Mitchell Robert E Jr MD Virginia Physicians

(Note: office visit was earlier in the year, but had not finished the post).
My husband had an early appointment but was having difficulty finding the office. Starting at 8:40 a.m., I tried calling the office but it went to the physicians answering service. I tried again, and it did the same thing. We finally located the office building, and arrived at 8:55 a.m. After my husband checked in, I told an older lady, who was the receptionist, about trying to call and having it go to the answering service. First, she said that they had been receiving calls that morning. Then she looked at the phone. She actually laughed and said «I guess we forgot to switch the phones back from the answering service — that happens sometimes.» Another employee walked into her area and she was laughing telling her about «forgetting to turn the phones back on.» I mentioned to her that they need to be more careful in the future and she apologized. I do not think she handled this situation professionally, and it definitely didn’t seem to be a concern of hers, even though it was an inconvenience for the patient and their family.
I would recommend the person in charge of this office stress to the receptionists about the importance of the phone system and how a person with an appointment might not think it’s a laughing matter to be inconvenienced.