A Day of Despair
A Day of Despair at the Hospital
Wednesday was a day of despair for me. I could have just called it “Woeful Wednesday” too. It was not a good day for me at all. The real challenge is trying to determine an excellent starting point for my tail of travail and disappointment.
Chronological is the easiest choice.
My Wednesday started off great for me. Traffic was light going to school and the class went well for me. I had expected class to go well since it was also the class before the mid-term examination and the day of study review.
When I left school to go to the hospital for an appointment with the colorectal surgeons, my day started to fall apart rapidly.
Normally, the drive from school to the hospital takes about 40 minutes or so. It took almost 75 minutes. There was a three car wreck on the freeway that I had to take to the appointment. I found out about the wreck after it was too late to make a simple course and speed correction. I was stuck in the backed up traffic. I did finally get off and have to make a more complex correction on surface streets. I got to the hospital about 15 minutes before my appointment.
Doug was even worried about me because he was there and I wasn’t there yet. He even called me but I didn’t answer him because I was on the freeway driving at about 70 miles an hour.
My appointment was scheduled for 1:00 PM. One of the nurses called me fairly close to 1:00 to take my vital signs. I was normal. That was nice. Then, I sat around until a little after 2:00 PM when I was called by a doctor.
Actually, I was called by a fake doctor; she was a Nurse Practioner. Based on the comments she made during a simple examination of me, she was not very experienced with patients who had colon cancer. She said she was supposed to be doing an evaluation of me with a view towards going forward with a reconnection surgery.
Dr. Karen and I both know that the colorectal surgeons have never done a complete evaluation of me.
What was purported to be an evaluation was a simple review by Doug and me of the historical facts and what had transpired before. The fake doctor took the information down and then left to consult with her supervisor.
Doug and I sat in the exam room for maybe fifteen minutes when she returned and told us to go wait in the waiting room because she needed the exam room for another patient. After waiting an hour, Doug got bothered and so did I.
I spoke to the fake doctor when she was at the admitting desk. When I asked how much longer I had to wait, she said they would mail me a new appointment notice.
Obviously, she had no answer when I asked why I had to sit and wait for over an hour only to be told that the hospital would mail me another appointment notice.
Since I was at the hospital, I decided to have my blood tests taken. I drove to the main building to look for a parking spot. I couldn’t find one so I drove home and changed. I drove back later and found a parking spot with no trouble at all. I was in and out of the blood test in about twenty minutes.
While I was waiting for the blood test, I decided to go out for dinner since I had no lunch, what with the colorectal surgeons and the blood testing. I chose Bob’s Big Boy in Torrance as a good venue for my dinner.
Bob’s Big Boy in Torrance Failure to Cook Well
I didn’t need a fancy meal, just some good tasting simple food. Bob’s Big Boy let me down or failed which would be a much better word.
I got to the restaurant early so I could get in and out quickly. There were very few customers inside when I arrived.
I should have recognized this as the omen of doom that it was.
I wanted a bowl of chili and beans with onions and cheese, a Big Boy combination with French fries, and a salad. Not too much of a challenge; at least, that was what I thought my dinner would be.
I was wrong. Oh, the chili was perfect but then it came in a can and only required heating, diced fresh onions, and grated American or cheddar cheese on top.
My server was Araceli and I strongly believe she had absolutely no interest in seeing me have a good meal. Her gross lack of concern was naturally reflected in her non-tip. The salad was so watery from water clinging to the lettuce that the croutons were soggy. Not a great eating moment.
The French fries were overcooked. I know what properly cooked French fries taste like and Bob’s Big Boy didn’t serve proper French fries.
It would have been nice to have some mustard with my hamburger. There was no mustard on the table and Araceli never even asked if I wanted any before she disappeared to talk with another server.
I asked for an Arnold Palmer [half iced tea and half lemonade] to drink. Araceli brought me one that was only one quarter iced tea, marginally acceptable. Then, she brought me a refill that was all iced tea.
Naturally, she didn’t ask how my meal not that I could have answered since I had a mouthful of hamburger to chew on.
At this point, I was only mildly furious. Bob’s Big Boy still had a chance to avoid this flaming review had either Araceli shown any interest in me or the supervisor and one of the other servers even bothered to ask. Araceli had disappeared for all I know but I didn’t care anymore so why bother.
I stared at the supervisor and the other server, who were both involved in a conversation that probably was not about customer service, in order to get their attention. Twice, they looked at me and ignored me only to return to their personal conversation.
After ten minutes, I gave up and walked to leave. The server who had ignored me for ten minutes asked how my meal was. That was when I unloaded on her and told her that it was horrible and that horrible was the only descriptive term that I could use in mixed company. I told her that the salad was watery, the French fries were overcooked, and that the sever ignored, the same way she and the supervisor had ignored me.
She blinked and opened and closed her mouth, much like a mute puppet and said nothing.
It goes without saying that I won’t be going to Bob’s Big Boy in Torrance ever again. It is definitely a place to avoid at all costs. I would have rather had a box of MREs instead of what I endured there on Wednesday night.
Other Ironies of the Day
I got a call from school while I was waiting for my chili to be served. One of the department chairs was looking for someone to substitute that night. I explained that I was not dressed to teach and that I was not at home. The earliest that I thought I could be at school would be around 7:30 PM, just in time for the break.
I had to decline the request. I was tired and not in the mood to fight rush hour traffic for a theory mile drive to school.
Visitor traffic dropped off sharply last week. I think this had something to do with the 4th of July Holiday weekend in the United States. We had 545 visitors who viewed 795 unique pages. I do appreciate all of you who stop by and visit the blog.
