'My registration info was "no longer in the system"': Office cancels worker's appointment, worker reschedules a new appointment '72 hours early'

Advertisement
  • 01
    Font - My appointment was cancelled for being 5 minutes late? I guess I have to reschedule. M OC This happened about 4 years ago, when I got a summer job at my university. The job was working for professors that I had worked with before, and they asked me last- minute to teach a summer workshop to 9th and 10th graders.
  • 02
    Font - So with less than 2 weeks before the camp starts I have a bunch of paperwork to do first, including "clearances" that say I can work with kids. One of these is an official FBI check for which they need my fingerprints. Well, I needed to do the physical fingerprinting right away in order to get the result in time - luckily I was able to book a fingerprinting appointment for that Friday (booked 24 hours in advance, as required) which would be just barely enough time to get the result.
  • 03
    Font - That Friday I catch the subway to campus and it's atrociously slow (I'll admit I should have planned for this - the subway here is always behind). Anyway, I end up slightly late getting to campus so I literally run to the police station, and enter the front room at EXACLTY 5 minutes after my appointment time. I know this because, as I stepped through the door, I felt my phone buzz with what turned out to be a "Your appointment has been cancelled" email.
  • 04
    Font - I speak to the security/cop behind bulletproof glass inside and I learn the appt was cancelled after he checks my confirmation number. Apparently the they are automatically cancelled if you're not checked in within 5 minutes. Obviously this is outrageous, but I'm usually a patient guy: I ask if I can book a new appointment. That's no good since it would have to be Monday or later.
  • 05
    Font - So I grab a coffee from across the street and return to sit inside the police station, to try and solve this with some Googling while I slip into a more and more frantic state of frustration. I can't find anywhere in the city that can fingerprint me before Monday.
  • 06
    Font - But here's what really pushed me over the edge. While I'm sitting there, at this point 30 minutes past my appointment time, someone else comes in for fingerprints. She shows up 5 minutes early. They take her in immediately, and she's out BEFORE her appointment was even scheduled to begin. The entire thing took her about 2 minutes. I point out to the cop behind the glass (as politely as I
  • 07
    Font - can) that CLEARLY someone could see me RIGHT NOW because her appointment is already over. Why can't I have the current slot? But, the cop insists that since my appointment was cancelled, my registration info was "no longer in the system" and I can't be seen today.
  • 08
    Font - That's when the idea comes to me and I confirm with him that showing up early is not a problem, because they would have my appt and registration info in the system. You see where I'm going with this.
  • 09
    Font - So I quietly sit back down and take out my phone. About 10 minutes later, I calmly approach him again and say "Hello, I have a new appointment to be fingerprinted. I'm about 72 hours early."
  • 10
    Font - I have never seen such an exasperated checked my new confirmation number and everything was in order. Within 10 minutes, I was walking back out after getting fingerprinted. sigh in my life. But he
  • 11
    Font - TL:DR Appointment was automatically cancelled because I was 5 minutes late. I can't go in now because my registration info is not "in the system". But I can make an appointment for Monday, and show up 72 hours early.
  • 12
    Font - Pipboy4111 At least he didnt try to fight with you about it. I wouldn't have considered that 12.4k Reply Share theoryofrelativetea OP. Oh definitely, I wasn't really sure it would work. I think he was mostly just sick of me at that point though
  • 13
    Font - rfj This one sounds like both of you are maliciously complying with regulations from the Faceless Bureaucracy, like I suspect the system somehow just wouldn't take your prints if you didn't have a (not cancelled) appointment, but once there was a way to do it the officer went along.
  • 14
    Font - theoryofrelativetea OP. True, true! Idk what was actually on his computer, but I'm sure it wasn't his own personal rule. So either it was actually impossible to register me day-of or he was really trying to enforce a ridiculous policy.
  • 15
    Font - 97 imariaprime What I'm curious about is if that guy ever told any other customers about that trick in the future. "I'm sorry your appointment was automatically cancelled. Unfortunately, since your appointment was cancelled, you're no longer in the system and I cannot process you. However, if you book an appointment for any future time, you'll be back in the system. You can even come early to that appointment. Very early. Days early."
  • 16
    Font - theoryofrelativetea OP Woah, that never occurred to me. I hope so!
  • 17
    Font - chrismcshaves Love it. thinking 1.1k And smart on your part. Reply Share theoryofrelativetea OP. I just wish I'd thought of it 30 minutes earlier!
  • 18
    Tableware

Tags

Scroll Down For The Next Article