North Shore University Health System — Local services in Round Lake Beach

We LOVE our doctor and nurses. Highly recommend Dr Kaliyadan. However, the receptionists for the whole building (4 older women) are quite unprofessional. When I first got there and was standing in line to check in, a patient who had been in the back ran out to her car because she apparently forgot something. She was gone for less than 30 seconds. When she came back she came to the side of the desk (because there was a very long line) and said “Excuse me, sorry, I was just wondering if you could open the door for me again. I was just back there for my appointment and had to run out to grab something.” The woman closest to her with short gray hair snapped rudely and said, “Um, we’re all with someone right now.” And then sighed and asked the lady next to her to push the button to let her in. The lady asking to be let in the back was very polite and the receptionist was unnecessarily rude and short with her.

Then, after our appointment, I approached the desk to make an appointment for my child. The receptionists were all talking and laughing extremely loudly. Okay, whatever, I’m glad they’re enjoying themselves. But when the woman in the middle finally stopped to help me, the women on either side of her continued their conversation across her while I was trying to make an appointment. It clearly wasn’t a work-related conversation and they weren’t just talking to each other, I mean they were literally shouting and cackling. They were so loud I had to repeatedly ask the woman helping me to repeat herself. I couldn’t even hear myself think to make the appointment and finally had to just ask the lady to print out the appointment details because I couldn’t hear her over the women shouting and laughing.

As someone with an incurable illness, I’ve spent much of my life in doctor offices and hospitals. But despite being in hundreds of different doctor offices, I’ve never experienced receptionists being so loud and rude as these people were.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad they get along and seem to have fun at their job, but when it impedes the ability for patients to make appointments or ask questions, it’s a problem. They acted like they were out at a bar on a girls’ night, not at work at a doctor office. They seemed annoyed that people were “interrupting” their conversation. Super...

While we greatly appreciate the care and professionalism of our doctor and nurses, one receptionist in particular consistently makes the check-in and check-out process frustrating. Her unprofessional demeanor and tendency to complicate scheduling create unnecessary stress. It often feels as though she intentionally creates confusion to convey an air of condescension when interacting with patients. Her communication is incompetent, and her attitude is dismissive and accusatory, which is the last thing you want to deal with when entering or leaving an otherwise excellent office. If you’ve been to this practice, you likely know who I’m...

I called to try and make an appointment, but the staff was so rude we decided to take our business elsewhere. I see multiple people complaining about their receptionists. It may be wise to provide customer service training or make it clear treating patients that way is totally unacceptable. Asking basic questions does not constitute such...