How would you deal with this situation?

My dentist makes you pay for an appointment if you miss it - or deducts the time available for having treatment/seeing the hygienist.

Mine is an NHS dentist. Many of my friends go to a private dentist and pay a lot more money. I don't understand why because I've been using my dentist for years and I think the treatment I get is first class.

Having read Donna's second post, it seems she left early enough to allow for holdups. And if it was only going to be a quick appointment I think they could have accommodated her or at least been a bit more pleasant.

45 minutes late (whatever the reason) is far too late to expect to be seen.

The best you can hope for is to explain the problem and hope not to be charged for non-attendance.

There are plenty of dentists around - so it's sensible to choose one nearby!

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!

The dentist has to keep to tight appointment times. Presumably you have travelled there many times and know the traffic issuers that can arise. You say you allowed extra time but unfortunately it still wasn't enough time. None of that is the dentists fault, or the receptionists!

It is unfortunate that you could not speak to someone when you rang but they are busy, they are dealing with difficulties to ensure that patients can be seen and so it is understandable!!

You have had faulty work there but that is irrelevant in this scenario. Why are you still going to the same dentist and travelling that distance to do it if you found the work so unsatisfactory?

I think that is why he did see me...I was all of five minutes with him.

Wait up.......! So you did actually see the dentist then? So it wasn't a wasted journey afterall Donna? From the information that you've given in your 2nd post, the dentist's surgery is in Liverpool City centre, within the Albert Docks area? It's always heavily congested there, with traffic going in and out of the city and to the docks. Plus, it's a bank holiday weekend, with additional traffic going to the ferries. You must have realised this when you were about to set out for your appointment, surely? And knowing the area as well as you do (because you've been to this dentist several times before to have spent over £3000 with him), why didn't you leave in plenty of time?

I had a particularly unpleasant experience with a dentist as a child, and I had great difficulty coping with dentist visits throughout my teens. 40 years ago, I found an NHS dentist who understood, and who helped me use self-hypnosis to control my terror. When he retired five years later, my care was taken on by a delightful newly-qualified dentist. I’ve moved house a few times since then, but I’m happy to drive from wherever I’m living twice a year for check-ups with a dentist I have trusted for 35 years.

I could understand if the OP travelled some distance to a dentist she trusted, but what mystifies me is that she does this for a dentist whose work she finds unsatisfactory.

Why go to a dentist so far away? I wouldn't go 26 miles.

I think it's a sad state of affairs when someone needs to travel 26 miles to see a dentist. And spend £3k with them. Crikey O'Reilly!

Mine's in our village. Round here, you can get an NHS dentist, no problem. Dear oh dear what a pickle! You have my sympathy.

NotTooOld what actually did the receptionist say wrong according to donna she said you ve missed your appointment we weren’t there to witness if it was said in a rude way, a harsh way or in a sympathetic way donna was in a flux so she probably would think anyone who didn’t say ‘there there‘ was unsympathetic i m sure I probably would too

I m one of those daft people who always get near to the appointment place early and have to find somewhere to hang around tapping my toes but it’s safer

Squiffy

^You telephone the Dentist to say you are stuck in Traffic and will be late...You are answered with a Answer Machine.^

I think that’s the frustrating bit! You tried to contact your dentist, but couldn’t actually soeak to anyone.

Had you been able to do so, they would probably advised rebooking.

Exactly that Squiffy...Had I got a returned call I could have turned back at the next exit. But, I have then had to go into the Albert Dock and drive to the otherside of the Docks before I could get into a Carpark which was full..and then wait for someone to return so as to get a Carpark space. Then run through the Docks which is some distance to get to the Dentist. I had given myself enough time even knowing there was roadworks. What was worse was I was waiting outside the Dentist whilst the Receptionist went in to speak with the Dentist...she then came out and went and sat at her desk without coming out to tell me what was happening! When I spoke to the Dentist the Receptionist actually said I had said more to her than I did and then in mid sentence the Dentist actually said 'he did not know whether he believed what I told him' and then quickly changed the subject. Because of his comment I think that is why he did see me...I was all of five minutes with him. As yet I have not made a further appointment although I have paid him near on £3000 for the treatment. I was in a right state when I come away... I had not seen the Dentist for over a month.

