The Poetry of Dentistry

The following framed notice is posted on the wall in my dentist's waiting room:

Payment is expected as
services are rendered unless
prior financial
arrangements have been
made.

The layout alone makes it look as if this is some sort of haiku poem, although I'm sure the number of words and syllables is probably wrong for that. It gave me pause, when I went in for my regular checkup and cleaning today.

First of all, for whom is it intended? Presumably the people who don't have a lot of income. Maybe the unemployed. Maybe those without much education (though of course the relationship between education and employment/income is not that predictable). Maybe recent immigrants who don't speak English all that well. In which case, would it not make sense to use plainer language, something like "Please pay at the time of your visit. If this will be a problem please let us know." Or maybe there could still be a poetic element to it, while using more straightforward language. Something along the lines of:

Please to pay
Before you stray
Or ask us for
Another way.

The other thing that struck me about the notice was that it was in English only, even though Ottawa is home to a fairly high proportion of francophones. Evidently bilingualism and bicuspidism do not always go hand in hand. Or tooth 'n nail. Or something.

Surely that's not rocket science. Or even calculus.