Be well and stay happy.
Wednesday was a day of despair for me. I could have just called it “Woeful Wednesday” too. It was not a good day for me at all. The real challenge is trying to determine an excellent starting point for my tail of travail and disappointment.
Chronological is the easiest choice.
My Wednesday started off great for me. Traffic was light going to school and the class went well for me. I had expected class to go well since it was also the class before the mid-term examination and the day of study review.
When I left school to go to the hospital for an appointment with the colorectal surgeons, my day started to fall apart rapidly.
Normally, the drive from school to the hospital takes about 40 minutes or so. It took almost 75 minutes. There was a three car wreck on the freeway that I had to take to the appointment. I found out about the wreck after it was too late to make a simple course and speed correction. I was stuck in the backed up traffic. I did finally get off and have to make a more complex correction on surface streets. I got to the hospital about 15 minutes before my appointment.
Doug was even worried about me because he was there and I wasn’t there yet. He even called me but I didn’t answer him because I was on the freeway driving at about 70 miles an hour.
My appointment was scheduled for 1:00 PM. One of the nurses called me fairly close to 1:00 to take my vital signs. I was normal. That was nice. Then, I sat around until a little after 2:00 PM when I was called by a doctor.
Actually, I was called by a fake doctor; she was a Nurse Practioner. Based on the comments she made during a simple examination of me, she was not very experienced with patients who had colon cancer. She said she was supposed to be doing an evaluation of me with a view towards going forward with a reconnection surgery.
Dr. Karen and I both know that the colorectal surgeons have never done a complete evaluation of me.
What was purported to be an evaluation was a simple review by Doug and me of the historical facts and what had transpired before. The fake doctor took the information down and then left to consult with her supervisor.
Doug and I sat in the exam room for maybe fifteen minutes when she returned and told us to go wait in the waiting room because she needed the exam room for another patient. After waiting an hour, Doug got bothered and so did I.
I spoke to the fake doctor when she was at the admitting desk. When I asked how much longer I had to wait, she said they would mail me a new appointment notice.
Obviously, she had no answer when I asked why I had to sit and wait for over an hour only to be told that the hospital would mail me another appointment notice.
Since I was at the hospital, I decided to have my blood tests taken. I drove to the main building to look for a parking spot. I couldn’t find one so I drove home and changed. I drove back later and found a parking spot with no trouble at all. I was in and out of the blood test in about twenty minutes.
While I was waiting for the blood test, I decided to go out for dinner since I had no lunch, what with the colorectal surgeons and the blood testing. I chose Bob’s Big Boy in Torrance as a good venue for my dinner.
Bob’s Big Boy in Torrance Failure to Cook Well
I didn’t need a fancy meal, just some good tasting simple food. Bob’s Big Boy let me down or failed which would be a much better word.
I got to the restaurant early so I could get in and out quickly. There were very few customers inside when I arrived.
I should have recognized this as the omen of doom that it was.
I wanted a bowl of chili and beans with onions and cheese, a Big Boy combination with French fries, and a salad. Not too much of a challenge; at least, that was what I thought my dinner would be.
I was wrong. Oh, the chili was perfect but then it came in a can and only required heating, diced fresh onions, and grated American or cheddar cheese on top.
My server was Araceli and I strongly believe she had absolutely no interest in seeing me have a good meal. Her gross lack of concern was naturally reflected in her non-tip. The salad was so watery from water clinging to the lettuce that the croutons were soggy. Not a great eating moment.
The French fries were overcooked. I know what properly cooked French fries taste like and Bob’s Big Boy didn’t serve proper French fries.
It would have been nice to have some mustard with my hamburger. There was no mustard on the table and Araceli never even asked if I wanted any before she disappeared to talk with another server.
I asked for an Arnold Palmer [half iced tea and half lemonade] to drink. Araceli brought me one that was only one quarter iced tea, marginally acceptable. Then, she brought me a refill that was all iced tea.
Naturally, she didn’t ask how my meal not that I could have answered since I had a mouthful of hamburger to chew on.
At this point, I was only mildly furious. Bob’s Big Boy still had a chance to avoid this flaming review had either Araceli shown any interest in me or the supervisor and one of the other servers even bothered to ask. Araceli had disappeared for all I know but I didn’t care anymore so why bother.
I stared at the supervisor and the other server, who were both involved in a conversation that probably was not about customer service, in order to get their attention. Twice, they looked at me and ignored me only to return to their personal conversation.
After ten minutes, I gave up and walked to leave. The server who had ignored me for ten minutes asked how my meal was. That was when I unloaded on her and told her that it was horrible and that horrible was the only descriptive term that I could use in mixed company. I told her that the salad was watery, the French fries were overcooked, and that the sever ignored, the same way she and the supervisor had ignored me.
She blinked and opened and closed her mouth, much like a mute puppet and said nothing.
It goes without saying that I won’t be going to Bob’s Big Boy in Torrance ever again. It is definitely a place to avoid at all costs. I would have rather had a box of MREs instead of what I endured there on Wednesday night.
Other Ironies of the Day
I got a call from school while I was waiting for my chili to be served. One of the department chairs was looking for someone to substitute that night. I explained that I was not dressed to teach and that I was not at home. The earliest that I thought I could be at school would be around 7:30 PM, just in time for the break.
I had to decline the request. I was tired and not in the mood to fight rush hour traffic for a theory mile drive to school.
Visitor traffic dropped off sharply last week. I think this had something to do with the 4th of July Holiday weekend in the United States. We had 545 visitors who viewed 795 unique pages. I do appreciate all of you who stop by and visit the blog.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 12:45 PM
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