My beloved Mac started to act very strange and give me headaches, so I decided to repair it. This symptom started more than one month ago.
I made an appointment, and waited for several days before I was able to see a “genius” at the genius bar in Apple store.
Then, had my computer diagnosed by them. The person asked me what the symptom was, so I explained all the experience I had and shared my ideas about what seemed to be the problem. He took notes (less than half of the things that I had explained to him), and said “Here is what I think the problem is.” I was a bit surprised at his suggestion because it was different from what I expected to hear, considering all the explanation that I have given to him. I repeated to share my concerns but he has already decided what he needed to do to fix it. I thought “he is a expert so I should not challenge him with my unprofessional opinions.” Then, I decided to trust him. After he has worked on my computer for 20 min, my computer was returned to me.
On the same day, I had the same symptom while I was working with my computer. So, I returned to the shop, and explained. I waited for a long time, and different person looked at my computer because the person whom I spoke before was not available at that time. He gave me a different diagnosis to my computer, and recommended me to send it to the repair facility. I told him how inconvenient it would be not to have my computer for 7 days, yet he said “there is nothing else I can do.” So, I decided to listen to him and give up on my computer for 7 days.
After 10 days, I called customer service because I did not hear from Apple store. Then, I was told “Everyone is busy lately so you might not have heard from us. But your computer is sitting at our store, so you can pick it up anytime, congratulation.” The language puzzled me but I found my time to go and pick it up. I was told, “we have replaced your display to the brand new one.” And I said, “It is not about the issue with display. It is about the computer itself, and I am confident.” They said, “we have our expert diagnosed. They are more familiar with these issue than you are.” I reluctantly came home.
In two days, I had the exactly the same symptom from the very beginning. I made another appointment and asked them to fix it. A customer service person said, “you just have to restore your computer. It is not about the hard disk, is it the issue with the software that you have. I don’t want you to do it because I can trust more if I do it. I can do it properly for you.” I was tired of arguing so I let him take care of it. I asked him to take a look at the hard disk but he was confident that he could fix the problem with restoring my computer, so I let him do it.
At the same night, I still had a same problem. So I went back today and explained. This time, I have asked to simply replace my computer to the new one, because I am traveling in two days and do not have enough time to fix it. The person whom I talked yesterday said, “We can only fix it. I cannot replace your computer to the new one. You should purchase a new one if you can afford it.” So, I asked him “Purchasing a new computer because my computer was happened to be a bad one? Isn’t is a bit strange suggestion?” His answer was “there is nothing I can do but to fix it. I can replace a motherboard, so you will be fine. It takes 1 hour so you should just wait around, then you will have it.”
4 hours later, I was told, “the parts that we had was a bad one unfortunately, so we should order a new parts, which may not arrive before your trip. Do you think you can change your flight?” I was speechless. They have my computer now, and there is nothing I can do at this moment. I felt helpless and somewhat defeated.
Looking back my experience, I felt that “This is the feeling that elders at healthcare settings may be experiencing.” Elders know how they feel and the pain they have, but clinician (expert) may not pay enough attention to what they are trying to say. They diagnose symptom based on their assumption and tell them what they have to do. Elders may not feel confident enough to challenge their suggestions because it is the “experts’ opinions.” Clinician can say “I am quite sure that this treatment will fix your problem. If this will not work out, we can try other approach.” However, elders still have to live with pain and other symptoms if the clinician’s assessment does not work.
I just hope that we can create a culture of healthcare that pays more attention to the opinions and feelings of elders and other patients. Clinicians may be the experts in their field; yet, patients are the ones who are the experts of their life.
