I’m upset. I was due to have my teeth cleaned in January. Since I’ve been busy taking the Dean Ornish heart health program and working on my writing, I just called a couple of weeks ago to get an appointment.

What did I learn? My dentist, Dr. Attila Talaber, was in Europe and the other staff were just in the office now and then. After a week, someone finally called. The next available appointment is in October. I asked to be put on the waiting list, in hopes that I could get in when a cancelation occurs. The answer? There are 100 people on the waiting list.

This kind of customer service is happening again and again these days. I have to wait months to see my gastroenterologist (his PA and nurse practitioners aren’t helpful), I wait hours on hold to place the simplest orders, and if I can find a sales associate in a Retail store to ask a question or even take my Money, I’m lucky.

I did get good customer service Friday. My washing machine wasn’t working, it wouldn’t spin the water out in most settings. I called GE on Thursday and remarkably, a repair person was available to come out the next day. He said the water pump wasn’t working. It’s wonderful to be able to wash clothes again.

However, the repairman did say that he carried the water pumps in his van because on the model I have, the water pumps fail frequently. Disappointing. That’s a photo of the failed water pump above. The bill for getting the repair was $421.

A recent survey shows Americans are more unhappy with the customer service they’re getting than ever.

Seventy-four percent of Americans say they’ve had product or service problem in the past year, according to the 10th edition of the National Customer Rage Survey, which tracks satisfaction and incivility. The incidence of problems has more than doubled since 1976. 

Sigh. I expect customer service problems are just going to get worse, unfortunately.