To wonder why so many services run late?

[FightingtheFoo]

Why do so many services (e.g. hairdresser, dentist etc) always run late?

I just don't understand how if your business offers the same services regularly you can't anticipate how long they will take and maybe factor in a few 15 mins gaps throughout the day to account for clients that are running late? (Or have a strict cut off policy eg more than 10 mins late and you forfeit your appointment).

At the hairdresser last week they were running "10 mins" late when I got there, which was clearly a lie. It ended up being 30 mins.

Apparently the first appointment had arrived late - so don't serve them then? If they've missed their slot then tough. Rather than having a knock on effect on half a dozen other people. And they at least could have called me to warn me before I set off.

Now I'm at the dentist and it's the same thing. My appointment was 20 minutes ago I just find it deeply irritating.

I had a GP telephone appointment last week.
First one of the day at 8:50.
The GP didn't ring me until 9:30! No explanation or apology. Luckily I was off work or I wouldn't have been able to answer it

Working with people is unpredictable

I can’t get worked up Over a hair appointment running late.

Well you would if you had kids to pick up or something

First world problem. 30 minute wait to get your Barnet seen to doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in the whole scheme of things. Take a breath to consider how lucky you are. How does it go : GO PLACIDLY amid the noise and the haste.

Working in a medical/retail environment, it's one of several reasons or a combination of a few.

1. clinic is overbooked/double booked (to allow for no shows, emergencies showing up who need the be seen in 24hrs or permanently damaged/death, management trying to appease an aggy patient)

2. you're given an average time slot for each patient. Most take that time to see, a few are quicker and a quite few more are longer (but hey, management is optimistic that everyone you see will be straight forward). You can't predict it until you know the patients symptoms, age, whether or not they're a talker....). Sometimes you get days where everyone takes longer than average and you REALLY run behind by an hour or more.

3. people show late and you're pressured by management to take them through anyway, because KPIs etc.

4. you have to refer urgently and spend 30 minutes on hold to the hospital departments direct emergency line.

Hint: don't blame the practitioners. If we run behind we go home late and don't get our lunch (opticians)

I changed hairdressers because one chain yes Rush, that's you always seemed to massively overbook/overrrun. No I don't want to sit around in reception for half an hour.

I don’t mind medical stuff tho it is annoying.
Hairdressers fine

I had to see the nurse for a glucose tolerance test last week. My 2nd appointment was 30 minutes late, she said “sorry I’ve not been busy I’ve been doing my coursework” I said I hope this won’t affect the results but no real reply just mumbling about bloods

I work in dentistry (hygienist) and I hate running late. If everyone comes on time and is nice and simple to treat then it works lovely. But for example I have a lady who is over 90 and is very slow with 2 walking sticks. It takes her a long time to get into and out of the chair. I refuse to rush her treatment or make her feel like she's taking too long. She already apologises constantly for being slow. I can't book her extra time as the dentist won't allow random "empty" diary space with no patients in it. So yes I will often run late in situations like that. But it's not regular and I do try my hardest not to. Also occasionally a patient will see the dentist first and they'll be late finishing so now I'm late as well. And I can't cut their time short as it wasn't the patients fault they were late it was the dentists. So I spend most of the day playing catch up. So yeah personally I really avoid running late if I can. It's definitely not deliberate at all in my case.

Our local walk in centre opens 7am to 9pm, 7 days a week. Alwags a long wait, fair enough. Took DC on Sunday morning recently, we got there for 6.30am, first people, front of the queue. They unlock the door at 7am say nurse will triage in a min. She comes at 7.20am and checks for covid symptoms, lets us in, we tell reception name etc, sit down in waiting room. Other patients come in waiting room but none go in, yet we're not seen til 8.05am by which point there is a massive queue. Why??? I think a PP is right there is a sense that its 'free' so we should think ourselves lucky.

It's better financially speaking to have somebody waiting than an empty seat. Because of covid a lot of places are having to have empty seat/empty space time when tHey didn't before, and for some businesses that has been ruinous.

The thing that does my head in is when they try to charge you because they are running late.

I had lash extension infills booked last weekend. I waited 40 minutes past my appointment time. I had to leave then. If my appointment started then I would just have had enough time. As it was the tech would be at least another 15 minutes with the previous customer.

I was told that if I didn't attend my appointment I would be charged 100% due to late cancellation. Errr... No.

I'm having them done next week now. I'm also paying infill cost even though I'm past the infill date.

YANBU if it is a regular thing.

Obviously anyone can have a one off bad day, but when you never go in on time for a fairly regular appt, then they aren't doing it right.

Obviously some things (eg medical appts) can be unpredictable BUT, it must average out, and there must be a pattern over time - as a pp suggested, a 'catch up' slot needs to be built in.

I have NO sympathy for the first appt of the day being late (as a 'norm', not a one off event) - that infuriates me.

@ZoeMaye

It's better financially speaking to have somebody waiting than an empty seat. Because of covid a lot of places are having to have empty seat/empty space time when tHey didn't before, and for some businesses that has been ruinous.

It doesn't always work that way though.

As above, my infills would cost £40 and take an hour. A fresh set of lashes cost £60 and take 2 hours. Next week I am paying £40 for what is effectively a fresh set. My appointment will take 2 hours so she will lose £20 on that appointment as well as the lost revenue of the previous appointment. Also, my infills will now be pushed back a week so there is another loss there.

The brow lamination that overran cost £40. She effectively did that for free.

@Pyewackect

First world problem. 30 minute wait to get your Barnet seen to doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in the whole scheme of things. Take a breath to consider how lucky you are. How does it go : GO PLACIDLY amid the noise and the haste.

Well, that was a lot of words to say nothing useful.

I had this with a meal recently. They made a big thing of saying we had a maximum of two hours, which was fine - but then they waited nearly 30 minutes to bring us our desserts after clearing the mains. We asked if we could have a bit longer and they said they had people booked in. We pointed out that if they hadn’t waited so long to serve us (the desserts were pre-prepared; nothing they had to make to order) they could have had the table back in plenty of time. We did not pay the optional service charge.

@Macncheeseballs

Well you would if you had kids to pick up or something

not really