eff the customer, or...'done in by The Man'

I shouldn’t be so abrasive. The Eleven had some excellent encounters with the real world yesterday: she at the dentist, I at the IRS. I know my story better so I’ll give it the first whirl.

I left work early so I could get to the local IRS office by 3:30pm (they close at 4:30pm). I know that doesn’t leave DMV-quantity time, but it’s not like we’re in the midst of tax season. I had called the office beforehand and the message told me that there were only two types of inquiry that required appointments: tax preparation and handicap/special needs customers. All I needed was five minutes for some tax hack to pull up my account, tell me what they added, where they got the information, and tell me what form I need to fill out to begin the process of countering their excellent work. What I got was a desk lady telling me at 3:30pm that they aren’t seeing anyone else because there are still four people waiting for help. So? Do I care? Nope. I’m perfectly happy to sit in your waiting room to see if I can slip in before 4:30pm. She claims they don’t normally do that, make people wait without a number and all, but she’s clearly befuddled by my showing up at her desk during business hours…the nerve! The only option she had now was to go behind the cubicle dividers (with cipher locks?) and find someone to get me away from her. Out comes another IRS cartoon character and she relays the same story and recommends showing up at 8:30am to get a number and sit in the waiting room for up to five hours. Or, she can give me an appointment for sometime in June of 2035 (or next month). I say to her that they don’t recommend jack on the phone, in fact, they tell me that only the above two areas are valid for appointments. So I took my 2004 tax form from her, my letter from the IRS confirming how they’ve helped me, kicked her in the shins, and walked out the door...pissed. If I have it all lined up correctly in my head, here’s how it works: IRS adds some mystery tax bill to my account, charges me monthly interest, tells me to call the 800 number that can’t help me, tells me to remedy the issue by June 4th, can’t help me in the office unless I have eight hours to sit around steaming at their ineptitude, can make me an appointment three weeks away, and generally just expects me to be happy. Love it.

X ended up at the dentist office yesterday to speak with them about a bill for the boys. Her tale gets me more worked up than the IRS because I recognize the IRS as a ship manned by fools. I know they’re dysfunctional. A local dentist office is different; you’re standing right there while it’s happening, yet you get screwed in the end anyway. The short story is that they made some routine dental work choices (filling types and associated costs) that they knew weren’t covered by insurance. They didn’t tell her they were making these choices, knowing they weren’t covered, but still manage to standby the “you should know your insurance” line. That line is true but wasn’t the actual debate. If you don’t say you’re going to do A and/or B then my intimacy with my policy is irrelevant. In the end, X got a big bill for services that weren’t needed: nitrous and white fillings. The dentist knew the insurance issue with the nitrous (most don't cover it) but appears to have a soft spot for the comfort of children (a good thing), and felt that nitrous would make them happier (more comfortable?), so she did it without asking the parent if it was all right. That decision alone ends up being a chunk of money for two kids and multiple appointments. The white composites fillings for back teeth are just silly. Anyhow, X stood her ground and went to speak with them face-to-face after getting nowhere with the office manager. She had a short chat with the dentist/owner, who then went to fetch the dentist who did the work, and told her to explain her thought process during the treatment. After this recreation, and when both X and the dentist came to an agreement on some middle ground, the office offered to cut the bill by 50% and X accepted. It’s probably the best anyone could hope for in the instance, but I still have reservations about unexplained activities that involve other people’s money, particularly when we’re talking routine medical services. You certainly can’t walk into a dentist office and tell them to do some work and afterwards you’ll decide what you think is ‘best’ for payment. If there are choices for medical care than those choices should be provided. If we make the wrong decision because we didn’t understand our insurance, bad on us; but to intimate that we should be in the exam room during the procedures, and watching everything the dentist is doing, is just wrong.

Cake or death?

We’ve got a concert to attend at the Birchmere tonight…I’ll be nicer tomorrow.

T.