This idiot bitch pissed me off ever since she called me the first time for something. She's a receptionist for the University of Minnesota Dental School, a place I now go to (well, maybe not anymore; more on that later). Now, I like the dental school since it's a teaching school. That means the dentists are actually students, and before they start cleaning your teeth they have to call a teaching supervisor over and tell him or her what he or she is going to do, and then the supervisor okays it. It takes a hell of a lot of time, but the trade-off is it's cheaper. Plus, for me, I take some satisfaction in helping someone learn by providing my body as an experiment. That's why I undergo experiments. So even though other people, such as my mom, can't bother to deal with the hassle, I don't mind it.
What I don't like are the receptionists. Ever since I began going to the U. Dental School I've had to deal with a few of them, and I wouldn't mind smacking the shit out of each and every one of them if I ever see them.
I called in to make a reservation, and from this and next few times I called to reserve, I got service that was both off-putting and slow. I wasn't greeted with a "hi" -- maybe not a big deal, but if you're in customer service, it seems like something you do, you know? And then when I asked my question, all I got was a "Let me see," then some typing, then a date that was open, and that was that. Terse, OK, and so maybe I should be glad I got an appointment. But compared to the much better customer I get from private clinics (they need me to give them hundreds of dollars, of course), this rubbed me the wrong way.
This bitch Sahari is the worst. Once I was assigned to a girl who's part of this teaching group, apparently this Sahari is the one receptionist you talk to to arrange appointments if you're physically there. I think I spoke to her once or twice over the phone before, and what Sahari provided was a level of interaction that was even lower than the other bitches that work the phones there. She didn't say hi. She spoke very little. Sahari said, "Just wait a second while I take a look," she would instead just let the silence hang over the phone while she banged on her keyboard for something that really should've taken a lot less time. And she was very quick to hang up the phone on me. At her best, she treated me like I worked with her. At worst, she made it clear that she didn't want to deal with patients like me.
I remember my last two of my last three dealings with her somewhat vividly. Sahari called me to schedule an appointment some time in September. I remember this vividly because she called me at 8:30 in the fucking morning. Now, I have been out of the workplace for awhile now, but I know that you don't call anybody unless you're in the same workplace until 10. What is that bitch doing calling me so early? For her part, Sahari acted as if she had no idea she was being rude. Idiot.
I should put a condition on my remark that I remember my dealings with her vividly; I recall her calling me up so goddamn early, I don't recall the day and time she scheduled me. So when she called again -- at a more decent time, 9:30, I guess -- I had to be profusely sorry and ask if she can find a different time. From there, Sahari didn't even say "hold on." She just fell silent, and I heard the typing of her keys. At one point she even asked somebody in her office, "How do you do this?" Really, I get to eavesdrop on this shit? Dumbass. Do you guys even have hold music? Well, maybe not, it is the U., and Tim Pawlenty is starving the shit out of post-secondary education because the people of Minnesota want that.
Anyway, she gave me a time, and I couldn't do that, so she said she'd call me back. This third call is the most infuriating. My Grandmother gave me the phone and told me it was asking for me. It was Sahari. First of all, this cunt called me up at 8:30 again. Then she said, ahem, "I have you down for an appointment for today at 9:30."
That's when I went ballistic. First off, as far as I knew, I didn't have an appointment scheduled; that she acted like I did and was only reminding me was the culmination of a bunch of slights and indignities that made me roil inside. Second, she called me an hour before this appointment I didn't know I had. Third, this appointment was for a time and date that I told her in my previous call I couldn't meet. And this dumbfuck apparently scheduled it for me anyway, and only bothered to tell me now.
"OK," I said to Sahari, leaving out the fact I told her I couldn't come in this particular day, trying to control my temper, because I needed to let her have it, "I can't make this appointment. And for future reference, I can't be told of an appointment an hour before the appointment, OK?"
"Well, you're a hard person to get ahold of," Sahari said. Point taken; I didn't give the U. School my cell, just my home. Still doesn't excuse her early morning calls, nor her blank attitude over the phone, nor forgetting what I told her.
Seeing that this is a dental school, and she can't see too many people because they each take a lot of time while she gets the OK to perform her services, and there are a lot of people who want to get their teeth checked and cleaned for cheap, my dentist is all booked through the end of the year. "Well," Sahari continued in a tone of voice that was flippant and slackerish, "When you have time on your schedule, call me."
"And if you have a cancellation, please let me know," was my olive branch to her. If I had any pride, I'd go to this clinic Mother now goes to instead of the U. But I wasn't happy with my previous private clinic, and I see no reason to think these guys are going to be any better. Besides, I don't think they take my insurance. So either I don't get my teeth cleaned -- a distinct possibility -- or I have to go back to the U. for an appointment. Where I'll have to deal with this goddamn woman again.
I really want to throw something at her, just to let her know how she makes me feel.
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