California Woman Books Doctor’s Appointment. She Doesn’t Realize It’s at a Coffee Shop Until She Gets There. The Barista Is the Receptionist

Going to the doctor can be a pain. But one woman was completely thrown off guard by something inside her doctor’s office, which for some, would be a major plus. For others, it might just feel a little bit too jarring. 

Simone Jackson (@simone.jackson__) told her TikTok audience that after booking a regularly scheduled doctor’s appointment, she walked into the “office” to find a multi-purpose space.

The TikToker claimed that when she first drove by the dermatology office, she didn’t recognize it as an office at first. It was only after walking into what she thought was a coffee shop that she realized she booked an appointment at a “multi-purpose space.”

Jackson’s video describing the dual “coffee shop doctor’s office” has received more than 677,000 views. 

What Happened At The Doctor Appointment?

Jackson started her video off by saying, “ You guys, California can be so weird.” The remark came after she visited a dermatologist to check her skin. The content creator explained that she spends a lot of time in the sun and wanted to book a preventative appointment. 

When she arrived at the address, she didn’t realize she was in the right place at first. 

“ I go, ‘Surely this can’t be right. Like, let me double-check the address.’ Check it, like, three times,” Jackson recalled. When she walked into the shop, she saw a barista at the front. She then told the barista where she was going.

The barista explained that Jackson was in the right place. That’s when she offered to check Jackson in for her appointment. 

“ I’m looking around and I’m like, ‘This is… I’m gonna get my skin checked in a coffee shop?’” Jackson said. The barista let her know she could sit back down. When she was ready for her appointment, the employee then led her into a “tiny little closet room,” where she got her skin checked.

“ It literally was a five-minute appointment,” Jackson added. 

What did commenters say?

Viewers who saw Jackson’s video tried to pinpoint where she went for her appointment, although Jackson did not confirm whether any of them were right. 

“This has to be a place in LA or OC. I did some digging and my guess is besa matcha and coffee,” one viewer said. Besa is inside Besa Health, which describes itself as: “A modern clinic and coffee shop experience designed to reduce stress, build trust, and help patients feel at home from the moment they walk in.”

Designers created the clinic to “help you feel calm, comfortable, and cared for from the moment you walk in.”

Other commenters joked about Jackson’s overall experience. 

“A speakeasy dermatologist office is crazy lol,” one viewer said. 

Another added, “Barista/Receptionist/Skin cancer checker.”

@simone.jackson__ I’m never making a doctors appt again #dermatologist #skinchecks #storytime ♬ original sound – Simone Jackson

Are multi-purpose doctor’s offices the future of healthcare? 

An aspirational publication from Fast Company reimagined doctor’s offices as multi-purpose spaces in 2013: coffee shop, fitness center, and center for overall wellbeing. Sarah Bader, the article’s author who is also a health and wellness expert, discussed the idea of creating a coffeehouse waiting room for patients. Alternatively, she said a reception area “might be used to host live, in-person ‘chat rooms’ for people with the same chronic disease or lunch hour ‘work the kinks out’ exercise sessions for office workers with lower back pain.”

But Sarah Bader’s—and her company Gessler—idea hasn’t necessarily translated to many private practice healthcare clinics. Some hospitals and large-scale treatment centers have adopted some principles of hospitality, both to improve patient care and overall satisfaction, but many private practices don’t have the licenses or space to transform waiting areas into social lounges with food and refreshments. A utilitarian waiting room—without vanilla lattes—generally awaits most individuals seeing a specialist or primary care doctor.

 Besa Health, however, is one notable exception. 

The Mary Sue reached out to Jackson via email for more information.

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