Peter Marklund

Peter Marklund's Home

Tue Jul 18 2006 22:58:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

This Might Cost You a Little...

I just received an invoice from my dentist for 900 SEK (about a 100 EUR) for some unspecified service. I called them and it turned out I was paying 900 SEK for being 15 minutes late. What happened was I over slept and four minutes into the appointment when I was rushing out of my apartment to get on my bike my dentist calls (from FolktandvÄrden, Eastmaninstitutet). I apologize and tell her I can be at her clinic in 7 minutes on my bike. She says nah, I'm not sure it's worth you coming in now that you're late, we better schedule a new time for you. I say ok, given that I didn't seem to have a choice. We book a new time and then at the end of the conversation she mentions that "oh, this might cost you a little" (the exact words in swedish were "det hÀr kommer kanske att kosta lite").

Interesting points of comparison here is that once before when I missed an apointment I paid 300 SEK. My mom says she has never had to pay for missed appointments at her dentist. Last time I visited the dentist and they examined my teeth I paid 500 SEK, which right now seems pretty cheap, especially given that that time they actually performed a service for me.