I would give it zero stars if I could. This place used to be great and ran perfectly. Then they moved the staff and now it is a bunch of jokers who can't get anything done. Today there was an hour wait at 10:45 - seriously terrible service for the many elderly who come to this place. Avoid if you can. If you can't then bring a book or laptop to while away the hours. read more

They need help! I even heard an elderly lady complain that she'd been waiting over an hour. My friend drove me to take a drug screen for employment.....and I waited over 2 hours! This place was just a complete mess. I only went because my employer chose this location of them all! read more

This place is great and the people that work here are so friendly! I went in this morning to get a routine blood test and was quite frankly terrified. I've had many bad experiences having blood drawn at various places throughout the country. I have veins that are pretty hard to find and have experienced nurses poking around to find them, moving the needle around inside of me, having the top come off with my blood spurting everywhere. You name it. When I first came to this lab I was greeted by a friendly receptionist and directed into a room where another friendly face greeted me. She was a student, however, and was unable to feel my vein (to be expected) and asked if my veins were normally hard to find. When I told her that they were she immediately got someone more experienced to handle my test. And she was fabulous! Found my vein immediately and I had 3 vials drawn in no time. She even informed me to keep pressure on it for a few minutes afterward so that it would not bruise. I'll definitely be back and ask for Rima anytime I need blood drawn in the future :) read more

I call this place to find out their hours. Their answering machine says that their hours for drug screening are 9-3:30. I race down to get there and sign in at 3:29. The receptionist tells me that their hours for drug screening are 7-3. I called their number and had her listen to their message. Her response was "oh wow. Yeah that is wrong." She refused to honor what they advertise on their message service. Now I have to leave work early AGAIN next week because this place fails to live up to the terms that they give you when you call! read more

I took my 2 year old to get her blood drawn this morning. I was DREADING it! We made an appointment, and they brought us back right on time. I wish I had gotten the names of the two women who helped us because they were amazing! I brought our iPad to distract my daughter with music. The phlebotomists were singing along to The Wheels on the Bus and playing "open and shut" with the lab room door along with the song. They were gentle, quick, and friendly. My daughter who usually puts up a fight in the doctor's office was totally at ease! She smiled through the entire experience. I couldn't believe it! If you need to get a pediatric blood draw, the San Carlos Quest Lab is the place to go! I cannot speak highly enough about their staff! read more

I wish I could give them -5 stars. Went to a company health faire in Sept '11. Insurance wanted a more thorough checkup and the appointment at Quest was made through the insurance company. 1. I received confirmation emails from Quest and the insurance company. Show up for my appointment but Quest couldn't find my paperwork. Spent extra time waiting while they tried to get everything re-faxed. 2. Nurse barely spoke english and I died of embarrassment as she handed me a urine cup in the waiting room. More embarrassment as I exited the bathroom and she signaled for me to hand my cup of urine to her ... while she's talking to someone in the very small waiting room. Actually, the guy sitting nearby looked just as shocked as me. Not every day a stranger's cup of urine is passed right next to your head. 3. In the exam room the nurse looked at me and said "you're about 200 pounds?". My jaw dropped because I'm almost half that. I just smirked as she kept lowering the weight scale. Yup, she was about 90 pounds off. 4. Then she had me turn around on the scale to lower the metal bar and measure my height. She said I was 4'8". I told her that was impossible since I was 4" taller one month prior. She kept insisting that was my height and tried to show me it was accurate. Problem was, she kept moving the bar out of the way whenever I turned around. I should've figured she had problems since there was masking tape to indicate 5' and 6'. 5. I know blood pressure can fluctuate, but multiple readings in 15 minutes ranged from 120/80 to 95/75. 6. And, of course, I had to "sign off" on the results. I didn't want to sign-off on my height but I felt like I had no choice. I didn't want to call insurance and explain everything and go through fasting again. read more

