Arrived just 5 minutes late for my appointment and was told someone else had been taken ahead of me a€” fair enough. I completed the pre-screening and was then left waiting for another 30 minutes in the waiting area. Eventually, the optometrist, Giles Turner, came out and informed me there would be an additional 45-minute delay.He initially offered the option to come back later that day, only to backtrack moments later and say they were fully booked. The next available appointment? Five weeks away.There appears to be zero flexibility or contingency for minor delays, which is both unrealistic and frustrating. Be warned: if youa€™re even slightly late, you risk losing your slot entirely a€” with no reasonable accommodation.
HI Gareth,Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, and Ia€™m sorry to hear that your recent visit left you feeling disappointed and frustrated.We understand how inconvenient it must have been to arrive only slightly late, complete your pre-screening, and still face a prolonged wait a€” only to be advised of a further delay and limited rebooking options. Thata€™s certainly not the experience we aim to deliver.Our clinical schedules are often tightly structured, and appointments are carefully timed to ensure each patient receives the necessary care and attention. When a patient arrives late, even by a few minutes, it can unfortunately disrupt this balance a€” particularly in busy clinics where back-to-back appointments leave very little room for flexibility. While we do our best to accommodate late arrivals where possible, there are times when we simply cannot do so without impacting the care of other patients.That said, we recognise the importance of good communication and making patients feel valued, even in situations where wea€™re limited by scheduling constraints. Your feedback has been shared with the relevant teams so we can reflect on how we manage and communicate such scenarios more effectively in the future.If you would be willing to give us another opportunity, we would really value the chance to welcome you back and provide the level of service you expect.Kind regards,Optical Express
