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Chronic Lab Corp Fatigue
The Ripple Effect
Chapter_Title 9

When I received the serum compatibility kit, I called the local Lab Corp office in New Port Richey, Florida, to make an appointment. I explained that I needed a simple blood serum sample drawn. Because I didn't have an official name for the procedure, or an insurance company, but wanted to pay for it myself, they told me to call the Tampa office to find out if they could do the procedure at all.

After much "running around", I finally spoke to "Alisha in billing" who said it's an easy thing to do, they do it all the time, but I would need a prescription. I asked how much it would cost and she said $25. She said I wouldn't need an appointment... I could just walk into the local office. Great! I was happy, despite the amount of time (about an hour) it took just to get an answer.

I fasted all morning, like the kit said to, secured a prescription, and proceeded down to the Lab Corp office that afternoon. After waiting 20 minutes, a man in a T-shirt—Greg—called me up to the window. I said, "Hi" and handed him the "Lab Instructions" from Peak Energy.

Greg looked at this paper for about 30 seconds and said, "I don't know how to put this into the system." He then stared at me as if waiting for a response. I told him that it's a serum compatibility test and all Lab Corp has to do is separate the blood serum and overnight it to Peak Energy Labs for analysis. He then asked who my insurance company was. I replied that I was just paying for it myself—check, cash, credit card—whatever was easiest for him.

Greg then said to me, "We can't do that," and then handed the form back to me as if to conclude our discussion. I then said that I had already spoken to the Tampa office and they said this office could do it. He asked who I talked to in the Tampa office and I told him, "Alisha in billing." He then said, "OK" and asked me to "sit down over there."

Fifteen minutes later, Greg walked into an office just across the hall from where I was sitting. I heard him recite what I had told him. The woman to whom he was speaking then asked who I talked to in the Tampa office. Greg then stuck his head out of the door and repeated the question to me. I responded, "Alisha in billing."

The woman in the office then made a phone call. I heard her repeat a brief version of the story and then she said, "I've never done this before and I don't wanna' to do it," in a contentious tone that sounded astoundingly similar to an angry child who was just told to clean their room. A few seconds later, she just said "OK" and hung up the phone.

Right then, Greg stepped out of the office and went into the reception area while speaking to me, "We can't do this." "Why not?", I asked. He replied, "The Tampa office is refusing to do it." I asked, "Who in the Tampa office is refusing to do this?" He replied, "Whenn in Customer Service." I then asked, "Who just made the call to Tampa," and he replied, "Nikki." I wrote these names on a piece of paper.

At that point, I wanted to call the Peak Energy Labs and tell them what was happening and see if they had any suggestions. I thought that maybe this is something that happens from time to time and perhaps Brandon at Peak Energy Labs could give me some suggestions. Also, I was very hungry because I had not eaten all day as instructed for the test and just wanted to get the five-minute procedure done with.

I then said to Greg, "May I use this phone here on the wall to make a toll-free call?" He replied, "That phone is only for people to call taxis." Then I smiled and raised my eyebrows and said, "Please?" in a light, almost humorous tone to indicate that we both knew how silly what he just said was. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sorry." I just said, "OK" and left promptly.

I came home and called Peak Energy and told Brandon the story. He said that it was ridiculous because they work with Lab Corp all the time all over the country and nothing like this had ever happened. I asked him if he would mind conference-calling with me while I called (who I assume was) the manager of the local Lab Corp office (Nikki) and ask her why I couldn't have the procedure done. He said, "That would be fine."

I called the local office and Greg answered the phone. I asked to speak to Nikki. He asked who this was, and I said, Russ Tanner. He said, "OK." Nikki got on the phone and I politely explained that I was just down in the office and wasn't allowed to get blood drawn. I said that the procedure is a standard procedure and that the lab the test was being sent to works with Lab Corp all the time all over the country. She said, "We don't do that kind of work here."

Immediately, Brandon broke in and said, "Why not?" Nikki said, "Who is this," again, with a contentious and authoritative voice.

Brandon: "My name is Brandon and I am from Peak Energy Labs in Colorado. We are a government-certified lab and we work with Lab Corp all the time. The procedure Russ needs to have done is a simple, standard procedure. The form he gave you even has a procedure number on it."

Nikki then started stumbling, still with a stern tone... "Well... what does he need this test for?"

Brandon: "The patient is considering having dental work done so he is having a serum compatibility test to determine what dental materials he can use in the procedure."

Nikki: "Who is performing the test?"

Brandon: "We are. We do this test all the time and we work with Lab Corp offices all over the country."

I then broke in: "I went into your office and was told that the Tampa office was refusing to perform the procedure. I have been fasting all day... still haven't eaten, and I was told by the Tampa office myself that they would do it and all I needed was a prescription. I have one with me."

Nikki: "Who is your doctor?"

Me: "Dr. ***."

Brandon: "I don't understand. Why can't he get the blood drawn?"

Nikki: "Well... We don't normally do that kind of stuff."

Brandon: "You don't take blood?!"

Nikki: "Well... We don't normally have to ship things."

Incidentally, I walked past a whole stack of US Mail express packages waiting to be mailed in a box clearly labeled "Mail Out" in the hallway when I was at the local Lab Corp office.

I broke in: "I told Greg that I will pay for the shipping, or you can just give the serum to me and I will ship it myself, or, if your prefer, I can give you a Fed Ex number. It's really not a problem."

Nikki sighed, and then replied, still in a stern voice with an overwhelming tone of dissatisfied resolve: "Well... OK."

Me: "Can I come back down then and get the blood drawn right now?"

Nikki: "Yep."

I thanked Brandon for his help and then went back down to the office, signed in, and waited to be called. When called, I gave the paper to Greg who—holding the paper up in the air—said, "What am I supposed to do with this?" I said, "The instructions are on the sheet. It's a standard procedure." He said, "Who said you could do this?" I said, "Nikki."

Greg then walked into the same office as before, came right back out and took me into a back room where the blood was immediately drawn. The procedure was done by a polite lady and took about 2 minutes. Greg was in the room.

I told the lady drawing the blood that Greg had the form with the instructions and that the blood serum had to be separated, frozen and mailed to a lab. Greg showed her the paper and she said, "OK, no problem." Greg said they were having a mail pickup in an hour. I said if there was enough time to freeze the sample. He said, "Oh yeah, we can freeze things in a second."

I then went to the front desk with Greg. He made me sign a paper and told me the bill would be mailed to me. I said that was fine.

I then said politely, "I heard the whole conversation Nikki had with Whenn. I own my own business and do things I don't want to do everyday, not because I enjoy doing them, but because they are right. I wish others would do the same." He finished his paperwork without a word and handed me another paper.

Whew!

Unfortunately, by this time, I had had to cancel two meetings and had lost an entire day's worth of work! Unfortunately, because the meetings had to be postponed, progress on several projects was delayed and a number of people lost time and money.

How often has this kind of thing happened to you? ...All because of 1 or 2 people "Didn't want to".

So... Let's remember how influential and long-lasting the "Ripple Effect" can be.

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