After years of bad experience with blood tests, I am so happy to say that I have finally found THE place to get it done!! You see, I have very tiny/hidden veins..and b/c of that, I've experienced many unnecessary pokes and pain! :( They would think they found the right vein, and then guess what, no, nothing would come out! ugh! and then they'd keep trying until I have bruises all over my arm, ouch! Needless to say, over the years, I've developed a major anxiety of having to get my blood drawn. That is until now... The phlebotomist (Rima) has truly saved me!!! She was so sweet and gentle, and I'd never thought I'd say this, but the experience was actually quick and painless! Thanks to her, I will no longer be afraid to go get a blood test. Other Pros: The place was clean, the staff was friendly, and there was no wait. I had an appt but I didn't even need one at the time I went. I would have given 5 stars; however, there is one negative thing: The "bandage" that they put on me was terrible. It was more like very sticky tape, and it literally ripped the skin and hair right off my arm! Ouch! Trying to take it off seriously hurt more than the actual needle! And still, now three days later, after intense scrubbing, the "sticky stuff" is still there! (See attached picture.) It wasn't Rima though. It was another staff member (do not know her name) who put the "bandage" on me. Note to Self and All of you: Remember to ask for a regular bandaid! read more

Doesn't get much better. I showed up today Wednesday at 9:30 with no appointment. I handed over my paperwork, and was seen immediately by Rima. She is as nice and efficient and all the reviews say. Quick pinch and I was on my way in much less than 10 minutes. I will go here from now on! read more

Had to get some blood tests done for my annual exam. I was able to book an appointment online for the next day. Awesome. Haven't had an annual exam in years (hate needles and tests). There was ample 2 hour street parking in front. The lab was expertly run, I was seated as soon as I arrived. Rima took my blood and kept a cheery conversation going so I didn't have to look down. She was done before I could cringe. Thanks for that. I'll definitely be going back for any future lab work. Only if I have to, of course. read more

I HATE needles but I had to get a blood test. I'm glad I chose this Quest, because the service was excellent and efficient, and Rima did a wonderful job! She was very professional, and made the best of what is, obviously, a very undesirable experience. I'd definitely go back here for future blood tests. One thing, though: I made an appointment online via the www.questdiagnostics.com website; however, when I showed up the man at the front desk told me they don't take appointments. That was a bit confusing. But regardless, I didn't have to wait at all, since I arrived in the middle of the day. read more

This place changed my perception on getting my blood drawn. I have had many bad experiences over the years with painful trips to the labs inside hospitals and clinics that don't initially use the correct equipment or are insufficient. The staff was very efficient and made the process very easy. read more

I needed to gets some bloodwork done and I searched Yelp for a number of labs in my area. Almost all of them had very poor ratings -- 1 or 2 stars average. The one exception was this lab in San Carlos which had a 5 star average. Now I'm in the market research business so I know that that is a huge difference, and clearly statistically significant (given the number of ratings), so clearly something about this particular lab was better than others. So I decided to try this lab even though it was a bit further from my location than the other, poorly rated labs. I got there about 30 minutes after the place opened in the morning and it was quite crowded. All the seats in the waiting area were taken. Despite the crowd, I was processed relatively quickly and efficiently. Also, both the receptionist and the phlebotomist were very friendly and competent. This is the place to go for labwork. One minor thing, the address for this place is Ste F, not Ste C read more

Unfriendly, not about customer or patient service, understaffed, unhappy, worst service and bedside manners.

I'll excuse the fact that one out of the two times I've had blood drawn here it led to a subdural hematoma that hurt for two weeks and kept me up at night. I have easy veins, but anyone can make a mistake. What I won't excuse is the general level of incompetence and passive aggression. It's always been there, but an experience a few days ago led to my joining Yelp to make this very post. I went in for a urine culture for a UTI - very simple. First they didn't have the order from my doctor, who had indeed sent it. Quest's answering machine states they'll call the doctor in cases like that, but they refused to do that when I asked and made me call instead. Predictably, my doctor needed to speak to the Quest staff, so I had to hand them my personal phone. Apparently Quest is no longer taking electronic orders (at least to this location) like they used to, so my doctor then faxed them a copy of what she had sent electronically. Throughout all this, the staff member who stands off to the right and calls the patients back - Marion or something like that - seemed upset that I didn't know what my doctor and the Quest staff had said to each other, refused to call my doctor back for any additional information, and kept asking questions to me across the room but refusing any answers I gave without walking up to her each time. She finally called me back to the room with the computer and asked me if I was familiar with the test ordered, whose description she had pulled up on the screen. "Yeah, you pee in a cup," I said. She countered that they couldn't do the test because it called for a urine sample "collected from a catheter or voided." She said they couldn't do the test because I didn't have a catheter. "Or voided," I pointed out. "That means pee." She apparently didn't know what voided meant. After conceding and giving me a specimen cup, she didn't offer me any antiseptic wipes to avoid contamination from external bacteria. I had to ask for some at the front. Good thing I knew to ask, because otherwise the test would have been contaminated. My doctor called the next day to make sure everything had gone through, and the Quest staff assured her the results would be in after another two days. Two days later, she called and learned the test hadn't even been run. The sample had just been sitting around. Quest offered to run it then, but a three-day-old urine sample is useless. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here with an ongoing infection. In conclusion, I've got a LabCorp appointment tomorrow a few miles further away, and I hope to never go back to this particular Quest location. Nobody sick needs that kind of hassling and neglect. read more

