A couple weeks ago I had to get a broken tooth fixed. We are new to Albuquerque so I was going to a new dentist (not Peach Tree, another one) who I had not been to before. Long story short (read my review of Family Smiles Dentistry if you want the long story long) I was very unhappy with my experience. I was also not able to get my teeth cleaned the day I got my tooth fixed. I had a general exam, and Xrays, but no cleaning. So I still needed a cleaning, and I still needed a good dentist.
Encouraged by the positive reviews on Yelp, I made an appointment at Peach Tree Dental. For a cleaning. I was specific. "I need to get my teeth cleaned, " I said. "Great," they said, "come on in."
So today the office called me several times before my appointment. The first time to ask if I could come in early (nope, I can't. I'm a busy person on a schedule, that's why I made an appointment). The second time they called back, I missed the call. When I listened to the message they left, it said they needed me to call them about my insurance, but they didn't give any more details than that. It was only a short while until the actual appointment time, and I was in a really busy place. Now me personally, I don't like to give lots of personal details like insurance related information, over the phone in a busy public place. So I decided to go in a little bit earlier so I could get whatever it was taken care of.
SO I drive all the way over there, and the receptionist is like, "Oh we called you, your insurance told us you already had your general exam for this year."
I said, "Right, I don't need an exam, I made an appointment for a cleaning."
"Oh no!" says the receptionist, "We can't do a cleaning without an exam."
"Of course you can," I say.
""Nope," she says, "We wont, we always do a general exam."
Now I'm mad.
"Can't you call and get my X-rays at the other dental office," I ask, "I literally just had an exam two weeks ago."
"Nope," she says, "Sorry." But she doesn't sound sorry.
So thanks for wasting my time Peach Tree, just so you could get a lousy $80 extra bucks from my insurance company. You could have cleaned my teeth, and then when my next exam came around I would have been back. But now I certainly never will.
My quest for a good dentist in Albuquerque continues.
***UPDATE***
Dr. Burk contacted me this morning and said that he heard there was a "misunderstanding" yesterday. He wanted to let me know that he did need to do a general exam in order to follow a "standard of care." He said it was important to him that customers not be unhappy, however, so he wanted to offer to do a free general exam, and then he could perform my cleaning.
I appreciate that Dr. Burk took the time to call me personally. So I am adding a star to my review. But after thinking it over, I have decided not to return to Peach Tree. Aside from the fact that I think its an ethical grey area, accepting a free service from a business after giving them a bad review (whether they saw it or not, I don't know), I don't have time to go all the way out there again. What I wish had happened yesterday was that the receptionist had said, "Oh, I don't think its possible to do the cleaning without the exam, but since you've come all the way down here, let me go and see if something can be worked out." Then, even if it turned out they couldn't accommodate me, I would have felt like they valued my time and my business. Hopefully, they will do better next time for someone else. read more