“The doctor is glad to know you are here, Mr. Carroll. He is engaged with a patient just now, but he will be through very soon, and will see you in a few minutes.”
This helps to kill time, and to convince the caller that the attendant is looking after his interests. In the meantime the doctor is reading Mr. Carroll’s letters and the answers thereto, and refreshing his memory about the case so that when Mr. Carroll is shown in the latter will be astonished by the doctor’s knowledge of his ailment and condition. The letters in the meantime are put away in a drawer out of sight.
Finally the bell rings and, if Mr. Carroll is next on the list, the girl will say:
“The doctor will see you now, Mr. Carroll,” and shows him into the sanctum. What happens when doctor and caller come together is told in another chapter. This one deals solely with the manner in which the caller should be received by the girl in charge of the outer office.
Should the caller become a patient the attendant who understands her duty will begin to evince a mild ladylike interest in his case. Without at any time becoming forward or fresh she will have a cheery word of greeting for him on his daily arrival or departure, and finally begin to comment in a delicate manner on the improvement in his appearance.
“Good morning, Mr. Carroll. You’re looking better this morning. By the way, if you want to write any letters you can dictate them to our stenographer, and you might as well have your mail sent here. I’ll be glad to look after it for you.”
Such attentions mean much to an invalid stranger and are more appreciated than they would be by a robust, healthy person. Mr. Carroll may intimate that he thinks of going to some theater in the evening, but doesn’t know where to go. Then the attendant should say:
“Well, that depends upon what you like. If it’s comedy there’s the —— —— at the Continental. Grand opera at the Richelieu; tragedy at the Shakespeare and vaudeville at the Boston. If you want to see something really funny go to the Continental. I’ll have our stenographer get your ticket when he goes out to luncheon, and that will save you from being pushed around in the crowd at the box office.”
All this, of course, is after the lapse of a week or so when Carroll has become a daily caller for treatment, and begins to think that the doctor is all right himself, and that the reception room girl is just about as near right as they make them.
No matter how many girl stenographers the doctor may keep busy in a room further down the hall, there should always be one young man for what may be called “show” purposes. Men patients don’t like the idea of having their physical troubles discussed in letters written by girls. When the young man stenographer is brought in to take dictation from a patient the latter not only appreciates the compliment, but feels confident that his troubles are known only to one of his own sex.