Like most other Quest Labs this place is terribly understaffed with an inefficient workflow. 2 phlebotomists there today, 10 people waiting when I arrived with an appointment. One elderly couple had been sitting there 90 minutes. They put your wait time on a TV just so you can get even more frustrated watching your wait time go from 30 min to 40 min when someone signs in with an appt. I was listed on the tv with a 10 min wait time, which on reality turned out to be 35 min..and I was taken ahead of most everyone else in the room. One phlebotomist seems to manage the drug screens who don't have to wait in line with the rest of us bc it's a quick urine test. But while I was there 6 drug screen patients cut in front of everyone else which took a lot of both phlebotomist' time just doing their paperwork. So in reality there is one plebotomist to manage the paperwork and then draw your blood. There was a 3rd phlebotomist who was sent home at noon bc she is only part time, the manager was there and sent her home. So management is well aware of the sluggish workflow and patient inconvenience. Sterile procedure is loosely followed bc they wipe your arm with alcohol then tap the vein multiple times with their non-sterile gloves. Now quest wants to make more money and charge you $10 just to have on-line access to your lab results. No one else charges patients to access their medical records on-line, just Quest. Finally, she used a vein that she couldn't see instead of the bulging one on my other a, then instead of pulling the needle out she started quickly jabbing the needle around looking for it. It was extremely painful, felt like she hit a nerve. I demanded she pull the needle out and she didn't want to....she easily got the vein in the other arm...which just pisses me off that she was jabbing around obviously lost and not smart enough to stop and start over...I had to tell her what to do. I will NOT be back! read more

I just came back from having my blood drawn and I have to say that this facility is really nice and clean. The staff is very friendly and I will return there for my glucose test in a few weeks. I made an appointment, but was way too early and it was not a problem at all. The wait time was 5 minutes and the guy who took my blood was very nice! He did a great job drawing my blood and made me feel very comfortable. I love that place! I recommend using the San Carlos facility highly. I went to the San Mateo facility for my last pregnancy and OMG it was terrible!! This place is much better! read more

I think I've just experienced the same employee as a previous reviewer. Wow, she was rude to everyone, including a lady with a small child. Saying her systems were down and shouting at everyone. She shouted at me to sit down and then proceeded to talk about her commute for 10 minutes with another member of staff. She asked for my credit card and I said "can you send me the bill please". I saw her type in "patient refuses to pay"! Very scared that she is still employed. read more

Came here after Open Enrollment for a "Blueprint for Wellness" exam. Height, weight, belly circumference, blood test and blood pressure. I was taken right away and lead to an exam room. The nurse took my blood pressure on some digital machine and it came out high. She took it once more and it was high again (like 180 over 107). She then took my blood, height, weight, belly circumference and my blood pressure once more. Again, my blood pressure was very high. I filled out a pink form stating I would contact my doctor about my high blood pressure. Two weeks later I went to my doctor. Guess what? My blood pressure is no where near as high as Quest is trying to say. Admittedly, it is a tad high (140 over 90), but something is going on at Quest. Maybe they purposely have these things set up this way so insurance companies can raise your rates claiming you're not keeping yourself healthy. If this place hadn't botched the blood pressure test, their rating would be higher. Thanks Quest for making me think my blood pressure was at dame near heart attack level. read more

Early morning weekday appt so wait time was fine - seen within a reasonable amount of time. Phlebotomist was friendly and very professional when doing the blood draw. However, the receptionist was definitely another story. She did not smile, gave very little eye contact and was abrupt to the point of being almost rude...definitely needs to find a non-people oriented job! read more

