This was undeniably the worst experience I have ever had at any blood lab whatsoever, and…read moreespecially at this specific Quest Diagnostics location (314 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014).
In advance, I scheduled an appointment online through the MyQuest app for Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 8:10am. I arrived at approximately 8:00am for the appointment, and was "greeted" by the security guard at the front desk in the building lobby. As I entered the lobby, the security guard said to me "You are not going upstairs, Quest is not open yet. He (meaning the lab technician) is running late." When I asked the security guard if he had any specific details as to when the technician might be arriving, he responded back "I already told you he's running late. It could be 10 minutes, it could be 20 minutes, I have no idea. You can look for another appointment at a different location if you want, or go walk around outside." Evidently, the lab technician and the security guard were in contact with each other that morning.
Since it was very cold out on the morning of Saturday, December 7th, I decided to wait in the lobby. The lab technician arrived at approximately 8:30am, 20 minutes after my scheduled appointment. The security guard said "Hey brother" to the lab technician as the technician arrived. The security guard accompanied the lab technician in the elevator to the 3rd floor (location of the Quest lab), and then the security guard returned down to the lobby and said to me and two other women patients waiting, "You all can go upstairs now."
I have had my blood drawn in the past by this specific lab technician at this Quest location at 314 West 14th Street, New York, NY 10014 (I do not know his name) several times in the past, as I go for routine bloodwork every 3 months. While I find that this technician is never warm or friendly, and typically exudes little to no bedside manner, I have not had any specific issues with him drawing my blood in the past, other than the fact that he barely interacts with the patients and he does not demonstrate a warm, welcoming, or friendly demeanor.
When me and the 2 other female patients arrived at the Quest lab on the 3rd floor, the lab technician was in the kitchen making what appeared to be coffee or tea for himself. He offered no apology or explanation to me or the two other female patients for being 20 minutes late to the lab. He did not greet us or say "Good Morning." Conversely, as he exited the kitchen area, he blurted out in a loud and rude tone "Absolutely no walk-ins today, it's Saturday!" As previously mentioned, I had a scheduled appointment for 8:10am, but one of the female patients was a walk-in patient, and she politely asked the lab technician if there was any chance she could be seen by him if he had some available time. He cut her off and said in a loud tone "No, absolutely not!"
At that point, he proceeded to walk down the corridor to his lab station, and he yelled down the hallway for me by saying "David, come to Room #4." The rest of the session proceeded normally, the technician drew my blood in accordance with my doctor's prescription, and I exited the lab and the building.