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call them back and ask them if they can give you the number of a GOOD dentist.

But it's not the dentists fault. I understand that the receptionist might have been a little out of line but it's also her responsability to get there on time; the office reserves this time for you and if they call you at 10:20 for an appt at 1:30 is plenty of time. You should find a more reliable way to get around or reschedule your appts at your convenience with another dentist.

This probably won't apply because I doubt this dentist is part of a larger organization...but one day I had a patient tell me that a receptionist was rude to her because she couldn't pay and asked me what she could do. I gave her the name of my boss (who runs the building) and a complaint form. I assume the clinic's manager (who would be the receptionist's boss) got the form.

If this is something you want to do, you could call and ask (or demand if they give you crap again) to speak with the office manager. Every doctor's/dentist's office has one. Tell that person your complaint. If they blow you off or are rude to you as well, call your local Better Business Bureau and complain about the whole office. That's 2 people who have been rude to you there so far. There's no right for that to happen.

And NO receptionist should assume a patient knows a (rather stupid, IMO) policy of "You should expect to be here an hour and a half early" unless THEY TELL THE PATIENT. Trust me...I know patients. They are not going to assume anything. How utterly naive of her to assume anything. Plus, most places like to have a 24 notice if you are cancelling....so give the patient the same courtesy.

That whole office sounds like it's being run by diseased infested goats. Their customer service skills (which I don't care if this is a medical facility...patients are still customers and can take their business elsewhere...so learn to be a damn people person!) suck. I'm a receptionist in a clinic and I deal with patients too (not in the same way; I'm not a check in girl yet) and trust me....they get on my nerves sometimes. But I've never been rude to one like that. Smile and deal with it if you don't like your job. Or better yet, get a new one.

But it's not the dentists fault. I understand that the receptionist might have been a little out of line but it's also her responsability to get there on time; the office reserves this time for you and if they call you at 10:20 for an appt at 1:30 is plenty of time. You should find a more reliable way to get around or reschedule your appts at your convenience with another dentist.

Not everyone can just drop what they are doing to be at someone's beck and call at a moment's notice. They gave Jen a 1:30 appointment, so she planned for a 1:30 appointment, not a noon one. It would have been okay if the office had called and said something like, "We had a cancellation ahead of you, so if you are able to come in earlier, please do." NOT "You HAVE to be here at 12 or you won't get an appointment." If they truly closed at 2 and she's having a root canal, it's completely and totally moronic to give her an appointment 30 mins before. This receptionist obviously has no idea what the hell she's doing...when you are scheduling patients, you have to take into consideration how long the procedure they are having is going to take, so they can give you (and the doctor) enough time. If it's an hour long procedure, you don't give them a half hour time slot. Not only does this receptionist need to go to charm school, she also needs to take a lesson or two on medical reception.

I think that seeing the manager and explain what you told us. Explain how you are unable to drive, so that would be nice if they had considered that as well. I hope that helps a bit. I don't know exactly what would be the best way to handle this.

At least you got it over with and hopefully you don't have to go back there again. No one wants to go in for a scary and painful procedure and then be treated like crap. I know it always makes me feel a little better when the nurse/doctor/receptionist is friendly and caring.