I came to Oahu Dermatology to seek treatment from Dr. Miki Garcia through a recommendation from a friend (who I found out, had probably never gotten treatment before!). This review is more for the customer service than the doctor but the whole experience is important.
My first visit was a consult so I made an appointment - at that time, I wasn't told that they had a promo where you get 10% if you pay upfront for 3 sessions.
I made an appointment and went back for the first session, got the treatment. After getting my face numbed, I waited close to an hour before the doctor saw me. I learned later that numbing usually only takes 30 min. And then upon paying, I was casually asked if I wanted to pay close to $1K upfront to enjoy the promo by a nurse who seemed incompetent and disinterested in trying to figure out how to work with the customer. Well, my answer is no, because I budget my spending? It would have been nice to know during the first visit when I was getting my consultation?! Anyway, when I went to the cashier to pay, another nurse said she would check with the doctor and give me a call back to see if I could still qualify when I came back for my second treatment session. There was no call-back or follow-up.
A couple of days before my second treatment appointment, I received 3 reminder phone calls (about 10-15 minutes from each other and from different people) about my appointment. Total overkill and shows lack of coordination. On the first call, I asked if they managed to find out whether I could still qualify, the administrator said she had to find out - and to her credit, she did call back to let me know.
Fast forward to my second treatment, I had to go back to the office after and specifically asked if they would provide cream to mask the redness if I needed it after. The nurse (who helped me with my numbing) was pretty nice and said yes; she said they could provide some tinted sunscreen. This time, numbing only took 30 min and I got to see the doctor. After the treatment, I asked for the tinted sunscreen and the girl who was doing my payment (I believe it was the same incompetent one from my session before) told me I had to buy tinted sunscreen if I needed some. I asked if they had samples and she said yes. Like, why are you asking me to buy if you could give me a sample?!
FYI - the Dr. used another method (freeze) this time which removed a portion of skin that was raised but this technique made the other spot (which was flat) darker after the treatment?!
Anyway, I went back for my third treatment session today. I waited for 30 minutes only to have a nurse come tell me that the IPL machine might be broken and she is not sure if I could get the treatment. She was pretty nice and offered to have the doctor look to see if I needed any "other treatment" but I was so done with this place. Completely wasted my time and my Uber rides back and forth.
One thing I learned too is that I would be looking for another clinic that have their own IPL machine so that I don't have to work around the schedule of the machine availability in the clinic! read more