What has worked for me is to act like I care about the office staff. I tell them "Look, I know you're very busy and swamped with work. But could you please help me out here, I really need the records, I'm seeing my specialist tomorrow and I've had a million things to do and haven't been able to get here. I'd very much appreciate it if you could accomodate me."

This way you acknowledge the office girl an validate her feelings of being over worked wich most people don't understand. They do appreciate that. It has always worked for me, understanding it from their perspective.

-yawkaw