This review is specifically about the front desk staff--not the doctors…read more
Summary: The doctors here have always been excellent, and they're the reason my family has continued coming for 9+ years. Unfortunately, the front desk staff have consistently been the opposite--unhelpful, unresponsive, and at times, flat-out rude. If you ask a question or try to find a solution to your own issue, you're met with a sigh or an annoyed tone--like the worst thing you could do is expect them to do their job. You'll notice this is a common theme. Their lack of proactiveness and basic compassion is the only thing consistent about them.
__
Recently, after my glasses broke, I was down to my last pair of monthly contacts. I called the office four separate times over the course of a week, each at different times, and left a voicemail every time. Not a single call was returned. Finally, on my last attempt, someone answered and told me my doctor would be away during the week my annual appointment was due.
I let the lack of response go and just said I'd call back once I had my work schedule, mentioning that my eyes were starting to sting. I didn't even express my frustration--I just wanted help.
In the meantime, I was rationing my last pair of lenses--wearing them for just a few hours a day for school and work, then taking them out. At my appointment, Dr. Landolfi, who was wonderful, immediately offered an emergency supply of contacts and said my new prescription would be ordered that day and ready in 7-10 days. She told me if I needed the emergency pair in the meantime, I could stop by and they'd be available.
A week later, I called again to check on the order. Surprise--no response. So I went in person.
No one was at the front desk when I walked in--maybe that explains the ignored calls. When someone came out, I asked if my contacts were in. She gave a short, dismissive, "You'll get a call when they come in." I explained I needed them for school and work and couldn't keep waiting, she just repeated the same line, offering no help, no effort, no empathy.
So once again, I, the patient, had to suggest a solution: I told her my doctor mentioned an emergency supply. Without even checking, she said, "No, we don't have any." I told her my doctor told me she did. She sighed loudly, asked for my date of birth, checked the computer, and went to the back. Then she came back and said she couldn't give them to me without a note from the doctor, who wasn't in.
So again--I, not her--asked if she could write a note or message the doctor and let me know when she gets a response. Which she reluctantly did.
I shouldn't have to do all the thinking, problem-solving, and follow-up in a medical office. That's what the front desk is there for. There were so many points during this experience where someone could have helped:
* When I first called, they might have offered to schedule me with another doctor since mine was away.
* They could've told me about an emergency supply.
* They could've referred me to another location so I wouldn't have to wait in such discomfort.
Maybe not all of that was possible--but I'll never know, because no one tried. And that's the problem.
