How would you deal with this situation?

My NHS dentist is just a mile up the road . If I had to go privately then I would chose one equally as near . Why would anyone want to have their dentist 26 miles away , even more so when knowingly they would need to navigate difficult situations at every visit . Dentists always states that you need to be on time for their appointment because if not they can charge you for their wasted appointment slot . Think you need to sign up with dentist much nearer home or otherwise have to make sure you leave in plenty of time to accommodate road / parking problems as we all know that these situations can happen .

What about all the times you are sitting waiting for your dentist or doctor or hospital. I sat waiting for over an hour for a dentist only to be told "sorry he's still out at lunch".
Some of them think you have all the time in the world to sit waiting for them to see you.

While frustrating for you neither the dentist nor the receptionist were being unreasonable when you arrived 45 minutes late. My dentist sent all clients an email notification about their Covid measures and the importance of arriving on time. We have to wait outside the surgery in the rain if the dentist is running late, so I take a big umbrella. The note also said the addition Covid measures would have to be passed on in extra charges, but so far hasn't said how much.
As you have paid £3k for a course of treatment I would send a note of apology if you lost your temper. You do not want to be labelled as the client from hell. Change your dentist at the end of your current treatment and find one closer to home and with parking on site, if you do not want to be stressed by risk of traffic delays and parking problems in future.

Hurray!
I've just had an email inviting me to phone and make an appointment for my postponed checkup.

Now, a question for you all - are you ever too old for a brace?

Sorry to say but being late would have impacted on other customers, why should they be delayed because you were late. If I was travelling there I would have gone early and found a coffee shop whilst waiting for my appointment time. I work somewhere that allows 15 mins for latecomers and still they moan they could not find the place, traffic was bad etc and get abusive when they are not allowed in.

If only the maligned and probably stressed receptionist could have a chance to give her version. It's only a one sided version of events, we are being given.

It must have been a very stressful journey Donna, but the first thing I always do before setting off further than my local area, is check the live traffic news.

The dentist did see you, albeit for a short time, but that has implications for another patient, who was perhaps there on time , but couldn't be seen at their actual appointment time, because the dentist and receptionist were dealing with you.
It wasn't their fault you were late.

It is the OP's responsibility to ensure she leaves enough time to get to her appointment but sometimes accidents happen after you have left which cause chaos to other travellers. It is nobody's fault, the dentist can't be inconvenienced and the client just has to accept these things happen.
One person's perspective about being sympathetic is often very different from another's and maybe the receptionist might have thought she was being very reasonable. However, an apology for not ringing back might have gone a long way to be placatory. My dentist is 40 miles away for my specialist treatment but the NHS dentist who is 6 miles away who does all the grunt work but refuses to do Crowns, bridges, etc, despite it being "allowed" on the NHS. I have 3 spaces which aren't noticeable (he won't provide false teeth either for the bottom set) but when I lost the front tooth, no way was I going to leave a space! I always try to leave plenty of time to arrive for both venues but sometimes things go wrong.

Callistomon. I 'treated' myself to orthodontic treatment for my 60th birthday. It had a big impact on my life as previously I had always been self-conscious about my crooked teeth.

When you realised you were going to be late why didn’t you ring the dentist to say.
When my DD had braces she had check ups every 6 months. Not being a driver I had to catch the bus. On two occasions something was happening in the city so the bus had to take a detour. I rang the dentist to explain I was on my way but that owing to the circumstances I would be late. Both times the receptionist had a word with the dentist who said to come in if I was willing to wait until she could fit me in but obviously couldn’t say for how long. I waited on both counts and thanked the dentist for her understanding. To which she replied if people are coming from a distance they would always try and fit them in if possible.
If you experience any less from your dentist I would change.

*HiPpyChick57’, the OP did try and phone but only got an answering machine.

i want to go to dentist ,but am so scared of all this spray disinfectant. am allergic to most...been waiting 4/5 months for root canal treatment.....my advice change dentist .but thats not so easy , i try to change dentist .i get email us .i did ,no answer ,left message on phone .no answer .waited outside surgery .oh you not one of our patients .waited 25 minutes for her to speak to me through window .with oh you have to email us .i have .phone message .i have .still waiting to change dentist...

NotTooOld

Bluebelle - Donna said the receptionist showed no understanding and merely told her she had missed her appointment. Receptionists should be trained to deal with patients in a sympathetic manner (even if the patient is out of order) and I got the impression that this one didn't. I could be wrong! A good receptionist is an asset to a company. They are the first person a visitor encounters and they represent the public face of the company. Of course, the reception role is often underrated, under trained and under paid. I should know, I used to train 'em!

