Do you take magazines from the doctor's office?

[Corie]

When you are sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's
office and you are reading/looking through a magazine,
have you ever taken the magazine home with you?

Maybe you didn't finish the article or wanted to finish
looking through it...

[LexyLou]

I don't, but I'm a rule follower like that. My husband makes funny of me for it.

[amandabea]

no, but I've wanted to. I'm irritated when people tear out articles/pages, so I don't do that either. I guess taking the magazine wouldn't be as bad as tearing out pages, but if I REALLY wanted to read something I guess I'd just buy it or go online to find the article. Typically I forget about it by the time I get home, so I've never done either of those things either.

[brittone2]

No, but I admit to being tempted to on many occasions. :nono:

[nupe]

One time I was reading Saveur at the ped dentist office and it featured a country that I was going to a week later. I went to Borders and couldn't find that issue. So I called the dentist's office and asked if I could have their copy. They said yes so I made the way out of the way drive to the office to get it before I left for my trip.

[Jenny_A]

Absolutely not! That's stealing in my book. If I really wanted a magazine or article I would at least ask the receptionist if I could take it or cut it out. That bothers me too when I pick up a magazine and someone has torn out a portion of it.

J

[fortato]

If it's past a year old, then hell yeah. Maybe if more people did take them, they would have some incentive to bring in some new material.

When you visit the doctor as much as I did, you get tired of seeing the same "Woman's Day Holiday 2004" issue.

[billysmommy]

We order a bunch of magazines for our office. People comes every Friday and is gone by Friday afternoon. The other one that disappears every week is Money. DH caught someone taking the People last week and said something to her. She got all huffy and said it was her copy from home and that she would never do something like that. She laid it on the counter while paying her co-pay and it had OUR mailing label on it ~ she didn't know what to say after that.

We have no problems copying articles, recipes or whatever for people ~ all they have to do is ask :)

[nov04]

We order a bunch of magazines for our office. People comes every Friday and is gone by Friday afternoon. The other one that disappears every week is Money. DH caught someone taking the People last week and said something to her. She got all huffy and said it was her copy from home and that she would never do something like that. She laid it on the counter while paying her co-pay and it had OUR mailing label on it ~ she didn't know what to say after that.

ils spent lots of money too replacing their magazines. I would never take them. I always bring a book with me when I'm on my own. If I'm with the kids, I'm trying to control them so they don't "entertain" everyone else too much.

[ShanaMama]

Rarely, and only with permission.

[kozachka]

No. It never even occured to me. If I want to read a particular magazine, I'll buy it. It's only a few bucks.

[EXPECTINGMAY]

Absolutely not! That's stealing in my book. If I really wanted a magazine or article I would at least ask the receptionist if I could take it or cut it out. That bothers me too when I pick up a magazine and someone has torn out a portion of it.

J


I agree. I've asked the receptionist to copy articles for me when I must have something.

[kijip]

I have never seen a magazine in my doctor's office that was not ancient. Or one of dozens of sample copies made available for the patients to take (like Parents at your OB office or Living with Cancer type things at the oncologists). Maybe my doctors are cheap. I doubt they pay for them (none are in private practice except for my midwife, and she does not have magazines in her office much)...they have the label cut off and I assume people who get them at home bring them to work and leave them there to share after they are done with them? I know I have left a lot of magazines in waiting rooms, some by mistake so i assume some come from other patients. I don't usually have a reason to take a 2 year old copy of Newsweek or Oprah home with me...but if I do, I ask...no one has ever said no.

[KBecks]

NO!

Our library has a table where people drop off and take magazines, and I'll pick one up there once in a while. I don't actually like magazines all that much though.

[AngelaS]

I usually take them from the waiting room to the exam room. I hate sitting naked in the exam room waiting, waiting, waiting, so I always take the magazine w/me back there.

When I used to work for a doctor--she got GOBS of free magazines, delivered to her home. I really don't think doctor's offices pay for them...do they??

[billysmommy]

We pay for the majority of our subscriptions. We do get a great discounted rate but we are still paying for them as do most private practices at least around here. We also go through our waiting room monthly and recycle anything that's more than 2 months old.

