The door leading from the reception room into the waiting parlor should always be kept closed. There is no necessity of letting the people who are waiting to see the doctor hear what is going on in the outer room. It often works harm. Besides this a new comer will announce himself more freely to the attendant when alone with her than he will when a dozen or more strangers are within hearing.
One of the furnishings of the reception, or outer room, unless the business warrants a separate department, may be an unobtrusive cabinet in which the correspondence is filed. This should always be closed so callers will not get an idea as to its contents. Men especially do not like to know that a woman is conversant with the contents of their letters to the doctor.
When a stranger enters the room the attendant should always rise from her desk, meet him half way, and enquire pleasantly:
“What can I do for you?”
“I’d like to see the doctor.”
“Step into the waiting room, please, and I’ll let him know you are here. Whom shall I announce?”
“Thomas Carroll, of Providence, Iowa. I think he expects me as I’ve had some correspondence with him.”
“All right, Mr. Carroll, I will let him know you are here.”
Taking the new comer into the waiting room the attendant should give him a paper or periodical. The man who is reading is not so apt to get into conversation with strangers as the one who is idle. Coming back into the outer office the girl closes the door, goes at once to the correspondence cabinet and takes out the packet containing Mr. Carroll’s correspondence. This she gives to the doctor via the outside door, at the same time announcing Mr. Carroll’s arrival.
No doctor who is wise will receive a caller immediately upon arrival. It creates a good impression to keep the caller waiting for a few moments even if there is nobody ahead of him. The girl goes back to the waiting room and says: