DOING IT RIGHT NO LONGER SEEMS TO MATTER

Shirley Ann Parker

It can't just be bad luck, but neither can my husband and I have angered anyone enough to justify our being singled out for such generally incompetent service as we’ve been receiving in recent years. While we generally try to maintain a positive attitude toward the twists and turns of life, this poor service is happening, so much so that it must also be going on all around us, driving other people crazy, too. Regardless of who we deal with--tradesperson, sales office, insurance claims adjustor, dispensing optician's lab, car repair shop, bank card processing center--the odds are short that somewhere along the line, the process will go awry. Doing it right no longer seems to matter.

A number of people are wonderfully courteous while they make their inexplicable mistakes--"sweet idiots" my husband calls them. Yet a little cynicism is nudging its way into our attitudes now. Incompetence is so commonplace that we no longer really expect anything to be done right the first time. Of course, we then enjoy that delightful surprise when something does go right. For example, when we added an item of value to the personal articles floater attached to our homeowners insurance, it was handled both promptly and correctly. Thanks, Vic. We appreciated that.

Certainly not just uncaring sales clerks or poorly-trained tellers spoil the reputations of their conscientious colleagues and provide their customers with inconveniences and delays that could easily have been avoided. Often, a situation is out of the control of the local representative. For instance, we recently ordered electronics equipment for a family member to use in his employment. It did not arrive at the retail store when it was supposed to, nor did it come the following week. After the equally angry, frustrated store manager made a phone call to the opposite coast, the test equipment was sent out. But it is minus a critical part of the order, so still cannot be used.

A popular but expensive photographic filter, paid for in advance -- as required at another establishment -- and promised for delivery in ten days, did not arrive for 3-1/2 months, with no explanations being given for the delay, in spite of numerous inquiries. The outing that had required the use of the filter came and went, as did several others.

Likewise, our bank promptly processed my check guarantee card application but lost my husband's. He filled out another form for me to take back to the bank's apologetic employee and will continue to wait in hope. His alternative is to keep living without what many merchants insist on seeing before they accept a check. And "experts" wonder why so many people charge their purchases. Naturally, with the increase in fraud, they frequently now ask to see your driver's license, if your credit card doesn't have your photograph on it.

Turning to things medical. Six weeks ago, I ordered bifocal eyeglasses with a light tint (Gray #1) to cut glare from indoor lighting. The lab manufactured the lenses as trifocals. The order was resubmitted. The lab then manufactured the glasses as bifocals with Gray #6 coloring, a much darker shade. I am still waiting for the prescription to be filled correctly.

Trying to get numerous legitimate medical claims paid has been an exercise in massive futility and frustration over a ten month period. With one exception, every claim submitted to the health insurance company was processed incorrectly or not at all. Only notification of serious intent to file a lawsuit finally got corrective action from a senior official in the company. However, we are still waiting for the largest reimbursement to be sent to us.

It isn't just the insurance side of it that has been alarming. Once a highly-delicate medical procedure was almost performed on me without my being given allergy-suppressant medication during the preceding 24 hours. A previous test had revealed my allergic reaction to the proposed contrast agent and there was a note to that effect in my file. Only my reminding the attending nurse of my allergy at the last moment prevented a possible disaster. I fully realize that medical personnel are overworked but at least one someone in a position of responsibility should have checked my file the day before. No one did.

Two major surgeries, though competently performed, have left me with unpleasant side effects, the likelihood of which was not explained in advance. My medical history indicates that I face at least one more possible surgery, for a condition unrelated to the others, at some time in the future. I should recuperate beautifully, according to the latest physicians. They’ve got to be kidding. With everything else that’s been happening, I’m cheerfully going to put myself in harm’s way again? I would first like to feel confident that doing it right does indeed matter.

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