'Applesauce to you, Dwayne Pendleton...'

Why is there an "appointment time" AND an "arrival time" column when you check in at a doctor's office? Because you definitely don't get preference if you show up early. 

Does the staff bad-mouth people whose columns are vastly different? Like, unbeknownst to us, they're all behind the scenes--shaking their fists at the heavens-- and cursing the person who had the first appointment of the day:

 "Applesauce to you, Dwayne Pendleton; you're the reason these good people have had to wait a minimum of 45 minutes to see the doctor! How dare you, sir? How dare you?" 

Or is it more nefarious than that? Are all the columns just to cover their own butts? I've been the first appointment of the day, arrived 15 minutes early, and still had to wait half an hour to be seen. Maybe everyone on staff at the doctor's office just shows up whenever they feel like it every morning. 

"We have been here for an hour, and all I see when I look around is people drinking coffee and shooting the bull."

And then they just pretend like the first appointment was late--curse them!-- doctoring the records to reflect the misinformation they're disseminating to the rest of us patients, patiently waiting our respective turns; our turns to be told we're in perfect health and then charged $400 for the privilege.

That's the trouble with trust; it can be misplaced.

One thing is certain: if you have a doctor's appointment, you should just clear your schedule for the day. Just take a day.