No, I Don't Have Time to Talk about My Account

It could just be my region, but here in Seattle "customer service" seems to have become the holy grail of the health care industry these days. Radio ads, billboards, and buses all seem to be pasted with smiling (fake) doctors and patients extolling the virtues of the "customer-focused" attitude of this clinic or that. 

Of course, "customer service" is one of those terms that can be defined in lots of different ways. Take UW Medicine. Seemingly good doctors, nice facilities, and generally good care. But I think I've noted here previously that what the organization has really mastered is collections. 

I see the doctor, UW Medicine throws a bill, and two weeks later I start getting friendly calls from the billing department wondering if I have time to "talk about my account." This, of course, is just code for "can we take your Visa number and collect our fee?" 

Oh yeah, the fee in question is typically twenty bucks. 

So UW Medicine is deploying a phalanx of phone operators to chase down twenty bucks on a Saturday morning. And in so doing, are undermining all the good will and warm customer service-y feelings their doctors, nurses, and other providers have generated by providing really good care. 

Kinda stupid, if you ask me. 

But happily, it's also no longer my problem. After this morning's call, I got so fed up I blocked the number.