We do get some free ones but they come sporadically and are usually filled with advertisements.

[maestramommy]

No, I never do. I just try to read as fast as I can:loveeyes:

[Pennylane]

No, I would not take one. I consider it stealing. I also hate when people rip things out of the magazine!

Ann

[BeachBum]

No way. I think it's stealing! I wouldn't tear an article out either, but I sure have wanted to a few times.

[Bens Momma]

Yes, I've done it twice but due to my guilty conscience and the way I was raised, I asked the receptionist before I did it both times. I think if the office has plenty of mags and the one you're interested in is old/outdated so it can't be purchased it's OK if you ask.

M to 2 ACTIVE DS

[LBW]

I don't take them, and lately I don't even read them, especially at the Peds office. The thought of all those germs really skeeves me out!

[Puddy73]

Yes, but only the freebie ones with multiple copies like Parenting. The others are usually so old and gross that I don't even bother reading them.

[annasmom]

Haha!! I read the topic and I just KNEW this was you Corie!!

I have been REALLY tempted, but I have never taken a magazine.

[proudsahmof3]

I never would, and I've honestly never seen anyone else do it either. I think people would consider it stealing. Plus, most of the magazines at any of my doctors' offices are in those plastic cover type things that you wouldn't want to take out of there anyway.

[skygoddess]

No, but on a few occasions I have asked the receptionist to photocopy a recipe that I was interested in.

[linsei]

Yesterday at the ped's office, I noticed a magazine was stamped "Sample copy - Do not remove from office". I thought it was common sense that the mags were supposed to be left at the office.

I think if there was an article/recipe/craft/whatever from the mag that I really wanted, I would probably ask the receptionist to photo copy it for me. I hate when people tear out things from the mags.

[Sillygirl]

I've had people leave my exam room with one of our magazines tucked under their arm. I thought it was a little tacky. OTOH, a few times people have asked me if they could have the magazine they were reading, and I'm always happy to say yes. Clears out the old ones, no problem. Like anything in life, it's how you approach it that makes the difference.

[alexsmommy]

I didn't read the other responses, but as a therpist who pays for this courtesy of having reading material while someone waits. It DRIVES. ME. NUTS. I consider it stealing.
I have no issue, however, when someone comes in and asks if they can take a magazine and bring it back next week (not typical with a physician visit I understand) or who asks me to photocopy the end of an article for them. I happily oblige.

[aa2mama]

Nope, if anything I bring magazines along from home and then leave them there when I'm finished for other people to read.

[s7714]

I usually take them from the waiting room to the exam room.

I always do that too. I have taken magazines home before, but only those from my OBs office where the doctors have said a couple times to me that I'm welcome to take it home since they have tons. They usually have mass copies of magazines laying around, almost like they get volumes of them from the magazine companies who are trying to "sell" their magazines to the patients/parents-to-be iykwim.

[Happy 2B mommy]

Okay, I'll 'fess up. I have, on a rare occasion, taken a mag out of the doctor's office. Never from the dentists, through. (maybe because the dentist's office isn't part of some big medical conglomorate).

[Dcclerk]

Never. That absolutely makes. me. crazy. At least around here, the doctors pay for the subscriptions and it is part of their overhead. I'm totally a believer in taking an interesting magazine to the exam room, but not out of the office. And I find the tearing out of articles to be the very worst. It is always the article that I want. In that case, I would rather you take the whole magazine than make sure that you rub in my face that you found the good article first.

[lorien_ca]

i have once that i can remember. it was an old (>6mos) copy of car and driver that reviewed a car my DH was drooling over at the time. it was while i was going for weekly appts. at the end of sam's pregnancy, and i just took it back the following week. i don't remember if i asked or not. i guess i just don't see it so black and white as 'stealing'. most of the magazines at my ob's office have the labels cut off, often have multiple copies, and they are usually a few weeks to months old, so i'm guessing they aren't buying subscriptions out of pocket on most things, but who knows...

lori