Goats and Apples

OK, one last post about our recall rates/internal demand. I’ve been fixated on this topic for many recent posts, and it’s probably time to move on… after I show you this chart:

Looking good!

In July, 6 out of the 8 docs who were working had patient recall rates in the single digits, and the clinic average recall rate was 6.8%. That’s the first time we’ve had a clinic average in the single digits. We need to maintain these gains, and I think we’ll be helped by a change coming to our office this fall.

Heaven

I’ve been to wait line heaven... it’s a Wal-Mart.

I studiously avoid shopping at Wal-Mart. I know it’s a popular spot, and that’s the problem – the more people who shop there, the longer the wait at the checkout. And I hate wait lines.

But, last month, while looking for a piece of summer camp equipment for my son, I paid my first visit to our local Wal-Mart outlet. They had the item in stock, so I prepared to brave the wait for the till. I headed for the express checkout line. There were over a dozen people in the first line. I looked around for a shorter line. But, there was only one queue for multiple cashiers. Now, that’s odd for a department store.

Whether by tradition, or based on hard statistical analysis and marketing research, various businesses manage wait lines differently; for example, grocery store lines vs. bank lines. At the bank, you form a single queue, at the front of which you look for the next available teller. At the grocery store (and most department stores), you size up individual lines, trying to judge who has the most groceries, which teller is the chattiest, and who will be paying with loose pennies dredged up from the bottom of their purse. Then, while standing in line, you kick yourself for not picking another line that seems to be zipping along. Queue-er’s remorse.