The San Carlos office is completely disorganized. They have five people completing the same task rather than splitting up the duties. Five people checked me in, five people stood around while one person drew my blood AND they still had problems completing these tasks with any efficiency. One of the ladies yelled at me across the waiting room to ask me personal information rather than calling me to the front desk and asking. I scheduled an appointment for 9:45am and wasn't called until 10:30 b/c of the inefficiency at this office. Another person in the waiting room said this was her second visit to the office b/c the lab made a mistake on her blood test the first time. From reading the other reviews, this is not uncommon. read more

Rima is amazing. Patient, very knowledgeable about the tests and great with kids. She's calm and soothing when my 4 year old kicks and screams during a blood draw. She always goes above and beyond, and does so without making a big deal of it ... recently I needed Quest to do a blood draw to be sent to another lab, I didn't have a test kit in hand and she did an absolutely great job helping me figure out what test kit was needed and getting the blood drawn and shipped. read more

The woman lab technician/receptionist - she is responsible for drawing blood and managing stool specimens as well as desk work - was absolutely unprofessional and mean spirited. Unfortunately I forgot her name, but I think she was of Filipino descent, so to those who employ her, I came in on 2/19/16 near closing time at around 4:00 pm. After an exhausting and stressful day, I calmly came into the office to drop off my stool specimen. I waited patiently for about 10 minutes until she finally payed attention to me. She did not even have too many people in her office at the time, so she did not have to act as tense as she was. And even if she had a lot going on for her, one should not take it out on a patient or customer. Furthermore, my situation could have taken all of a minute to take care of if she wasn't such a needless and angry wreck. So, I came in to drop off a stool specimen. And you know what's funny, she was completely wrong on questioning the legitimacy of my stool sample, as she said it needed to be immediately frozen after I put my stool in the sample. This turns out to be completely untrue as a few other professional lab technicians (I confirmed this at two different labs) have told me that it is good to go without freezing it if you take it in the very day you put your fresh stool in the sample, WHICH I DID after two or three hours after going. So, she has me needlessly worrying about whether the sample was void or not, and I'm not a fan of redoing stool samples - so gross. I gave her the form authorizing my stool sample and unfortunately I forgot to write my name and birthday on the stool specimen bottle itself, so she asked me to do so and was over alarmed about my forgetting to do it. I was ready to quickly write it on the spot, but she promptly and with attitude told me to go into the bathroom to do it as she stressed it was a "bio-hazard" to do so there. She definitely dramatized the bio-hazard thing, because I could have easily written my name on the container while it was in a paper bag I provided and we were at the front desk for goodness sake! Even if I'm wrong about whether it is a bio-hazard or not, I still, without hesitation, apologized and immediately went into the bathroom which is right near the front desk (took like 2 seconds to walk in). Unfortunately I didn't have a pen with me, and she certainly didn't make sure I had it, so I asked her for a pen right away and that is when she became super angry and yelled at me that she was really busy and helping someone else! Wow, was she mean. So I walked back there myself and grabbed a pen I can find on the desk and went into the bathroom and quickly filled it out. So, she told me to just leave it in the bathroom and she'll get to it when she could (and she already made me paranoid from the start that the stool sample could be void - which is obviously not true if she actually knew what she was doing). Since I was already insecure, I told her to quickly put it in the freezer which would have taken all of 10 seconds, but she yells at me that she will get to it later and that she is with someone else (she was right near the front desk and the bathroom is RIGHT THERE). I'm super insecure at this point that I let her know my insecurity about the preservation of the stool sample and would very much appreciate it if she took the few seconds to put the sample into the freezer. She puts up a fit and while mocking me, she grabs the sample and puts it in the freezer. I thank her anyways but in my mind I'm so paranoid that I think she might later sabotage my sample! So I go into the car, but I'm miserable and insecure at this point and go back into the office to ask her if the sample will be okay and that all this won't be for nothing. She says "Your back?!" And then she yells at me more and I said, why do you have to give me attitude? And I emphasized how all I wanted was reassurance my stool sample was going to be okay. I mean, she's the one who got me paranoid in the first place through her lack of proper information and absolutely unprofessional and nasty attitude. I leave the place feeling absolutely depressed and miserable. No one should treat another human being like this. This is a great way to lose business. SHE SHOULD NO LONGER BE ALLOWED TO WORK THERE. So, the stool sample after a week is weirdly specified and the receptionist at my doctor's office was confused on how to read the results. At first she said that she read that the stool sample was unable to be processed (very shady!) but after looking into the situation and talking with my doctor, she eventually finds out that the stool sample tested negative for anything. How do I know if this lab technician sabotaged it or not? I have another stool sample kit, and I'm highly thinking of redoing my stool sample and taking it elsewhere. My doctor is supposed to call me back, and I'm still in the process of figuring things out. read more

