The Magazine Rack

The last time I had to sit in a waiting room -- was when I took Angie to the urgent care center. She was carpooling that day and didn't have her car. I offered to drive her to the center because she wasn't feeling well. She got water in her ear over the weekend and she was in a lot of pain.

We arrived. Angie filled out the necessary forms and her name was called to see the doctor.

Meanwhile, I looked around for the magazines. I found hunting magazines, golf magazines and sports magazines. YUK. What are these folks thinking? Call me crazy; but I don't think ALL the patients who come into the urgent care center are into hunting, golfing and sports. This begs the question: Who gets to choose which magazines go in the waiting area?

The receptionist was behind a glass window, but the gossip between the receptionist and her cohort was much more interesting than the magazines they had available to read. Did you know that sometimes you can hear conversations through glass windows? (Note: People may forget what you tell them but people NEVER forget what they overhear).

Angie had a double whammy...a sinus and ear infection. The doctor gave her some medicine and we went back to work.

So, let's think about who comes into your office. Not everyone who comes in there is an avid hunter, golfer or sports freak, right?

We did a quick check-in with some Missouri Bar staff members at our office. If they had a choice, here are a few magazines they'd like to see in waiting room offices: "Country Living", "Family Fun", Better Homes & Gardens", "People", "Time", and "Newsweek".

What kind of magazines do you have available in your waiting area? You can begin with the kinds of magazines you'd like to read -- or your clients can sit in your waiting room and listen to the staff gossip.

Comments

[Suzanne]

Thanks to all of for your good comments!

[Alexa]

I like cooking magazines - thinking about food can usually distract me from anything, including unpleasant doctor visits!

[Traci]

Personally, I'm always nervous when I see a doc, so I prefer shallow celebrity mag reading -- US Weekly, People, Entertainment Weekly. It's mindless, escapist and helps to take my mind off the fact that I'm there for a not-fun reason.

[Teresa]

I would think office personnel would take into some consideration that they will have different types of personalities waiting in their waiting rooms. I do know some offices will bring in their personal magazine subscriptions - black out their personal info - that way they're not paying twice to get magazines. So depending on whose office you're going to be waiting in, you may only get to read what THEY like.