The perfect time for sound decision-making

I suspect that 95 percent of customers don't want to wait.

- REY ELBO

That's why decent service providers would give you their acceptable waiting time.

For pizza delivery, it's not more than 30 minutes. For the fast-food industry dine-in transactions, that's 60 seconds or less. Of course, there are certain exceptions so they ask your permission:

"That would take us 15 minutes. Are you willing to wait?"

How about in the health care industry?

Last Friday, I consulted a specialist at a major hospital. ELBONOMICS She was not my first choice but a male specialist who was not scheduled to work on that day despite the clear announcement on the hospital website. Anyway, that's another story.

Preferring a male physician is not about gender bias. You'll understand it better if I tell you I like to be treated by male urologists.

In my case, however, I had a sore throat and persistent coughing. I had no choice. I waited for more than three hours because I didn't have an appointment. If time is money, I could have amassed hundreds of thousands, at least in my dreams.

In the health care industry, there's no such thing as customer satisfaction. That's why you're treated as a patient, not a customer. And for a good reason--when you enter a hospital for medical intervention, your status can change in an instant, from being a "customer" to being a "patient."

Being patient means acceptance of the age-old principle that "patience is a virtue."