A good receptionist doesn’t have to be a doormat though.

A good receptionist is a gatekeeper to their boss, as well as someone who manages all the appts.

Taking abuse from people who have missed their appt is a hard part of their job and surely they should be forgiven for not going out of their way to be a doormat. After all, it’s not their fault.

I get the feeling that “sympathetic” in this case actually means “squeezing me in, and disrupting the dentist and other patients day”

You say you left in time. No you didn’t. You should have given yourself a lot of extra time knowing that traffic and parking could be a problem. You should have been prepared to be there a lot earlier.
Most dentists are working with very few staff which means there is no current receptionist. You were lucky they didn’t charge you for a missed appointment which my dentist does.

I think the dentist is at fault.

They should have answered the phone, the OP did try and explain her late arrival. Because of their failure to answer the phone, she had a wasted journey and a lot of stress.
I sympathise.

The phinee was the problem. Why didn't the receptionist listen to the messages.

phinee phone!

If any one arrives 45 minutes late for any appointment, why would they expect to be seen? We are, as we know, living in unprecedented times. Any work station has to be covid safe, that is disinfected between clients or patients. New PPE for dentis/doctor/nurse. Traffic is always unpredictable and anyone familiar with Liverpool currently will be aware of the need to add a considerable amount of time to their journey plan.
I feel for the receptionist here. I don't know if she was rude but the advice from some posters that raised voices are the answer is wrong. Why be rude to someone when you're the problem, arriving so late. It's stressful for the OP of course but I wonder how many other irritable patients this receptionist has to deal with, all blaming the traffic and with sense of entitlement.

There is no point in screaming at the receptionist, however if she had answered the phone when you called she could have been able to tell you that you would need to re-book. As a receptionist she should also have been monitoring any messages left and could have called you back to reschedule an appointment.

I find it quite annoying when people say why didn't you check before you left the house for any traffic delays etc...
Well an accident can happen in the blink of an eye that can cause hours of delays. I live on a main road and you would be surprised at when the council turns up to do repairs, they close one lane at 2pm with no notice what-so-ever - so I think it is very patronising to accuse someone of not being smart enough to check traffic.

Also if she wants to go to a dentist 100 miles away it is her prerogative. Perhaps the one 26 miles away is a trusted practice that has been used for years.

Perhaps the one 26 miles away is a trusted practice that has been used for years.

Apparently not. According to the OP have in the past had to make a journey back to the Dentist 2 days after blocks where put on your teeth that fell off in the carpark after just having them put on.

My dentist was not using a receptionist when I went last time. All paperwork was done online ahead of the visit. Her dental nurse was checking people in and any messages were picked up before and after surgery and at lunchtime.

I know this practice had a receptionist present but we don't know that she was able to answer the phone at any given time.

I am of a different opinion to those who say OP should have checked for road works, left plenty of time etc. My only way of checking traffic problems is to listen to the local radio station, google maps isn't accurate when it gives time it is expected to take for the journey.

My Dentist is only 5 miles away but we have major roadworks & depending on the time of day you can drive more or less straight through or be held up for a long time.

Car park I have to use is shared between Dentist, Council Offices & JobCentre, only good thing it is free. I once spent 20mins driving round & ended up parking in the Dentists Disabled spaces. Receptionist started to tell my I was late (2 mins), I explained to her that I had ha problems parking & where I had left my car, explanation accepted & I saw the Dentist.

Having to wait outside is a problem for me as I can't stand for long but I do appreciate the reasons which is why I haven't booked my check-up

"had a problem"

it is annoying, but why should the dentist be inconvenienced and his other patients.
i hope the driver did not make a phone call while the car engine was on.
what difference does the phone call make. could have turned around as soon as realised would not make appt.
the receptionist was probably busy dealing with other enquiries.
need to leave much more time, at least an hour to be there before appt due, esp coming from so far.
but the attitude of outrage and entitlement does not garner my sympathy.

Not your fault, not their fault either... A bit of misdirected anger there. All the other patients shouldn't need to wait because you were 45 minutes late and the dentist should not be late home because of it. I would have probably still charged you for the appointment too...

I'm afraid when you make a appointment being on time is your responsibility even if it isn't your fault when things go wrong. Better to leave more wriggle room for the unexpected

Knowing what a nightmare it is to drive in Liverpool city centre I would have parked at an outlying station and caught the train in. You would then have only a 10-15 minute walk to the dentist’s.