This review is for the consultation and initial phone interaction only. I did not end up being treated by Dr. Hoffman.
Let me get the Pros out of the way. My interaction with Dr. Hoffman was fine. He was pleasant, professional and answered all of my questions during the consultation. So why did I decide not to move forward with the procedure? Read on....
When I called to make my consultation appointment, I was put on hold for a longer than average time. As a matter of fact, I hung up figuring that if this was a taste of their customer service, I wanted no further.
Thus I was surprised when my phone rang a few minutes later and the caller ID showed "Plastic Surgeon" - is a doctor's office supposed to Star 69 you?? (Let me insert my first editorial point here: Out of respect for the patient's privacy, their number should be private. What if I had room mates, or this was a work number, do I want my personal business for all who scroll through the Caller ID log to see?)
I have to admit, the message left on my VM was very apologetic for putting me on hold for so long and I was persuaded to give this establishment another chance. Because hey, maybe someone called in sick and they were under staff.....let me not judge too harshly.
I was looking forward to my consultation and arrived 5 minutes early. I stood at the window for about 2 minutes waiting for the receptionist to LOOK UP from talking on the phone to acknowledge and/or check me in. No luck.
30 more seconds past and another person appeared, greeted me and gave me some paperwork to fill out. While this second person was pleasant and friendly, I could not help but notice she was dressed as if she was on her way to a club. I'm not a prude BUT I want my doctor's staff to look professional and credible, not someone who could double for a hostess at a Vegas night club. This was when my uneasiness kicked into high gear and I started to question the restraint and taste of the medical staff. After all, the difference between a frozen face and a "believable" face is a mere injection apart.
After 45 minutes of waiting, I was finally shown to a consultation room and Dr. Hoffman came in shortly after (see Pros section above).
Following the consultation, I met with Leanna to go over cost and other details. She too was very nice and professional. I asked for two references and she said she would have those to me by the end of the day.
It's been about a week since my consultation and I still have not gotten names of the two references. Here's the straw that broke the camel's back. When I came onto Yelp to do research on Dr. Hoffman, I came across glowing reviews. But when I looked a little closer, I realized that "Leanna W" - the person who left a 5 star review, is the SAME PERSON WHO WORKS AT THE OFFICE. In addition, the other positive reviewers for the San Jose office are friends! This seemed very suspicious to me and completely blew their credibility.
In closing, I could have over looked the long wait on the phone, the 1st inattentive receptionist, the 2nd improperly dressed for a medical office receptionist and the long wait to see the doctor. But when you combine all that with questionable glowing reviews and a failure to deliver references as promised, it's enough to tip the scale in the negative. read more
