Help me solve this problem

[logicalq]

Hi, I have done several different questions and give aways on the forum.
like https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=876338
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=857456.msg9543516#msg9543516

Now here's a question I have for a small tip I will send.
Its sort of a daily life problem that me or someone faces.


I run a Clinic(doctor) , and I have people come in with and without appointments. But the people here aren't really disciplined sorts and sometimes come later or don't come at all.

So here is what has happened till now

Past: So I have been running this clinic since an year and I started by taking appointments . People used to book a slot and show up at the time. And I used to have a list of say 10 people based on the slots booked.
Now the problem was that people did not use to show up on their booked time and would show late and sometimes not show up at all.
Due to this, it used to cause inconvenience as if they come late I have to sometimes accommodate them, and I also have people who come in without appointments. And are added on the list of patients to see that particular day. Sometimes people would start arguing after booking a slot and coming in late. And would lead to a sort of a fight.


Present: Now I have removed the home appointment system. I sort of have people who would book their slots from home a day or 2 before. But will now have to show up at the clinic at their time and only after they come they are added to the list. So its a win-win for now. But the problem is that if someone comes to the clinic and the list is say 10 people long, then it would cause a waste of their time waiting. As right now, I don't allow people to book slots from home and they have to show up to get their place on the list.
But the waste of time is the drawback of this.


Solution to come up with:
Now I am asking you guys to come up with a solution to the problem.
I have thought to 2 ways already but not that efficient:.
1. If people book a slot, then I can warn them before hand(to avoid any arguments) that if they don't come by the slot time booked, then I will cancel their booking and their name would go to the end of the list.
2 . Give them a call just before the appointment time, and ask if they will show up at that time. But again, if they find traffic then they might just delay it, and argue after showing up late.

Feel free to post on how would you solve the problem, and I will be happy to send you a small tip. I want to save people the time and myself from arguing with people who show up late.

[1714860290]

1714860290

[sgk]

--> Ditch the appointment idea altogether.
--> Let people directly come to the clinic when they want, put them on the list once they show up.
--> Once your current list reaches the daily limit (let's say 10 people) and you think you can't accommodate more, just put a "We're Closed" sign on front door.
--> Give people an option to call your receptionist in case they have doubts about whether you would be able to accommodated them in today's list

Appointments are for managing time slots efficiently. If people don't maintain their appointments, the whole idea diminishes.

[sinisuba]

I think you should tell everyone that books an appointment if he/she doesn't show up 30 minutes after the booked time it's going to be cancelled and needs to be re-scheduled. Pretty much what you wrote in 1.

[goose20]

My chiropractor has a sign that says anyone missing or turning up late for appointments will be charged a $20 fee.

I dont actually think he'll  charge the fee - it acts as a good deterrent, as in he is making it known that he doesnt accept lateness etc so people make extra special effort not to do this or at least call and inform reception if something has come up.

[hax0r-neo]

You said people used to book an slot and show up at time. What happened? Did anything change in the meanwhile?

[erikalui]

Solution to come up with:
Now I am asking you guys to come up with a solution to the problem.
I have thought to 2 ways already but not that efficient:.
1. If people book a slot, then I can warn them before hand(to avoid any arguments) that if they don't come by the slot time booked, then I will cancel their booking and their name would go to the end of the list.
2 . Give them a call just before the appointment time, and ask if they will show up at that time. But again, if they find traffic then they might just delay it, and argue after showing up late.

Feel free to post on how would you solve the problem, and I will be happy to send you a small tip. I want to save people the time and myself from arguing with people who show up late.

I would like to know how much time does one appointment take as my family doctor takes about 10-15 minutes per patient and attends to minimum 20 patients in 4 hours. If this is the case with you:

For the first solution, I would suggest the following change:

People who have booked the slot but have arrived late due to some reason can either choose to change their slot at a time that is not booked already or as you have suggested to add the name to the end of the list.

Also, usually my doctors attend to patients who have arrived without appointments first if the person who has booked the slot hasn't arrived. The time also is utilized and the patients have not to wait for hours in the dispensary.

For the second solution, , I would suggest the following change:



It's better to have an alert system wherein the patient can book an appointment online and get a confirmation message along with the condition placed that he/she should arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the appointment time else the slot will be changed/cancelled. You can send an automated alert to the patient who has booked an appointment and the person would need to reply to that message to confirm the same. This would save your time as well and the message should read "If there is any delay in the arrival (15 minutes to 30 minutes delay), your appointment would be scheduled to a later time..." This would avoid any kind of fights as the person is already aware of the message. If he/she does not reply to the message and arrives late, still there wouldn't be any issue as while booking the appointment, they will be aware of the condition.

[bronan]

This is indeed a hard problem because some actually do not care at all, but others like me can get stuck in insane traffic.
However i think charging a fine for not showing up would in my view a good idea, and i think those having a traffic issue should call when they think they would arrive more than  5 to 10 minutes later after the appointment.
It worked for me and most people who allways appear at will, changed their behaviour by either call before they do not show up or actually do show up.
In my work i entered the same rules 20 euro for showing up late (over 10 minutes late) and not call before entering or giving a good excuse.
Some seem to not care at all and i charge them a full consult after 3 times not showing up or not letting me know or giving a good excuse.
When they disappear as customer i kinda not care anymore, they simply refuse to cooperate and thats not what you want.