Had an appointment really had to pee I've been waiting forever it's been an hour. All these walk ins are getting in ahead of me horrible customer service lady gave me a bunch of attitude would give them a 0 but you can't. read more

went in at 7am, was the third person to be seen and left by 730. staff was friendly and efficient, wait area was so-so but loved the quick timing. read more

This review is only for Olivia, I am sorry but no one should encountered the experience I did. Any-who I was there on Monday for a 3 hour glucose test and she was the first one to assist ; first off since I'm pregnant I've gotten my blood tested so many time so I know where is the best place to get blood drawn so I told her and she didn't listen which is fine because at the end of the day there suppose to be the professionals. This lady stuck the needle and since there was no blood coming out she kept moving it from LEFT to RIGHT inside me!! I'm no genius but I know that's not the correct way. So I politely told her to stop and they got another person to help ; she (the other lady - didn't catch her name but she speaks spanish ; young ) did it so fast I didn't even feel a pinch and there got the blood they needed for the test. Let me tell you that when I spoke with the manager his excuse was that she was new and she needs practice.. uhm hello if she still needs practice send her back to med school but don't have her hurting your patients because she clearly doesn't know what she's doing. read more

The location was easy to find, and there was plenty of parking on the street. There wasnt a line, and I was in and out within 10 mins. The lady who drew my blood had a good sense of humor.. I was pleased and would go back again (if needed). read more

This lab is extremely slow. Three technicians and the wait was still over an hour for a simple blood draw. Avoid this lab if you don't have an appointment. read more

I've had my blood drawn many, many places and this is by far the best place. I have a difficult arm to draw blood. But RIMA makes it seem effortless and easy to get blood from me. And they're super friendly and nice too. read more

I had a great experience at this Quest location today. I had an appointment and only had to wait about 2 minutes before I was called up. There were 3-4 employees there to keep things moving. The facility was clean and comfortable. The woman who took my blood, Rima, was so kind and did an excellent job. She was gentle and even though I had 5 tubes drawn I could barely feel her change them out. I have gone to other labs where I needed 5 tubes and each time they switched tubes it was painful. A nurse called FedEx to pick up my blood sample right away as per doctors orders. I appreciated their efficiency. read more

I was there to drop off some specimens with all paperwork in order and they kept me waiting 50 minutes. Those waiting to be treated waited even longer. I have had good service at other Quest facilities but I will never go back to this facility. read more

My husband and I have gone to this location the last few times we have gotten blood drawn because of Rima. She is very professional, always in a good mood and a sweetheart overall. We will be coming back here mainly because of her and also the rest of the staff here. They are all lovely. read more

Even with an appointment it was a long wait. A lot of other people were waiting as well, and they were asking how much longer. The person working was quite rude and really upsetting the patrons with her very unprofessional attitude. A few walk ins arrived and were rudely told it may be a long wait because they were so backed up and the bathroom was broken. The plumber was already onsite but had to leave for some reason, so it wasn't clear how long it would be before the toilet would be repaired so that urine samples could be given. Quite a bad situation for Quest as well as for the patrons. Fortunately for me, I was able to complete my blood draw, and do my urine collection and get out of there in about an hour (advantage of being male, all of the other patrons were female) without needing to use the restroom. Now, reviewing the results, the test came back with low platelets and clumping indicated. Internet searches say that the cause is improper handling of the blood sample...they are supposed to invert the vial 10 times immediately after drawing, which I did not see the technician do. This is supposed to mix the blood with the chemicals in the tube that prevents clumping. I have used this place before, but never experienced any of this before. read more