The Invisible Man in the Waiting Room

The other day I carried a family member to a chiropractor.

While I was sitting in the waiting room a young lady came in wearing, what I think was, a workout outfit. It exposed all of perfectly tanned legs. She had a baby in a stroller with her. While she was waiting to be called she stood up to tend to the baby – goo at him or something, bending over, hicing her legs and ass just inches from my face.

I think again, I was invisible and she didn’t know I was there.

The lady wanted to talk to the receptionist about her bill. To have privacy she stepped into the office and shut the door… I could still hear muffled sounds of them talking over the bill.

I thought that was funny – she acted like I wasn’t even there when she bent over with her ass in my face – but discussing money? Well, that was “private”.

What she young lady didn’t realize, and probably didn’t care, was that she locked the door when she shut it. And the receptionist/bookkeeper, thinking the lady with her baby was the last customer of the day, probably thought why bother opening it?

I was finally rescued when I heard my relative behind the door checking out. I knocked on the door – I wanted inside so we could exit the way we came in, through the back door.

It was my relative’s first time to that chiropractor. He only did part of what he needed to do and asked her to come back the next day. Again, it was at the end of the day, and again I found myself sitting in the waiting room alone.

The receptionist bookkeeper, thinking my relative was the last customer of the day, decided to make a few telephone calls – surely, since the last customer of the day was in the back getting adjusted, the waiting room should be empty – right?

She called a collection agency and went over the fine details of just how they come up with the amount they add to a bill before they collect. She took an example of someone they collected from that originally owed about $1400. What percentage rate, she wanted to know, did they add and charged to the collectee. By what she said on her side of the phone I think the collecting agency said 35%.

Then she spoke the numbers… it was something like $1435 they owed and the doctor’s office turned it over to the collection agency and collected something like $2188. And she said that looked more like a 50% charge, than a 35% charge –that the collectee has to pay.

The person at the collection agency explained how the numbers worked and she said, “Gotcha! I understand now! I just wanted to someone to put it in simple terms!” And she thanked the person and said she had some more she was going to pass on them Monday. Then they discussed some more – they may have mentioned some specific names, but I wasn’t listening anymore, I was back reading my book. I have a short attention span.

I wonder what the collection agency said in simple terms that helped her understand. It might have been something like this: You either understand our services or we will blow your office up with you in it!”

I think, I don’t know, but I think if she knew I was sitting within earshot she would not have talked to a collection agency on the phone.