[neoneros]

Charging a fee for not showing up on time as suggested is very common where I live.

Another sollution is to open the office early, let people make appointments an hour earlier than you actually will consult them. This way, someone can be an hour late for the appointment and still be on time. This is also common where I live, the doctor is always in late and the first appointments start half an hour later than scheduled.

If you keep tolerating that people show up late and still get their consult, then they will never learn, if this really bugs you, stop consulting them! let them come the next day!

[TheButterZone]

No-shows get converted to housecalls only, at a much higher fee. If they need stuff that can only be done in the clinic, then they follow you back there from their house.

[PolarPoint]

Create 2 queues: Appointments and No appointments. You will alternately see the first patient from each queue. You can adjust ratio according to the length of each queue, 1:1 or 2:1.

No appointment queue is ordered by the time they arrive and register, easy.

Appointment queue is ordered by the booking time. If they arrive late, they are still on the appointment queue, but ordered by their arrival time not booking time.

[logicalq]

Thanks a lot for the replies. I will just comment on them individually in batches of 2 to 3.

--> Ditch the appointment idea altogether.
--> Let people directly come to the clinic when they want, put them on the list once they show up.
--> Once your current list reaches the daily limit (let's say 10 people) and you think you can't accommodate more, just put a "We're Closed" sign on front door.
--> Give people an option to call your receptionist in case they have doubts about whether you would be able to accommodated them in today's list

Appointments are for managing time slots efficiently. If people don't maintain their appointments, the whole idea diminishes.

I can't ditch the appointments. As thats the main point.  If people come directly to the clinic , they will be wasting a lot of their time just by waiting.

I think you should tell everyone that books an appointment if he/she doesn't show up 30 minutes after the booked time it's going to be cancelled and needs to be re-scheduled. Pretty much what you wrote in 1.

Yeah I thought of that. But people aren't easily pleased around here with that solution.

My chiropractor has a sign that says anyone missing or turning up late for appointments will be charged a $20 fee.

I dont actually think he'll  charge the fee - it acts as a good deterrent, as in he is making it known that he doesnt accept lateness etc so people make extra special effort not to do this or at least call and inform reception if something has come up.

I already charge a high fees . Charging a higher fees is kind of not what I would want to do. And I am sure they won't be happy or pleased with it.

[logicalq]

You said people used to book an slot and show up at time. What happened? Did anything change in the meanwhile?

Well some people didn't show up on time. And due to that we had a argument between 2 of the clients.
Didn't end well.

Solution to come up with:
Now I am asking you guys to come up with a solution to the problem.
I have thought to 2 ways already but not that efficient:.
1. If people book a slot, then I can warn them before hand(to avoid any arguments) that if they don't come by the slot time booked, then I will cancel their booking and their name would go to the end of the list.
2 . Give them a call just before the appointment time, and ask if they will show up at that time. But again, if they find traffic then they might just delay it, and argue after showing up late.

Feel free to post on how would you solve the problem, and I will be happy to send you a small tip. I want to save people the time and myself from arguing with people who show up late.

I would like to know how much time does one appointment take as my family doctor takes about 10-15 minutes per patient and attends to minimum 20 patients in 4 hours. If this is the case with you:

For the first solution, I would suggest the following change:

People who have booked the slot but have arrived late due to some reason can either choose to change their slot at a time that is not booked already or as you have suggested to add the name to the end of the list.

Also, usually my doctors attend to patients who have arrived without appointments first if the person who has booked the slot hasn't arrived. The time also is utilized and the patients have not to wait for hours in the dispensary.

For the second solution, , I would suggest the following change:



It's better to have an alert system wherein the patient can book an appointment online and get a confirmation message along with the condition placed that he/she should arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the appointment time else the slot will be changed/cancelled. You can send an automated alert to the patient who has booked an appointment and the person would need to reply to that message to confirm the same. This would save your time as well and the message should read "If there is any delay in the arrival (15 minutes to 30 minutes delay), your appointment would be scheduled to a later time..." This would avoid any kind of fights as the person is already aware of the message. If he/she does not reply to the message and arrives late, still there wouldn't be any issue as while booking the appointment, they will be aware of the condition.

 All slots get booked as there is a big rush , so not really a possibility.

This is indeed a hard problem because some actually do not care at all, but others like me can get stuck in insane traffic.
However i think charging a fine for not showing up would in my view a good idea, and i think those having a traffic issue should call when they think they would arrive more than  5 to 10 minutes later after the appointment.
It worked for me and most people who allways appear at will, changed their behaviour by either call before they do not show up or actually do show up.
In my work i entered the same rules 20 euro for showing up late (over 10 minutes late) and not call before entering or giving a good excuse.
Some seem to not care at all and i charge them a full consult after 3 times not showing up or not letting me know or giving a good excuse.
When they disappear as customer i kinda not care anymore, they simply refuse to cooperate and thats not what you want.

