"Very rude physio receptionist!"

I have not yet attended my first physio appointment but because of the way I was dealt with on the phone I am dreading it.

I phoned the number on the letter I received at 8.30am - the letter said to call between 8am and 4pm. There was no reply but a message was left asking for my name and phone number. The receptionist called me back when I was in the bath and left and very bored sounding rude message. It told me to call the number. No ‘good morning’ or ‘sorry we missed your call’. No ‘please’ call back. No pleasantries at all. It crossed my mind that the person was annoyed I hadn’t answered my phone even though I’’m a patient and could be doing anything to prevent me answering the phone (driving, working etc). And the only reason the receptionist had to call me was because her department hadn’t answered my call during the time requested. I

When I called back I got the rudest response I’ve ever had from a medical receptionist! I was polite and explained I’d missed her call as if been in the bath. I gave her my name and I had several minutes of pure silence. No pleasantries or basic conversation like ‘good morning, thank you for calling back’. As the silence was so long I wondered if she was transferring my call to someone else to book my appointment. I was given no explanation for the lack of any response. After a while I said ‘hello’ as I feared I’d got cut off. Not once did she say anything along the lines of ‘I am just looking for an appointment for you, I won’t be long’. She could even have used my name or said she was sorry to keep me waiting - anything would have been helpful. After I while she cane back on the phone and just gave me a date and time spoken in a very short sharp way. I felt it I was nuisance to her and that it was take it or leave it. I bravely asked her if that was the earliest one and she said ‘yes’. This receptionist has very poor people skills and desperately needs extra training or moving to a job that suits her better. I am a very confident and articulate English middle class woman and I felt as if I was treated very dustaingully. It must be awful for older vulnerable people or people without English as a first language having to cope with such a rude unhelpful person as their first contact with physiotheraohy help. It was because of elderly people who need physio that I have completed this review because I wouldn’t want them to have to deal with such a dreadful, short, sharp, distainful, unfriendly, rude woman on the phone