Friday, January 26, 2007

From The Stupid File #1

As I have previously noted, I do a fair amount of work-related duties from my home. The other day one of these duties required me to track down a live and helpful person in the Medicaid provider billing support office to explain to me why three of my recently billed claims were mysteriously denied, and why one of the claims was "suspended." It took me a good 15 minutes of relentless calling to get past a busy signal and get a live person. This person was neither pleasant nor rude, and slightly more than marginally helpful. You never know what you're gonna get when you call this line for help. I got a couple of my questions minimally answered (with the government you really don't ever get satsifactory or complete answers) and had asked another question when I was abruptly cut off and told that I had reached my three question quota and if I wanted to ask any more questions I would have to call back. I think my response was something like a long pause followed by, "Huh?" which I'm sure sounded a lot like, "Duh?" I was in complete disbelief and didn't know how to respond.

I hung up the phone dumbfounded. I finally get through to ask my questions and then I'm told I've reached my quota and have to call back? I swore if I called right back and reached the same woman I would have to exercise great restraint not to verbally strangle her over the phone.

It was the stupidest thing I had encountered for at least a good week. So stupid, in fact, that I decided then and there that I had to start blogging a "stupid file."

1 comment:

Student of Life said...

That merits the creation of the "Stupid File." You would think it would be significantly less efficient to make people hang up, call back and have to re-explain their situation to another person than to simply continue with the person they began with. That's when you use the "Rules Are Made to be Broken" management philosophy. It's not like you were a bumbling idiot trying to bilk the government. I'm sure that's who the rule is designed to get rid of. It's stupid. Just stupid.