Mrs Korau
Having celebrated a milestone birthday in May I had many outings and forms of entertainment to mark the occasion. However, the one thing that wasn’t as enjoyable was the fact that I had to renew my driver’s licence. At seventy-five, a medical certificate was required and that, plus all the paperwork involved, proved to be quite stressful.
I received the forms nearly two months before the expiry date but, as I am a person who likes to get things done promptly, I made a start straight away, which was just as well under the circumstances.
My first appointment was with Specsavers, as I was fairly sure that I would need glasses for driving and they had been monitoring a cataract in one eye for the past couple of years, so who better to do the eye test that was required?
They were very efficient and thorough, as I have always found them to be, and my self-diagnosis was correct; they would give me a pass, as long as I wore corrective lenses. Luckily for me, they were having a special offer at the time, and I was able to update my reading glasses and furnish myself with driving ones for the reduced amount of $325. The form was filled in, frames were chosen and I could collect the new specs in two weeks.
Meantime, I booked an appointment with my GP for the medical certificate, and what a thorough test it was. Towards the end of the question and answer session, my wicked sense of humour got the better of me, and I was very tempted to pass on the information that I had had cereal and fruit, plus a cup of tea, for breakfast! However, I was deemed fit to drive, so the hardest part was over, or so I thought. When I went to pay for my twenty minutes of service, I received quite a shock to be told “That will be $95, please”, and the eye test had been done already! Korau had had his done just over two years earlier, and all he had been charged was the normal consultation fee ($19.50), so I was expecting something similar, cost-wise, but then I have a different doctor!
The following week I returned to collect my glasses and, after the minimum amount of adjustment, I was free to leave and thought that as the AA office was just across the street, I could get all the paperwork processed, finally. However, that was not to be.
I had to stand in a lengthy queue, while people were shuffled this way and that in a highly disorganised manner. What seemed to be half an hour later, it was my turn finally. I placed my documents on the counter, and after glancing at them, briefly, the woman in attendance told me that she couldn’t do anything further, as the optometrist hadn’t ticked the box which indicated whether glasses were required or not! I just couldn’t believe it, as had she bothered to read a little further, she would have seen that he had written that fact. Still, rules are rules and a tick was required, so I was told to take the paper back to Specsavers and to get the matter rectified. Having served behind a counter for many years, I knew what it was like to deal with difficult customers, so I managed to keep my temper under control, thanked her for her advice and wished her a good day, while all the time I was seething inside, and just about ready to give up on this business of having a current licence! However, Korau took me home for a welcome cup of tea, and I decided to leave any further endeavours for a few days.
Three days later, I was ready to start again, so after a tasty Sunday roast at the food court in our local mall, I returned to the ‘scene of the crime’, and was treated with courtesy and an apology, and because the optometrist who had tested my eyes wasn’t present, a second one filled in a new form, complete with the much-needed tick. Progress was being made.
I had no wish to return to the first AA office, so checked the Internet to see if there was an office in a borough nearby. Luckily there was; just a very small office, with one pleasant, efficient, young woman behind the counter. I didn’t have to wait. She put all my information into her computer, and then put me into the right position to have my photograph taken. She was kind enough to tell me that she didn’t like the first picture and said that she would try again for me. Oh, such a different experience, and everything was done in under ten minutes. I couldn’t believe it.
The morals of this story are; give yourself plenty of time, have some extra money put by for unexpected expenses, check your forms for even the smallest error before you leave the premises, and don’t stand in a queue when it may be possible to get better service elsewhere!
