There's No Need for It

I've always believed in common courtesy. It takes very little effort and makes for a pleasant friendly environment in which we all can live. When in a customer facing environment, courtesy is something that should be automatic. The job calls for it and regardless of whether someone is working in a shop, on a bus or in a health service, common courtesy should always be a prerequisite.
How saddened was I then to be met with one of the most surly and discourteous people I've met, this morning whilst collecting my wife's prescription at Sutton Bridge Medical Centre.
This practise already has a reputation for being unfriendly and generally unhelpful so I wasn't expecting much. Firstly I was left waiting at the collection window for what seemed as long as five minutes whilst the dispensary assistant stared aimlessly at a computer, in full view of me. A simple acknowledgement would have been enough to satisfy me, but this was obviously too much to expect. When she did finally drag herself to the window she made me feel as if I was a burden to her, as if I had dragged her from doing something more interesting.
I was presented with a slip which I had to complete with a tick to denote my wife's eligibility for free prescriptions then sign and date. I inadvertently ticked the exemption box and was immediately rebuked for having done so being told my wife doesn't have a serious enough illness. I responded by reminding the assistant that she does in fact suffer with asthma, serious enough in my view to justify exemption from the ridiculous charges levied upon patients in England. Instead, my wife has a card which entitles her to free prescriptions based on our income, which I showed to the assistant who then told me to cross out the tick I had made and put another in the correct box.
I did feel like saying something to her about her attitude and general lack of customer service skill, but I refrained from doing so. Instead, I told her to 'have a nice day' and left, muttering under my breath. How different my experience could have been if she had acknowledged me and at least smiled. I am left in no doubt that Sutton Bridge Medical Centre is lacking the very basic in customer service and common courtesy. They have clearly forgotten that it is they who are providing a service. People are there, for the most part, not through choice but because they are unwell. They are in need of care, respect and at the very least, should be made to feel welcome. There is no excuse for rudeness and discourtesy, and for this reason Sutton Bridge Medical Centre win my award for 'Most Unfriendly Health Practise of the Year' award.

Why Make Things So Difficult...?

I visited my mum in hospital yesterday where she is recovering after being assaulted in Spalding on Monday. She is at Boston's Pilgrim Hospital, a fair drive from where I live. I was pleasantly surprised by the car parking as this is normally notoriously difficult and stressful at any hospital. Instead, I was able to get parked quite close to the entrance without having to hunt for a vacant space.
The hospital is huge. It was my first time there, quite a feat given the number of years I have lived in Lincolnshire. It all seemed quite modern and organised.
However, what did strike me as very odd was the lifts and the extraordinary arrangement in place for calling a lift for a designated floor.

Instead of the traditional method of pressing an up or down button, you have to enter your required floor number on a panel. The panel then tells you which of the four lifts you should go and wait at. This actually resulted in huge queues whilst people waited for a lift for their designated floor. It should be noted that the lift will only stop at the floor requested and no other, as I found out when entering the first available lift.

Once inside the lift, there is no way of selecting the floor you need as it has been pre-programmed to stop at a specific floor from the panel in the foyer. As I had simply entered the lift assuming it would operate in the established fashion, I had to exit again to enter my floor selection and await my designated lift.
How utterly ridiculous! Surely this wins the award for the most pointless and complicated procedure? If I had difficulty understanding how it worked then anyone of elder years stands absolutely no chance. The numbers of people who have travelled up and down only to see the floor they want shoot past, must be in the hundreds if not thousands.
Why make something that should be simple and straightforward to use so unnecessarily complicated? Who's brilliant idea was this and has it won them a bonus or hospital management award? Just exactly what was the rationale for making the process of using a lift so difficult? We'll probably never know, but the lifts at Boston's Pilgrim Hospital most certainly win my 'Most Stupid Idea of the Year' Award.