What Would You Do?

“I Won't Recommend This Office”

How should a new employee react to a veteran colleague whose attitude may be damaging the practice?

In this column, Ophthalmic Professional presents readers with a fictional scenario. We invite you to reply with your solutions to the challenges posed. Selected responses will be published in an upcoming issue of OP.

“CAN YOU BELIEVE HER? It's like we're here to serve her.”

“She didn't even say ‘good morning’

— she just sort of frowned, asked for my name and insurance card and told me to sign in. I don't how they call that service, but I won't be recommending this office to anyone.”

Marilyn heard this conversation between two patients as she approached the reception area. Even though she had worked at the practice for only six weeks, she knew the patients were referring to Bonnie, who worked at the front desk that morning. Marilyn had heard patient conversations about Bonnie's front desk behavior before, but this was the first time she heard any of the patients sound so offended.

Her dilemma was what, if anything, should she do about the comments.

Initial doubts

When Marilyn first interviewed at the practice of Drs. Ellingson & Cooper, she had concerns. She was accustomed to working in a practice with seven locations and hundreds of workers. But she was comforted when the practice administrator, Leslie, told her that, while this was a smaller practice, it was a tightly run ship. The doctor's leadership and the management's attention to detail were the reasons for the practice's success, said Leslie. Marilyn was impressed with how well the office ran. Everything from patient flow to accounts receivable appeared to operate smoothly.

Part of this success was due to Bonnie. A 20-year veteran of the practice, she was so good at billing and coding that just about everyone in the practice referred to Bonnie as the “Coding Queen.” Quinn, one of the veteran techs, told Marilyn he could recite dozens of instances when Bonnie “saved the practice” with her keen eye for coding.

A veteran tech could recite dozens of instances when Bonnie “saved the practice.”

A bad fit?

The problem for Bonnie, Marilyn thought, was that a smaller practice, such as Ellingson & Cooper, crosstrained employees, requiring them to perform several tasks. So it was not unusual for the practice to schedule Marilyn, a tech, or Bonnie to a few hours each week at the front desk. While Marilyn understood Bonnie was invaluable as a “coding person,” she sized Bonnie up as shy — certainly not the most outgoing person in the practice. And not the type of personality you would want greeting patients at the front desk.

Marilyn thought about her options. It wasn't as though Bonnie was steeling supplies, falsifying time sheets or committing any blatant violation that I'd report without hesitation, thought Marilyn. But Marilyn also knew that the front desk is usually responsible for making that critical first impression on patients. She didn't want to “rat out” another employee, especially a colleague who was well-established at the practice, but she felt that Bonnie's personality at the front desk was clearly having a negative impact on patients — one that could potentially harm the practice.

She also didn't want to gain a reputation as the kind of person who starts trouble — it's not the way to earn a reputation as a team player or start with a new practice.

“I'm going to have to think hard about this one,” she said to herself.

What would you do if you were Marilyn? E-mail your responses to james.thomas@springer.com by Monday, October 22, 2012. Please include your full name, title, company/practice and phone number. Also visit www.ophthalmicprofessional.com for a new installment of “What Would You Do” each month.