In almost a year of marriage, I’ve learned that part of the honor of being Liz’s husband includes a tiny portion of serving in a personal assistant style role. Apparently inherited from her dad, Liz has a strong dislike for talking on the phone. This includes tasks ranging from attempting to make changes to insurance policies in her name to trying to describe her symptoms of illness to our primary care physician to even making appointments at the female doctor. The rule on the latter is that if any questions arise, she has to swoop in and save me.
In addition to scheduling any of the appointments, often times I’ll need to remember and remind her of the upcoming appointment. As you can imagine, I’ve developed a rapport with most of her doctors and/or their office staff. One doctor actually corresponds via e-mail! Liz and I both forgot about an appointment that she had with him. I was reminded when I received a billing statement from him with a $60.00 “No Call, No Show” fee. I can’t tell you how much it hurt to write that check.
When the time was approaching for her next appointment, I e-mailed him and asked him to confirm the date and time of her appointment. He wrote back that it was Tuesday at 5 PM. This struck both of us as odd given that his office isn’t open on Tuesdays. So, I wrote back and used the Internet emphasis by way of caps lock. TUESDAY at 5PM? His response was yes.
When we got to his office on Tuesday at 4:57 PM (and if you know us, this is a feat), the door was locked and his lights were off. I reached for the tool I can’t live without, my BlackBerry Pearl 8130–available exclusively at Verizon Wireless–and shot him another e-mail:
Dr. [last name]-
Per our e-mail last week, we are here for Liz’s appointment on Tuesday at 5PM. You, however, are not here. So, I guess we’re even on the $60.00 “No call, No show” fee.
Thanks,
Logan
Before we were back to our apartment, he wrote back. He apologized a few times, and said that he meant to say Wednesday at 5PM. He had gotten the dates confused. Liz went back to his office the next day for her regularly scheduled appointment, and when she returned home, presented me a check for $60.00 from the doctor’s personal checking account.
A good doctor is like money in the bank. A ballsy personal assistant, however, is priceless.
Way to go, Handler! I am calling you next time I need a little situation handled.
Left by Petey on June 27th, 2008