Answer the @#$%&*%#ING phone!

Dont you just HATE Medical offices that won't answer their phone?

"QUEST DIAGNOSTICS, HOW CAN I DIRECT YOUR CALL?" Just how hard would it be for them to pick up the phone and say that?

But, oh no. I let it ring for 10 minutes untill the system cuts me off, call back and let it ring for another 10 minutes, and just give up.

As I'm going out the door I tell the secretary I'm going over there because I can't get a call through.

"Oh," she says, "QUEST DIAGNOSTICS? They never answer their phone."

So I'm standing at the counter, paperwork in hand, and the receptionist is typing away. I'm watching the phone for 5 minutes waiting, and the lights blink. They go on. They go off. And the girl just ignores them. And NOTHING rings!

Finally she turns to me, and I look down. The light is blinking furiously. "Go ahead and answer your phone first." I say.

(No receptionist in the history of medicine has ever heard that phrase muttered, and she balks for a second. She's confused and almost reaches for the phone. Then she shakes her head.)

"We're not allowed to answer that phone. It's just for outgoing calls"

"Oh, well what's the number for incoming calls than?"

"Ummm...you have to call the 800 number in Sacramento. It's right there on your paperwork."

"I don't need to talk to Sacramento. I need to talk to you. AND I just DROVE 10 miles in rush hour traffic to do this, because you won't pick up the @#$%&*%#ING PHONE!"

(OK, I didn't actually shout "@#$%&*%#ING" in an office full of sick old ladies, but I made sure she knew I was thinking it.)

[dantama]

What a coincidence! I tried to go to quest and get some blood work done yesterday, they said that they never received the order from the doctor. I went home, and missed the hours of operation by 10 min for my doctor.

I call the doctor today and they confirmed that they did have the right fax number for quest, but would resend it. I tried to call quest to confirm that they have it, and got a message (at least mine goes to an infuriorating message prompt system :) ) telling me about the wonders of scheduling your own appointment on the net, but no live person, and no way to leave a message.

I decided that I'd go for a motorcycle ride across town and see if they have the fax. But before I'm going out the door, I swing by the computer to see if google maps has a more interesting way to ride over there than the usual and that's when I saw your post.

What a coincidence!

[jussmatt]

GET 'EM!!!!! I'm right there with ya!!!!!! There's a phrase that's being cut our of our civilization almost as fast as, "In God We Trust".....and that's "CUSTOMER SERVICE...Where the Customer Comes First!!!!" Makes me wanna go to an island somewhere and forget the whole damn lot!!!

[Yellow Jacket]

Most businesses today couldn't care less to have you as a customer. If you get pissed off and go somewhere else they don't give a flip because they figure they can get all the customers they want anyway. :(" title="" border="0"/>

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by Dan Lund

What a coincidence! I tried to go to quest and get some blood work done yesterday, they said that they never received the order from the doctor. I went home, and missed the hours of operation by 10 min for my doctor.

I call the doctor today and they confirmed that they did have the right fax number for quest, but would resend it. I tried to call quest to confirm that they have it, and got a message (at least mine goes to an infuriorating message prompt system :) ) telling me about the wonders of scheduling your own appointment on the net, but no live person, and no way to leave a message.

I decided that I'd go for a motorcycle ride across town and see if they have the fax. But before I'm going out the door, I swing by the computer to see if google maps has a more interesting way to ride over there than the usual and that's when I saw your post.

What a coincidence!

I needed to cancel a doctor's appointment a couple of years ago, so I called the office line 2 days before the actual appointment and got some automated system that had an option to cancel an appointment, so I selected it and left a message stating that I had to cencel and would call back after my schedule cleared and set up a new one. A few weeks later, I received a bill for a missed appointment. $25 isn't going to break me, but I followed their procedure and they still billed me. I tried to call the office to sort it out, but could not get a human on the line, so I wrote a letter and just let them have it - "You give your patients no other option but using your automated system and then you don't follow through...". I blasted them good. Never heard another thing about it.

'Course not. They got your $25 and now you just can go whistle up a rain pipe.

Originally Posted by Dan Lund

What a coincidence!!...

Not really. They've bought out every medical lab they could get their hands on. They've created a virtual monopoly around here (coast to coast really) just like the days of the robber barons.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by caddmannq

Not really. They've bought out every medical lab they could get their hands on. They've created a virtual monopoly around here (coast to coast really) just like the days of the robber barons.

Ooh, don't get me started on monopolies and anti-trust laws. I'd start the rant on the subject of Ticketbastard er, Ticketmaster.

My wife has spent a lot of time and money at Quest diagnostics recently, with her surgery and all.

[ringadingh]

I guess sometimes our medical system has its upside. I show them my card and wait.

[Idaho]

The problem here is obvious to me.......... Quest is a PHONE COMPANY. "One moment to connect your call sir, I have to finish this blood draw."


Ha, glad to help clear that up.

Originally Posted by Idaho (High Plains Drifter)

The problem here is obvious to me.......... Quest is a PHONE COMPANY. "One moment to connect your call sir, I have to finish this blood draw."


Ha, glad to help clear that up.

It figures that the medical monopolies and the phone monopolies would eventually all get together, huh?

Originally Posted by cactusjack

Ooh, don't get me started on monopolies and anti-trust laws. I'd start the rant on the subject of Ticketbastard er, Ticketmaster...

Hey, the Mass Ticketbastard is just the beginning. I have it on good authority that in the future all restaurants will be Taco Bell.

Ever heard of "Yum"?

[rflnomad]

I tell my doctor this. " I refuse to use Quest because of poor customer service."
He just stared at me but when I repeated it, he sent me to another lab.
Tell your doctor you REFUSE to use Quest. If they balk, tell them you WILL CHANGE DOCTORS!

Absolutely. I'm not going back to Quest.

[rlfaubion]

I find this a very disheartened thread. Sorry guys