In case you don't want to read every horrible detail about this doctor, I'll warn you now... do not book an appointment here!
The reason for my visit is bcz my hearing loss is worsening so I booked an appt with Dr. Slater. I arrive at 2:20 for a 3:00 appt bcz I have paperwork to complete. One odd thing here was that one of the forms asked for my credit card to keep on file. Maybe that's some new trend but I sure the hell wasn't going to give them that.
2:45 I was pleasantly surprised when at 2:45 I was brought back by the tech to conduct my hearing test. This is where the pleasant experience ends and the weird experience begins. The tech's first question to me was "do I have any children?". Although that was a bit odd for a hearing test, but no big deal.
3:05 The tech finishes the hearing test and escorts me to a waiting area to wait to see the doctor. I'm there long enough for another person to come through that same process and be seated next to me. After 35 min pass, I ask that other patient if this wait time is normal. She says that it is. 5 min later, a med asst finally takes me to a room.
3:45
I spent the next 10 min telling the med asst everything that had already been written down on the forms I completed. Annoying but no big deal.
3:55 As he leaves the room, I ask how much longer before the doctor comes in. He says that Dr Slater is going pretty quickly today so not much longer. 20 minutes later the doctor arrives along with the medical assistant.
4:15 Finally, I see the doctor for my 3:00 appt. An hour and 15 min late seems too much to me. I know what you're thinking here: all doctors' offices run late. Well, I'm here to tell you that not ALL of them are like that. You just have to look harder for those rare ones that are well-oiled machines. There are actually a few Costco's out there!
Here's where the most unprofessional dr experience of my life starts. He asks what I do for a living. I tell him that I'm an executive asst. He then proceeds to bash his own executive asst, which I have no choice than to be offended by asst He then asks for the reason for my visit. I start telling him and quickly realize that he is looking at his med asst and wants him to answer this question. Well, of course. Who better to say what is going on with me than some stranger who doesn't know a thing about me...oh of course, the medical asst. Shockingly, he got it wrong twice so I had to interrupt their discussion about me to clarify things as he went along. Okay, now proceed Mr medical assistant. It was so awkward and strange. Then they started this medical terminology banter. I felt like I was being talked about but in another language.
As the visit proceeded, we continued to discuss details about what is happening with my hearing. As I was mid-sentence, a second medical assistant barges in to tell the doctor about something going on with another patient. Did he knock, open the door and say excuse me ma'am I need to speak to Dr. Slater about an urgent issue and have the doctor exit the room for a moment? Oh no. He didn't even wait for me to stop talking before he rudely interrupted my doctor visit. What's worse is that Dr. Slater was receptive to this and had a full conversation about some other patient right in the middle of my visit! That is definitely a first for me. I couldn't believe what was happening. It seemed as if this was normal for them.
Dr. Slater suggested a CAT scan to see what exactly was going on. I'm giving him credit here for actually admitting that he was unsure about what is going on with my ears. He also suggested steroid shots for the tinnitus and hearing aids. He says that he sells them but you can also get them from places like Costco. Says they're cheaper but his customer service is better. Ha! His arrogance is blinding the reality that his customer service doesn't deserve Yelp's one-star minimum. I ask him what he thought my issue was: all I got was that something was causing inner ear pressure (I think). He shook my hand and said to come back if anything urgent happens, and I'll see you in a year.
4:20 I go to check out and wait for two minutes before someone notices me enough to open the sliding glass door. I then listen to the girl joke three times about taking money from me to pay off some dude's house. I know she was kidding and just having fun but I was so annoyed at that point that it wasn't funny. Especially when she almost charged me $160 before another person walked over and said no, she has a $35 copay. I finally walked out at 4:26.
Saying that this entire office is highly unprofessional is a gross understatement. I only blame Dr. Slater, though. It's his practice, his process, his culture. I would have figured at his age, he's had enough practice to get things right. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and I will never return. One of these days maybe Yelp will make changes to allow someone to review with zero stars. read more