There are mathematical equations for just about everything, and today I pondered whether there might be one that can be applied to wait times. It would surely involve proportionality. Basically, the time you will spend in any waiting room is proportional to the newness and quality of the magazines. I called in this morning, without an appointment, to my preferred beauty therapist. The waiting room is luxurious, and the magazines are pristine, plentiful, current and appealing. I was hoping for a wee delay in appointment availability - say fifteen minutes would have been perfect. But no, I was whisked in straight away.
Conversely, in my experience, a waiting room where the reading matter consists of decades old Readers' Digests and National Geographics, dog-eared and liberally sprinkled with dubious stains, one can be assured of a long wait.
In the average doctor's waiting room, whatever imagined ailment that brought you in will pale into insignificance in comparison to what is waiting to ensnare you as you flick through that 2001 copy of The Watchtower ... and it will have plenty of time to infiltrate your system - you do the maths!
I avoid doctors for this reason!
ReplyDeleteGreat post and I agree with your equation.
ReplyDeleteThere is a definite relationship between the time of wait and the quality of reading material. (If it's not part of Murphy's Law then it should be - kind of like waiting at traffic lights - they change much quicker if you want to look at a map or find something in the glove box).
Always, when there is good reading material yur name gets called straight away.