Vinegar, Honey and Frustration

There's that old saying that people are quite fond of--"You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."  Sure, there is some truth to the saying.  Being nice when speaking to someone , using "honey," mostly gets you better results than being "vinegary."  But that's only mostly, and not always.  You see, there's another saying that also is relevant--"The squeaky wheel gets the grease."  Sometimes you just have to make yourself heard, and loudly, or you are not going to get any results.

There seems to be one area where the second saying has more application, and this is when trying to reach a doctor or medical professional.  Oh, the people who answer the phones in the office or at the service are "sweet" enough, telling you that they will give the message to the doctor or other practitioner.  What they fail, on a regular basis, to tell you is that message may be delivered in this century, or maybe not.  And the doctor may answer you in this century, or maybe not.

All I needed was a really simple "yes" or "no" answer to a question.  Yes, I made that clear on the message machine and with the person who eventually answered the phone.  No, sigh, I didn't get that simple answer in a timely fashion.  And yes, I was as sweet as sugar as I called, and called, and called.  When push and shove finally were about to collide I called back and in a honey-laden voice informed the receptionist that if I didn't get the answer I needed immediately, the $279 expense I was going to be incurring because of lack of that answer would be sent to them for payment, since it was their fault that the expense occurred.  And should they cavil at paying that expense, I would be more than happy to speak with my attorney, presenting her with the black and white record of how I tried to get an answer and the doctor refused to give me one.

Time from that call to when the doctor called back and gave me the answer?  About 45 seconds.  Honey?  Sometimes squeaking is what is needed.  Also please keep in mind that honey may work with flies, but, as I discovered when speaking to someone yesterday, termites and cockroaches have an affinity for vinegar.  You have to know what type of "insect" you are dealing with, and act accordingly.