Before leaving ( or the night before) why didn't you check online to see if all was well, traffickwise in that town.
Particularly so as you had a strict appointment.

It was very unfortunate. I wouldn't have thought of checking for roadworks or booking parking in advance but I would have allowed an extra half hour travel just in case. If you did that and it wasn't enough then that was really bad luck.
I understand they couldn't see you. As Squiffy said the problem was the phone. Perhaps you should have left a message and they might have got back and told you to rebook..

I was 15 minutes late once but was told to make another appointment and that was before all the extra difficulties encountered with COVID.
I felt very guilty but there was nothing I could do about it.

Oh, dear. No sympathy there, Donna, but they are right. I do think that the receptionist might have dealt with it better, though.

It sounds as though you’re in the middle of a course of treatment so you’d have difficulty getting another dentist to take you on.

Being late for your appointment will have cost your dentist money as he or she will still have had to pay staff & other overheads.

I’m not a dentist but I do work to an appointment system.

I always remember one Christmas when I went in early to fit a client in. It was a 30min appointment and she was 25mins late.
My next client was waiting and I had a full day ahead.
If I had run 25mins late it would have inconvenienced about 8 people, one or two who may have been on their lunch break.

Yes, although you were a victim of circumstance the dentist had no choice IMO.

My client never returned, she was so cross. ??‍♀️

You telephone the Dentist to say you are stuck in Traffic and will be late...You are answered with a Answer Machine.

I think that’s the frustrating bit! You tried to contact your dentist, but couldn’t actually soeak to anyone.

Had you been able to do so, they would probably advised rebooking.

You can’t expect a dentist to still see you when you are 45 minutes late whether it’s your fault or not They have their
appointment scheduled for the day and that’s it I m afraid

If they keep you waiting it’s quite different it may be because they had a difficult or frightened patient or a more complex surgery than expected thats just to be expected sometimes

Do you leave the dentist quietly or do you argue the point you have NO point to argue

If you are not satisfied with the treatment find another dentist but you can’t blame him/her on this occasion

I hope that you were polite to the receptionist?

If not an apology is in order. The dentist wouldn’t have been able to fill the slot booked for you, you are lucky they didn’t charge you for a missed appointment.

I think you need to find a dentist nearer to your home.

Receptionist should at the very least have been understanding of what had happened; as I am sure you understand the strict rules that are currently governing appointments.

My dentist is round the corner....usually walk. Why is yours so far away? They are operating so strictly at the minute. Mine has to deep clean after any treatments involving’ splashing’. This takes an hour. Anything else, like a check up, are all put in the same day. I can’t see how he could wait 5 mins. certainly not 45. Surely you’ve done it before and know how difficult it can be as regards parking etc. Sorry, but I wouldn’t have treated you either.

Sorry, this is going to sound harsh. If you are asking whether you were justified in losing your rag in the dentist’s office and berating the receptionist, no you were not.

I understand the frustration you feel, but the receptionist did nothing wrong, he/she was merely enforcing the surgery’s policy on late arrivals. Behaving badly because you arrived late is ungracious. You really ought to write a note apologising.

If you have a gripe about previous work done by the dentist, that isn’t the receptionist’s fault, either.

What would I have done? Controlled my frustration, apologised for failing to arrive in time for my appointment, and made a new one. But I’d probably have set out earlier - my dentist is over 200 miles away, and I usually arrive an hour early because I factor time for in major traffic delays.

Ditto what Chewbacca and OldWoman said.

We are not allowed to arrive early so no sitting in the waiting room. The appointments are so spaced to allow for thorough cleaning between patients. Our dentists are working 7 days a week to catch up.

Yes, YABU

I agree with Oldwoman70