Louder But Not Correct

Yesterday I was screamed at by a patient's mother. We have a strict "no show" policy. If you miss an appointment or call in to cancel at the last minute, you still pay. You have the option of a phone session as the time belongs to you. One young girl has cancelled late three times. For the first two we did not charge, but documented that she cannot do it again. The third time we charged the full fee. The reason she canceled was that her phone broke. She was not sick or delayed by traffic. Her phone broke and she wanted to get it fixed. When her mother called, I explained the policy. She flew out of control screaming like a wild woman. At that point I put her on speaker phone so everyone could hear her vile words. This way I had back up when she tries to lie about the conversation. I let her vent uninterrupted, but she was still not happy. After calling the doctor a "child with no discretion" I ended the conversation. I called the director and documented the call. I will hold firm on the charge. Had she spoken softly and kindly I would have refunded her money, but made it clear, directly to the mother, that this was the last time I could do this. When she lost control, I gained power.