next2friendsblog.com

Maybe I should have taken it as a sign when I was visiting New York City two years ago. I was at a clothing store, had just picked out a few things to buy, brought them up to the counter and couldn’t get any of the three sales clerks who were standing not four feet from me to ring up my purchase. They laughed, and talked, and seemed quite self-satisfied. In fact life looked quite perfect if it weren’t for me, a mild irritation, that stood before them needing them to DO THEIR JOB!

Well, I didn’t take it as a sign. Three months ago my wife and I moved to New York City from the Midwest, truly believing that:

“It can’t be that different.”

“It’s going to be hard, but we’ll find our footing.”

and

“CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE SAME NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO, RIGHT?”

Wrong. Since we’ve been here we’ve collected an astonishing catalogue of instances and interactions that prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

CUSTOMER SERVICE IN NEW YORK CITY IS AN OXYMORON!

Exhibit A

I struggled for a while to find health insurance. Not making much money actually made the situation easier, New York has several programs for people making below a certain amount of money and while it took a while to find them, I applied and was quickly accepted. New York City: 1 point.

So I was quite happy as I walked to my first appointment at my new clinic. I walked into the building, went up to the second floor, signed in at the front desk and sat down. A few moments later the receptionist called me back up and asked who I was there to see. I told her and was met with a blank expression. Now, what I didn’t know, and what she DID know was that there was a clinic downstairs that shared their address. Being the case wouldn’t you think that people being in the wrong place was a pretty common phenomenon? Like, maybe a daily phenomenon? Well, the light didn’t go on for her. She twisted her face and called her coworker over.

“This man is here to see Doctor Blank, we don’t have a Doctor Blank here do we?”

They debated for perhaps 5 minutes, going back and forth about how there really wasn’t, and never was, a Doctor Blank who worked there. And further, if there was, he worked there before either of them had started over a year ago. Ha! Gotcha! They had both worked there for longer than a year. So insert more vacant expressions and much hemming and hawing for another 5 minutes while I just stood there and finally one of them lights up and says,

“Well, which program are you here for? Chemical Dependency or Felon Transitioning?”

I kind of laughed and said,

“Neither, I’m here to see my General Practice Physician for the first time.”

“OHHHH, you’re in the wrong place. Ok, there is a clinic downstairs and to the right that has the same street number as us, that’s where you want to be.”

Wow. Ok, well, at least these ladies were trying to help me, I don’t feel that I should take away anything from the fact that they were earnestly trying, even if it took around 10-15 minutes to get there, they persisted. Which is more than I can say for my new clinic downstairs.

Tune in tomorrow, it gets worse.

Hans Erik

Content Marketing Director
Next2Friends
http://www.next2friends.com