UPDATE: I let my nurse & dr. in on my thoughts, & they've made some changes in the front. It's been pleasant the last couple of visits, so I figured it was time to update my review. Thanks, LRHP!
2 stars: Before I start, I want to clarify what I'm reviewing, which is the Rowlett office. I am NOT reviewing Dr. Waw or any other doctor, the nurses, or anything related to the Forney office. ALL of my experiences with those have been great. Unfortunately, I have to deal with the front desk at the Rowlett office much more often then I do the nurse or doctors, and the wait time spent in the waiting room accounts for most of our time there. That latter wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't so drab. The fish tank is broken. The TV doesn't work, & when it does work it's only information for parents on repeat-nothing for the kids to be engaged in. The theme is more like a grown man's office than a kid-friendly pediatrician's office and there are no toys. That's all a little picky, I know. It's just that I've seen pediatrician offices that engage, excite, and calm kids by just the paint on the wall. (Fyi, their Forney office IS kid-friendly. I wish this office would copy it.) My real concern, though, is the front desk. My oldest daughter has been a patient there for 3+ years, but the front crew has no idea who she is. My youngest (9 months old) has been there 6 or 7 times just in the last 9 months, and they have no clue who she is is either. It's disheartening because when we're there it's either for shots or because at least one of my girls is sick, and we're not even greeted when we walk in. There's no comfort in that office. No smiles or a little TLC for the girls (or the stressed, worried, really tired mom). They're curt on the phone, and that's on a good day. I've been hung up on several times. (The phone rings and rings, and seems like someone picks up the phone then hangs it back up.) It's very hard to get an appt. if there's something urgent. For example, my youngest had a mild fever due to an infection. In order to allow her back at school the following day, I needed a sign off from the doc. After talking to the nurse about my options, she said I needed to come in first thing in the morning to check her temp and write a note. So she transferred me back to the front desk to make that appt. I explained the reasoning for my appt. and that I needed to come first thing in the morning. She said, "We don't have any appointments in the morning. You can come in at 1:45." Not helpful. When I said this was per the nurse, her tone sounded irritated and even rude when she said, "Hold on." She finally came back on with a morning appt. If that appt. was available, why did I have to insist on it? And all I needed was temp check and a note, not a full on visit. Sometimes a company should accommodate customers for convenience and relationship, not everything has to be by the book. (Perhaps if they knew who we were or took any interest in knowing who we were, they would care if I was able to get in or not.) And when something happens that scares me-i.e. my oldest going from 99 to a 104 temp in 30 mins along with vomiting-I think it's a natural reaction to call my pediatrician for advice. The way the phones are set up, I can either press 1 to make an appt. or press 2 to leave a message on a nurse line. (The sweet nurse returns phone calls, but it's usually at the end of the work day.) I wanted to talk to a human in this case so I pressed 1 for the front. I explained the situation & wanted to know if I needed to come in, wait it out, or go to the ER. Her answer, "I can't tell you what to do. I can either make an appointment for you or let you leave a message on the nurse line." Well no kidding! I needed compassion & empathy & direction as my rarely-sick, never had a fever over 100 kid vomited for a fourth time. There are lots of girls in the front & in the filing room: I never know who it is I'm talking to, but there are two who are a more difficult than others & seem to despise their jobs. I truly believe that if my doctor & others in that practice only knew how difficult it is to work with the front, they would do something about it. They've hired a few newer girls in the last several months that I hope the more veteran staff does not taint with their apathy, and I do not want to chunk them in with this review. Perhaps these girls should take over and be the ones to answer the phone and greet patients. *I will give them kudos on billing and insurance: I've never had an issue with that.* read more
