How do I tell someone to stop calling my office a lot?

Question

I work for a dr. and we have this patient who will randomly call OVER AND OVER asking questions about contact lenses. We will give her an answer and she'll call again with almost the same question. Then she'll come to the office, ask the SAME questions, not pay anything and leave. Then call back. She does this every few months. After she places her order (same order every time) she'll call to confirm. Then she'll call the same day to re-confirm. How do we tell her to stop this madness?????

I usually grin and bear it but there's something about this one....she called 5 times within a 30 minute period today. And it's not like she'll order something soon...she'll carry on like this for a week or 2 then we won't hear from her for another week and then she'll call asking us to express her lenses.

Answer 1

I hear ya & DON'T follow the POOR advice Dawn B just above me is trying to give you... she sounds like 87% of my bosses I've had

Answer 2

she is probably just lonely....or has alzheimers?
she's a customer, so you should be kind.
maybe every time she calls, ask her if she can hold for a moment, but ask her her name first.
or, every time she calls and you know it's her, say, "hi, ms. ___" so that she knows you know it's her.
when she calls to re-confirm, you can politely say that there is no need to do so, or just say, "yes i did confirm your order for you earlier."
maybe you can ask for her email and send her a confirmation that way, or write down the answers to some of her questions next time she's there. then, if she's feeling lonely or forgetful, she can just reread the email or your note--which might make her think twice about calling.
hey--at least she's buying something! could be worse!
have you asked the doc for an opinion? he might have some good insights, since doctors often have to deal with this type of behavior.

Answer 3

She is a patient so you cannot tell her to stop calling. She may have questionable personality issues that are annoying but she has the right to call her physician and ask questions. It's part of the job you have working for a physician. If you are not comfortable dealing with these types of patients, maybe a different job would be more better suited to you.

Answer 4

sorry, but you are stuck...if you have caller ID for all incoming calls, you can be prepared....
once you have recognition...politely put her on hold, and leave her there for a couple minutes. check back and tell her the phones are extremely busy at that time... and ask her politely to hold.
place her on hold again to get the information she is requesting, and abuse her time like she abuses yours.......


because she is a patient...and eventualy orders something..you have to be tolerant, to a slight degree.

she could be a lonely person......

she could be a compulsive personality...and if that is the case nothing will work...except the Doctor recommending her to a competitor that the Dr. does not care for.

Answer 5

sounds like you have a patient with OCD - so sorry!!!

Any way to screen out her calls and make her just leave messages? Maybe if she doesn't get the reinforcement she's looking for, she'll go bother someone else for it.

Answer 6

It's probably an excessive compulsive disorder, Sounds a lot like a friend of mine, Wants answers before there are any . It's a mental Illness, live with it.

Answer 7

It is hard, I work in a hospital and dealing with a similar situation now.

I think tomorrow I may just tell her point blank, "Don't ever call me again!" and slam down the phone.

Then hope and pray I don't get fired.

Answer 8

Send her a bill for a telephone consultation. That will get her attention. She'll be pissed, but I bet she stops calling.