Can someone explain the Suporn/Bank scheduling process? Totally confused.

6
u/[deleted]
Wed Mar 20 18:10:54 2019 UTC
(13 comments)

So I'm in the process of trying to get on the calendar to have surgery with Dr. Bank. The calendar for 2019 is already completely full.

My understanding was that when a date becomes available on the calendar, they wait 24-48 hours to give people time to request the date in email, and then they put all the names in a "hat" and pick one lottery-style. That person gets the date. If they pay their deposit within 21 days, they keep the date. Otherwise, it opens up again, and the process repeats. Am I wrong on this?

Yesterday, a couple dates opened up. I sent an email requesting one of the dates for surgery. I got an email back almost immediately telling me the date is no longer available. This made me really confused. If they do this lottery system which takes a day or two, why would I have gotten a rejection back so quickly? Also, I thought they don't give rejection emails if your name isn't picked?

Can someone tell me if I'm confused about how the scheduling process works?

Also, is there a way to just put in a deposit and get put on a waitlist? Like what if I'm just unlucky and never get a date because I'm not fast enough?

all 13 comments


u/[deleted]
Wed Mar 20 18:38:46 2019 UTC
(16 children)

[deleted]

2
Wed Mar 20 18:40:01 2019 UTC
(14 children)

If I don’t know how to computer program, am I completely screwed? I don’t know how to program my computer or phone to alert me when a date comes up

Wed Mar 20 18:43:35 2019 UTC
(3 children)

[deleted]

2
Wed Mar 20 18:48:26 2019 UTC
(2 children)

Thanks. Probably not computer literate to figure even this out though. Thanks regardless.

I’m really disappointed they got rid of the lottery system. It made it possible for people like me to actually get dates. :(

Wed Mar 20 18:50:21 2019 UTC
(1 child)

[deleted]

2
Wed Mar 20 19:03:01 2019 UTC
(0 children)

I think I’m just gonna ask my boyfriend to help me do this lol. He’s really smart and good with computers. Thanks again

1
Wed Mar 20 18:57:18 2019 UTC
(9 children)

I assumed with the lottery system it was no longer useful, but here's how I did it (partially taken from somewhere I read), and got a date on the second try.

  1. Use " follow that page " and plug in the calendar for the page to watch.
  2. Subscribe to the thing that lets it check every minute or something ridiculous. The free thing is too slow, it's worth a small investment.
  3. Have it email you. Use ITTTT to forward that email to anything you can notice. Notification on your phone, alarm, phone call, whatever.
  4. Have an email to Emma already written out that says something like I'd like [DATE] if applicable.

Then it's just a matter of waiting for everything you've set up to start yelling about a date, finding the change, confirming the date that opened will work for you, copying it into the email and sending it. There are a lot of cancellations around 3 months out from any given time, I've noticed, probably because that's when you can get most of the money back.

1
Wed Mar 20 19:00:50 2019 UTC
(6 children)

Thanks. Question, though. Doesn’t everyone do this? If 1000 people are all doing the same thing, doesn’t that still make it next to impossible to get a date?

1
Wed Mar 20 19:14:59 2019 UTC
(5 children)

I've only seen a couple people discuss it, but I'd imagine lots of people are doing the same thing, sure. There are also probably lots of programmers etc that build all these systems themselves that can get things done faster. The upside is that some people may not be interested in some dates, there are tons of cancellations, and sometimes lots of dates open up at once (like a bunch of Fridays or whatever). Availability has actually been better than when I reserved, but it's a chaotic and very poorly laid out system.

1
Wed Mar 20 19:15:51 2019 UTC
(4 children)

Just to be clear, you can only ask for one date at a time right? So if two dates open up, I can only ask for one of them?

1
Wed Mar 20 19:20:40 2019 UTC
(0 children)

I have no idea as I only saw one open at any given time. If it were me, I would just ask for either of them in case you're faster on the draw on one but not the other.

Wed Mar 20 19:38:36 2019 UTC
(2 children)

[deleted]

1
Wed Mar 20 19:41:11 2019 UTC
(1 child)

I just wish they would update their website/forms about the booking process. I've been under the impression that they do the lottery system the whole time so I didn't think it mattered when you sent the email.

1
Wed Mar 20 20:10:09 2019 UTC
(1 child)

Follow That Page pro edition allows you to check every 10 minutes. Is that fast enough? Another user suggested www notifier that can check every minute, but it looks like that's an app for android devices only, and I don't use one.

1
Wed Mar 20 20:25:24 2019 UTC
(0 children)

Yeah it must be ten minutes then. It was fast enough for me, at least, but if you're selective about dates I'd get that down so you can shoot the email off right away and don't deliberate like me. You might be able to use the Android app with Bluestacks (a PC Android emulator) or buy a really cheap $10-$20 ebay Android phone too, but I don't know anything about those options obviously!

1
Wed Mar 20 18:46:08 2019 UTC
(0 children)

What is this app!? I was gunning for one of those most recent dates also. How do I do this?

1
u/ethanlita
Wed Apr 17 03:29:46 2019 UTC
(0 children)

I used a Python Script do that for me... Refresh 20 times per second, And send the email automatically once a new available date appears. Actually it works well and I successfully reserved my surgery in just two days.