Nothing Comes for Free

Picture of me with the NBC camera crew & NY1 covering a story at Mount Sinai Hospital.

"Wait one moment and the doctor will be right with you" the secretary told me after I signed in at my doctors office. Great! I thought, I had a 7pm appointment with my doctor, but after recieving a phone call earlier that day asking me to try and make it in before then, I rushed home after work, got my car keys and took off to Queens, where my doctors office is.

6:05pm, not bad... I made it to my doctor 55 minutes before schedule. Great... there's nothing I hate more than doctor visits. One my biggest phobia probably even before death is NEEDLES! I can't look at em I can't stand em! So I was hoping to get this over with as early and as painlessly as possible, so I could continue with my night...

6:30
...waiting...

6:45
...waiting...and thinking... Why the hell did they ask me to come early?

6:55
"Jessica Bianculli, Jessica!" yelled one of the nurses...

I shot up out of my seat, only to try and get over the pins and needles I was feeling in my ass, after sitting in one spot for so long, and walked over to the entrance into the doctors office.

7pm
(Inside the doctors office alone)
...waiting...

7:10
Doctor arrives!

7:15
I'm handing over my money to pay for my visit and leave.

So... lets get this straight, I rushed over to see my doctor for a regular check up ahead of schedule all because whoever called my was hoping for an early night and to get the appointments in all at once. So, I spent a total of 50 minutes sitting on my ass and a total of only 5 minutes with my doctor so that I could put money into his pocket in the end, for a total of 5 minutes.

Hmm... this got me thinking... I work part time at a restaurant and what if I were to start doing the same thing to my customers? I will call up all of the reservations and ask them to try and make it to their dinner "appointment" as early as possible, preferably between 5 and 6 pm. After all, I would like to get out of work, if not on time, as early as possible, please. And I will make you wait around... because of course I will be busy attending to other customers, because they all came in at the same time you did, and when I do come around and find the time to serve you, I will expect you to pay the restaurant and me for our services.

Its funny, being in the restaurant/service industry you are expected to be attentive, pleasant and fast. Not because you necesarily "WANT" to or "URGE" to give that kind of service to every customer, but because you know there is a monetary bonus to doing so!

When you're in the service industry, especially in New York you quickly come to learn that most people are very impatient and that waiting around or slow service is definately going to affect how much of a tip that person will leave you So, maybe I should start doing the same with my doctors. 'Listen Doc, just give me the raw charge of my check up (please don't include your paycheck in that cut yet) And I will decide if I want to leave you 20 or maybe 25 percent, depending on how pleasant you are, or maybe I will only leave you 15 percent... maybe less. How does that sound? Nothing comes for free I guess, including good service wherever you go.

Whaddya' think?