYC.
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@Espion: Exactly! That's how it should be!
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My old PCP's office staff was always rude. So I went elsewhere! My new PCP's staff is great, and my OB's staff is great.
The after hours service for my OB's office always had rude people working the phones. If I had to call, they always sounded SO annoyed to be answering the phone. Once I had someone ask me if I was "sure this was an emergency" before I could even relay my symptoms to her. When I told her what was happening, she said "I'll have the doctor call you" and hung up on me!
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I have only good experiences with all the doctor offices I encounter these days. But with S, my first appointment was with an OB and staff who weren't rude but didn't seem very welcoming. I felt very much like a number there.
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@yellowbird: There were several issues with my old office before I called it quits. I hope you're right and that it was just an off day! I was sad to leave.
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@yellowbird: not me personally but one of my good friends went to her first OBs appt for her first (& very planned) pregnancy and the receptionist asked, " is this a good thing for you? "
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@rachiecakes: OMG!!! I would be so shocked. I'm sure the OB would not be happy about that!
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I've never had any issues that come to mind. The staff at my doctor and pediatrician's office are always so sweet. My last job was at the front desk of a clinic and the job was definitely difficult with the amount and types of requests we would get. As much as I would get irritated with patients or situations it is no excuse to be rude - it just leaves a bad impression on people and is completely unprofessional.
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When I lived in NYC that happened on a regular basis but here in Oregon NEVER! They are even nice at the DMV here.
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I worked front desk at an urgent care for 3yrs before becoming a sahm and customer service was always #1. It would blow my mind how rude or unprofessional some other dr office front staff could be though! For the most part, I have had good experiences, but there were a few super condescending ones at various offices that I dealt with while I was pregnant.
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Remember medical assistants (MA's) are not nurses, they work primarily in the doctor's office,taking vital signs.BP,Temp,and clerical work.many time's they pass themselves off as a nurse,that's against the law.Their not allowed to give medical advice,or aid in invasive procedures.They ware scrubs and no name tags,the patient has no idea who and what they are.Be careful when you talk to an MA she is not a nurse.The MA has been known to cost the doctor his/her licence.
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@pui: Mrs.Bird......your not dealing with a nurse,She's most likely a medical assistant (MA).Most doctor's offices don't have nurses their pay rate is to high.They ware scrubs and no name tags.Ask them if their a nurse,if they lie to you their braking the law.
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36 comments