Charging a fees is something I want to avoid, as won't be received well.

[logicalq]

Charging a fee for not showing up on time as suggested is very common where I live.

Another sollution is to open the office early, let people make appointments an hour earlier than you actually will consult them. This way, someone can be an hour late for the appointment and still be on time. This is also common where I live, the doctor is always in late and the first appointments start half an hour later than scheduled.

If you keep tolerating that people show up late and still get their consult, then they will never learn, if this really bugs you, stop consulting them! let them come the next day!

The problem is the queue in this case. if I book them an hour before, and show up early. They will still have a lot of unexpected customers waiting at the front desk who did not take appointments.

No-shows get converted to housecalls only, at a much higher fee. If they need stuff that can only be done in the clinic, then they follow you back there from their house.

High fees is not an option for me. But thanks for the reply

[logicalq]

Create 2 queues: Appointments and No appointments. You will alternately see the first patient from each queue. You can adjust ratio according to the length of each queue, 1:1 or 2:1.

No appointment queue is ordered by the time they arrive and register, easy.

Appointment queue is ordered by the booking time. If they arrive late, they are still on the appointment queue, but ordered by their arrival time not booking time.

Thats sounds like a perfect solution I will send you a tip. Also had a small question regarding this, will PM you .


Once again thanks for the help guys.
I don't actually own a clinic but had this problem at a clinic I visited today. And had to wait for an hour, even though I had an appointment . I will suggest this, and ask him to add this.  If anyone has a better solution, feel free to post. Will lock this thread in the next 2 days.

[ndnh]

Give a fixed number of slots for appointments. (like 10 or 20 depending on time/weekdays/holidays/etc.)
No fixed time for appointment.
Accommodate them as and when they come, whenever you get free.

If no booked patient is on the wait, accommodate those who comes without appointment. Simple as that.

Case scenario examples:
A,B,C took appointments, X,Y,Z did not.

1. A,B is present. X is present. Order: A or B whoever came first, then X.

2. A is present, X,Y,Z is present. A, then X,Y,Z in order of who came first.

3. No slot booked patient is present or are already over, start with X,Y,Z in order of who came first.

[PolarPoint]

Create 2 queues: Appointments and No appointments. You will alternately see the first patient from each queue. You can adjust ratio according to the length of each queue, 1:1 or 2:1.

No appointment queue is ordered by the time they arrive and register, easy.

Appointment queue is ordered by the booking time. If they arrive late, they are still on the appointment queue, but ordered by their arrival time not booking time.

Thats sounds like a perfect solution I will send you a tip. Also had a small question regarding this, will PM you .

Oh thanks! I thought of this system while I was waiting for a table in a restaurant. PM me another common real life problem if you want, will try my best.  

Edit: PM replied

[ndnh]

Create 2 queues: Appointments and No appointments. You will alternately see the first patient from each queue. You can adjust ratio according to the length of each queue, 1:1 or 2:1.

No appointment queue is ordered by the time they arrive and register, easy.

Appointment queue is ordered by the booking time. If they arrive late, they are still on the appointment queue, but ordered by their arrival time not booking time.

Thats sounds like a perfect solution I will send you a tip. Also had a small question regarding this, will PM you .

Oh thanks! I thought of this system while I was waiting for a table in a restaurant. PM me another common real life problem if you want, will try my best.  

Well, what if A,B is waiting at 14:00 after taking appointment for 12:00 and 13:00 and C who after taking appointment for 11:00 arrives at 13:00?
(D and E no-appointment is waiting on queue 2)

So, C becomes last? What if he is already frustrated and being late wasn't his fault at all. Has other things to do, that waste a full day in the traffic and waiting...

Just 5 people in this example.

[logicalq]

Create 2 queues: Appointments and No appointments. You will alternately see the first patient from each queue. You can adjust ratio according to the length of each queue, 1:1 or 2:1.

No appointment queue is ordered by the time they arrive and register, easy.

Appointment queue is ordered by the booking time. If they arrive late, they are still on the appointment queue, but ordered by their arrival time not booking time.

Thats sounds like a perfect solution I will send you a tip. Also had a small question regarding this, will PM you .

Oh thanks! I thought of this system while I was waiting for a table in a restaurant. PM me another common real life problem if you want, will try my best.  

Well, what if A,B is waiting at 14:00 after taking appointment for 12:00 and 13:00 and C who after taking appointment for 11:00 arrives at 13:00?
(D and E no-appointment is waiting on queue 2)

So, C becomes last? What if he is already frustrated and being late wasn't his fault at all. Has other things to do, that waste a full day in the traffic and waiting...

Just 5 people in this example.

Wouldn't C be the first one in ? as he arrives at 1 PM , and will be first on the queue 1 ?

[logicalq]

Almost forgot to update this. Locking this now. The tip had been sent to PolarPoint around 10 days back.
Thanks again!