What Ever Happened to Customer Service?

So I had my “annual” visit with my “woman” doctor this past Wednesday. Now when I was a lot younger I dreaded these yearly appointments to the point that I really made myself sick at my stomach. It has gotten easier over the years I will admit… of course, that could be because I really love my current doctor. She is personable, laid-back, calming and FAST. And getting my examination over as quickly as possible makes me feel a lot less nervous. I suppose I have been going to her office now for about 5 years and she has changed office locations about 3 times since I started going there. Well the current location is in a Medical Building behind Piedmont Hospital. My appointment was at 11am so I left my office around 10am because I was not sure what the traffic or parking situation would be. Fortunately, I had no problem with traffic but, then my luck started going downhill once I arrived to the parking deck. The overhead tube-like signs stated that the clearance was 9’0”- great! But, then after I got my ticket and pulled inside another tube sign stated that the clearance past this point (you know- where ALL the parking is) was only 7’0”!! My company truck has this HUGE headache rack on the back of it and will not fit under 7’0”!! So I had no choice but to go right (which was down to the bottom or the Exit direction). At first, I thought “no problem… I will just park near the exit but all of sudden I realized that EVERY freaking parking space from the entrance level down was marked “Physicians Parking Only”… What a crock! I drove all the way to the last bit of physicians designated parking and parked right next the cashiers booths at the Exit. I got out and walked up to the first booth. I explained my situation and thankfully she understood. I then walked the long distance to the building entrance and made my way to my doctor’s office…. And then my luck went south again. I walk up the desk to sign in… there is no sign in sheet. I tell the lady my name as requested. She asks me if I “downloaded my paperwork and brought it with me”. I tell her no and then she starts getting all short with me… I am wondering how in the heck would I know to “download” any paperwork BEFORE I came to this appt??? She just jerkily hands me a clipboard and tells me she needs my insurance card. I explain that my insurance has not changed and that I do not have an insurance card with me (I have requested one twice in the past year from my insurance company- none have shown up). Then, she really turns up the crabbiness on me… she says that there was a problem with my card from my last visit (you know LAST year!) and that they will Not see me today if I do not produce a problem-free one today! I am thinking, “if there was a problem LAST year, why did you not call me BEFORE today and tell me so I could investigate the problem before this morning???? I ask her to show me a copy of my card and she hands me a copy of one for some guy named Jerome… I hand it back and tell her that I am not Jerome. Now she is really mad at me. She says well that is your card in your file. Now I am dumbfounded. I just go sit down to fill out the 99 pages of paperwork and ponder if calling my insurance company is really necessary. I then call Hubby and ask him to fax a copy of his card. To make a long story short, in the end, because I showed up 20 minutes early, I got all the freaking paperwork done before my appt time and Hubby came through on the card fax… so Hot-Headed Receptionist calmed the heck down after pulling a major “She-Nay-Nay” attitude on me for my first 20 minutes in the waiting room. Once I got in with the Doctor every went smooth sailing! What I cannot understand is why the Doctor is so nice and her staff is so melodramatic?? What ever happened to Customer Service??