I have been going to Quest weekly or biweekly (varying based on Dr.'s orders) for approximately the last two years. I usually go to the Pinecrest location at 9521 S Dixie Hwy, Pinecrest, FL 33156 (sometimes I go to another location based on appointment availability). I had never had an issue before. Today I was treated in an very rude and unprofessional manner by Sharkara (who I believe is playing the role of manager or something of the sort) simply because i asked a question.
I had an appointment at 7:10 AM, and I was in the waiting area when I noticed my name was removed from the screen and the person listed after me was called in. Sharkara was sitting at the door and I commented to her that my name had disappeared from the screen about 3-4 minutes before, and the next person had been called in. This seemed to bother her and she loudly said "You've been coming here long enough to know how this works". Then she went inside to the phlebotomist area and also loudly told a phlebotomist "Ashley , go call her" referring to me. That was all very unpleasant; but it does not end there. That is actually just the beginning of my humiliating experience at Quest this morning.
When Ashley was in the phlebotomist room with me about to start working on me, Sharkara called ALL the phlebotomists out of their rooms into the hallway (where I could hear), and in a loud and rude demeanor, started telling them "When this patient comes here, call her in even if you haven't put away your specimens". I got up from my chair and walked towards them and told her that since she was loudly speaking about me to the whole staff, I had something to say as well. She yelled "No! In the kitchen everyone!". And she took the staff to the kitchen. I then walked back to phlebotomist room and waited.
Then she came to the room and started yelling at me that I should know how this works. She said they had to put away the specimens. I told her I understood but I needed to be heard also and, when she finished as I started to tell her my point of view, she walked away clearly not caring about the customer's experience.
I was trying to tell her that I understood that the specimens should be put away but a better method would be to let the next available phlebotomist call the customer rather than removing the customer's name from list. After they put away their specimens, then they should call the next person. She never allowed me to provide this feedback because she would not listen and simply walked away. Then a few seconds later she walked back into the room to tell Ashley "When you are done with this customer's paper work, give it to me". This, once again, made my experience awful because I wonder if she was just bullying me or if she is going to do something with my paperwork that I should be concerned about. This is my health information that she was bullying me with.
I asked the phlebotomist Ashley for Sharkara's last name and she said "all you need is her first name". I don't know if she was scared that Sharkara would reprimand her, but she did not say a word and did not tell me Sharkara's last name. It almost sounds like Sharkara is terrorizing everyone including the employees and the customers. At all times her tone was loud, bossy and bully-like. All I did to trigger this, was to tell her that my name had disappeared from the screen. I am not sure what kind of pressure the company places on the staff; but the way she treated the rest of the staff was horrible and the way she treated me, the customer, was horrendous, unacceptable and unprofessional. No customer or staff member should be bullied in that way; and I will report this as high up as I possibly can; and I will share my experience with everyone I can.
I emailed the company this morning immediately after my appointment and no one has replied. I am in the process of obtaining the email address for the CEO because this is just simply unacceptable and he needs to know this is happening. read more
