AIBU to think the dentist should have allowed me to postpone?

[ViaRia01]

Just wondering others’ views on my interaction with the dentists’ receptionist just now. It’s not really a big deal but wondering whether iabu

at 10:20am the receptiost phoned me to confirm my attendance for tomorrow 10:30. I double checked with her to cost and then asked is it already too late to postpone the appointment. She quickly said well yes it’s too late as it’s 24 hours. I checked the time and noticed that it’s technically more than 24 hours notice as it was not yet 10:30. I said ok, that’s fine, we’ll see you tomorrow 10:30. She very very quickly (and not particularly politely) said ok see you tomorrow bye, then hung up.

So I can and will go tomorrow. I want the check up and I can pay for it. It is all ok. I’d prefer to delay it a couple of weeks due to my own mid-budgeting this month but I know that isn’t their concern and if I haven’t rescheduled on time then so be it.

But…. It was (only just) more than 24 hours notice and so surely I should have been allowed to postpone. If I had made the phone call at the same time I don’t think they could/ would have argued it, but they phoned me (which I do also appreciate!)

I’m just wondering what others would have thought or done in this situation. I am trying to find a better balance at standing up for myself but without becoming too confrontational or fighting a losing battle if that makes sense. So:

YABU: appointment change request was not received in time and the receptionist is right to deny it.

YANBU: appointment change request was in time and should have been postponed.

I always take that to mean one full working days notice so cancellations for Thursday would have to be received by close of business on Tuesday.

I think they were wrong. It’s either 24 hours or one business day. If they use 24 hours then strictly speaking you were still in time.

I wouldn't accept that tbh. It's money grabbing. I'd have said it's not 24 hours as the appointment is at X time.

My dentist knows I'm broke and he waived the late fee the one time I had to cancel with less than 24 hours notice. It's just good will and I really appreciate it. The receptionist is really nice as well.

But in your case it wasn't even 24 hours so the receptionist was wrong. And sounded quite rude.

Your dentist is a business. They aren’t filling that slot 24 hours in advance so that’s money lost. They still have to cover staff, equipment etc.

When you sign up terms and conditions are clear. I really feel for small business owners, restaurants etc who have to deal with short notice cancellations. I think you did the right thing in honouring your commitment to them.

I think I would have pointed it out. But if I was having a budget issue and needed to postpone it, I would have done it before 24hrs and 10 mins so that they had more opportunity to fill the slot.

If you wanted to postpone it why didn't you phone them days ago? Why wait for them to phone you? Quibbling over 10 minutes is ridiculous.

They are a business, might not be able to fill that slot and so would lose money because you haven't budgeted for a known appointment.

Tbh if you you are budgeting your costs for this month then the onus was on you to contact the dentist in advance this avoiding any cancellation charge issues/notice periods.

I think if you’d rung at the beginning of the week or even first thing this morning and said you needed to reschedule due to illness they probably would have been fine tbh. I’ve had to do that when genuinely ill and wasn’t charged a fee.

At my surgery they always have patients who need emergency slots because of pain, and keep two per day per dentist free for that. I’m sure they could fill a cancellation with a pain patient.

@theresnolimits i absolutely accept your point of view, don’t get me wrong. I did think they would be able to fill the slot as I assume they have people on waiting lists every day trying to get an appointment sooner due to tooth pain/ urgent treatment. But that is just an assumption so I realise it may not be the case at all.

But then the question is, why do they set their policy to 24 hours if they in fact need a Woking day’s notice.

@FoxandDuck yes absolutely. I explained about the budgeting issue for context really but it isn’t a big deal. I can pay for it this month so all is well. I just wanted to give the context as to why I asked to postpone. I don’t think they ought to accommodate me because of it, it was really more the “24 hour” policy I feel a little … irritated. And it was the way she ended the call so quickly, almost so that I didn’t query it…? Not sure.

What would you have done if they hadn't phoned?

I would take 24 hours to mean the day before regardless of the exact time of the appointment, just pragmatically.

And if you have a budgeting issue, then use a credit card.

@darkoftheloon im not very organised, that’s all. I’m not blaming anyone for that. I’m just asking how others interpret ‘must give 24 hours notice’.

I mean if I had phoned them at 10:20 would that have been ok? And if so, then why should the same timings not be accommodated the other way around?

I also just wanted to thank everyone for replies.

I know some of mine seem to be arguing my case, perhaps a little too strongly but it really is in the spirit of discussion and debate, and not that I am refusing to take on board other points of view.

YABU because the cancellation policy is due to how realistically they can refill the appointment slot. They have to draw the line somewhere so it's usually 24 hours with the assumption that most people will do it earlier. Cancelling at 24hrs 10mins means it's a write-off anyway and you've basically cost them the money for that appointment slot. They will not see you favourably as a patient because for them it's obviously about business and not nitpicking about 10mins.

24 hours is usually a grace period for emergencies like illness. People may need to postpone if they realise they won't get better in 1 day or they have a sick child. If you need to postpone due to not having money then that's something which can easily be done many days or weeks beforehand.

i don’t wish to use a credit card. I can pay for the dentist. That’s not the question I am asking. It’s about the 24 hour policy.

@Plump82 I would have gone to the dentist and paid for it. Just as I am intending to do now.

Then they shouldn’t have a cancellation period of 24 hours. Make it 48, or 72, or whatever.

But don’t make it 24 hours and then complain that others aren’t complying with the T&Cs when they are. 24 hours and 10 minutes is still acceptable within their T&Cs.

ETA that complying with T&Cs goes both ways. It’s actually the dentist who has refused to follow them by being difficult about someone cancelling ahead of 24 hours.

@ShanghaiDiva yes of course the onus is on me, I absolutely agree with you. And the more notice I give, the easier it is all round, no doubt. I am not blaming the dentist that I had other unexpected costs this month, that is not their problem. That info was really just for context.

The question I’m asking is really just what does 24 hours notice mean to you.

I hate that dentists do the reminder phone call the day before. I understand them ringing as appointments are booked so far in advance but surely a reminder a week before would avoid people cancelling at the last minute and give them the chance to fill the appointments.

Are you unaware that you have a dental appointment until you receive the reminder phone call the day before?

for me an appointment on Thursday with a 24 hour cancellation means cancel anytime on the Tuesday.

It would be nitpicking to insist you had 9 minutes left to cancel, not standing up for yourself. Lack of planning is the real issue.

No, I always make my appointments. But seemingly dentists have such a big problem with no shows that they are employing someone to remind everyone in the calender and obviously the cost of that is passed onto the customer, along with the costs of dentists twiddling their thumbs due to no shows. It would surely make more sense to remind people with enough time that they can change and fill the appointment rather than complaining that they have lots of no shows.

As someone who has to be the make these calls at times I understand the dentist point of view. You had no intention of cancelling and were just using the call opporunisticallr to cancel. It would be hard for them to then fill the slot. I hate doing reminder calls to patients because they often just use it as a chance to say actually can I reschedule. Filling appointments at short notice can take a significant amount of time

My physio therapist does the reminder call about 30 minutes after the cancellation cut off period. She says it’s a courtesy so people who may have genuinely forgot don’t fail to turn up and get charged. It helps avoid people wanting to use it as a chance to cancel or reschedule.