The early bird is a sucker

[Note: I'm on vacation, so posting might be light around here for the next few days.]

I had a dental appointment on Saturday, and I went despite still having a bad cold. If I'd canceled, I'd have been charged for it, and hey, they're wearing surgical masks, right? I overslept, though, and was actually woken up by the dentist's office calling to see where the hell I was. I didn't pick up the phone—I just read the number off the call display—and immediately threw on some clothes and made the five-minute walk to the office. And when I arrived, I found something interesting:

Every time I've gone to the dentist, I've showed up a few minutes early, only to be made to wait at least 15 minutes. This time, I arrived around 15 minutes late, and was ushered in to see the hygenist immediately.

The lesson? Screw courtesy. I've always called doctors and dentists by their courtesy titles. They always call me by my first name. Not "Mr. Lynn". Courtesy is for doormats. The dentist isn't doing you a favour. You're paying him (or your insurance company is). He works for you. Treat him like it. Make him wait. Make him call you "Mister". Make him change the radio station. It throws him off his game, and you get better service.