Appointment Stress

Posted by Tall Latte at 01:20 PM on October 28, 2005 | TrackBack

Just wondering if anyone else goes through the stomach churning anxiety that surrounds making a mikvah appointment for motzei Shabbat?
Maybe if you live in a larger community with many mikvaot this might not be a problem. In my community, it's an ongoing issue, and add to it that the particular attendant on duty for Shabbat and Saturday has a habit of returning calls rather late.
The mikvah's voicemail recording announces that one should make a Saturday evening appointment at least 48 hours in advance. OK, with bedikot and counting, I'm fine with this. And being the Type A person I am, I often give even more notice with a caveat.
But, what gets me is that I don't get a return call in a timely fashion. I mean, hey, hello. It's Friday afternoon. I don't have all day!
Any suggestions...aside from taking a deep breath?

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On October 28, 2005 at 02:38 PM, Desde said:

Sorry, only commiseration, because I've gone through the exact same thing! Try to remember that she too is making Shabbos, and is very busy? But I remember waiting for that phone call with bated breath, while running around doing a million things at the same time!

On October 28, 2005 at 03:53 PM, Avigayil said:

Granted, I live in a larger community with set mikvah hours, but I don't understand why you need to wait for an attendant to call you back. Is there a possibility that she will tell you that you can't use the mikvah on that night? If not, why couldn't a standard "X hours after Shabbos" be instituted, so that you only need to call the mikvah to let them know you will be coming, and you can assume that someone will be there? It would seem to save heartache on both ends.

On October 29, 2005 at 07:47 PM, sara said:

I always go on Motzei Shabbos, and right after havdaleh. Maybe you could make that sort of permanent arrangement with her.

On November 2, 2005 at 08:00 AM, ruby said:

When I worked in a busy office and had a lot of people calling me and needing responses, I tended to call the people who bugged me the most first so they wouldn't bug me. This won't make her like you, but it gets the job done...maybe try leaving a message that says, 'I'll try you again later if I don't hear back by Tuesday,' or whatever. Or say, 'I will assume that I'm coming at x time on Motzei Shabbat unless I hear differently.'

On November 2, 2005 at 12:07 PM, sara said:

You could..and then again, if you don't hear from her, you might end up waiting outside, with everyone walking by and seeing you...

On November 2, 2005 at 09:38 PM, rachelb said:

I, too, usually go motsei Shabbos, and have to schedule an appointment on Friday, but usually when I call she answers the phone, or if there is no answer, I call back later. Unfortunately she doesn't open until an hour after Shabbos in the summer, and not until 7:30pm in the winter, which can really mess up plans on Saturday night...

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