On December 1, 2025 I had an outstanding experience at Quest Diagnostics at 110 2nd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401, thanks entirely to Lalin, their exceptional phlebotomist. This was my second blood draw with Lalin, and once again, from the moment I walked in, she greeted me with a warm, reassuring smile that instantly eased my nerves. I am one of those people who gets anxious around needles, but she made the whole process feel effortless and comfortable. Lalin was incredibly professional. She explained every step clearly and answered all my questions without rushing. Her technique was flawless. I barely felt the needle, and she got the vein on the first try, which is a rare feat in my experience. She even took the time to chat lightly to distract me. That turned what could have been a stressful appointment into a pleasant one. Her attention to detail, hygiene practices, and genuine care for patients set her apart. She is not just skilled. She is compassionate. If you are in San Mateo and need lab work done, request Lalin at this Quest location. She is a true gem and made me actually look forward to my next visit. 5 stars all the way! read more

As someone who has never been to a Quest location, I found the experience to be pretty weird, but I was able to get my lab work done in a timely manner. Scheduling via web browser on my phone did not work (no appointments showed up at all) so I had to download their app - a bit of a barrier to entry. Parking is near impossible - there was 1 spot in the nearby parking garage on the 4th floor, but barely any street parking and no accessible spots right nearby. The lobby feels robotic and sanitized as there just some chairs and a speaker with a check in screen. No humans in sight and no ability to speak to anyone. My lab order had been faxed in earlier that day and it took the employee about 10 minutes (after her computer crashed) to enter everything in. The blood draw itself was uneventful. They'd benefit from paying someone an hourly wage to make it a more human experience. read more

Quest Diagnostics - Laboratory Testing Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Extremely useless service when you need a walk in appointment. There is no clear onboarding on their checkin iPad if you don't have an appointment and you are totally left clueless. No one to talk to or consult. It could take hrs of wait while you are fasting and trying not to pass out read more

I had a great experience with Lalin Lata at Quest. She was very professional and gentle, I barely felt the blood draw. She's also very friendly and made me feel comfortable the whole time. Highly recommend! read more

Lalin makes giving blood an enjoyable experience. How is that possible? She is incredibly personal, cares about you and well skilled. The automation behind Quest appointments is also impressive. read more

Lalin was super helpful in making me feel comfortable and accommodating to my anxiety around getting my blood drawn. Blood draws can be so-so for me, so very grateful for her kindness. read more

A lot bad comments on this section, but as a Walk-In (No Appointment) I was on Stand-By list for less than 30 min, which is surprisingly faster than other places. Latin Lata was my Lab Tech today, Amazing attitude, Friendly, Very well trained, She withdraw my blood without pain, one pock only. Very good communication. She changed her gloves twice when I was there and she was very friendly with my child as well. Location: Easy to find parking (Public Parking Building available too), Everything looks clean, nothing smelling. Checking tablet is very useful and not issues, instructions very clear. If I would like to suggest for the future, Please have security officer in site, there were few unwelcome people making some guest a little bit uncomfortable. But This is NOT issue with the location. read more

Not enough appointments available, but Lalin was really good. The quality of care was improved from my last visit. The nurse came out and told me they were full in a not classy way, but then I was fit in. read more

I have been coming here for about 13 years( before to the San Mateo Drive location) and now here on 2nd Ave. Everyone has always been kind, gracious and efficient. Lalin did my blood draw this morning- wonderful!!! Make an appointment, have your paperwork with you and be kind. read more

Lalin Lata was my clinician and she was wonderful. She was kind, quick, and made sure I was warm and comfortable. Very nicely clean and new inside. Will definitely come back! read more

We came in as a walk in and Lalin got us in and out with in 15 mins. She was very thorough and accommodating making sure she did not inconvenience any appts but still making sure to get us in and out in a timely manner. She held great conversation and was gentle when drawing blood. Easy peasy! read more

The kiosk was completely broken and staff would not check me in manually. Arrived at 10:50 and was refused service for a quick blood draw because they close at 11:00. Would not recommend this location, there is better service at PAMF or Stanford labs nearby (even though both health systems have their issues as well with wait times and busy laboratories). read more

The entire facility is automated. You can't talk to a human. Waited two weeks for an appointment then they tell me they don't have a code for one of the tests. It would cost me $170. I said just call the Dr for the code and she said they couldn't do that. Went home called the Dr. got the code went right back and no one was in the waiting room and the computer said it would be a 30-60 minute wait for a walk in. Knocked on the door someone looked at me and went back in her room. Calling my Dr to fax my orders over to a Sutter lab! read more

Automated Check-in interface is fiddly and obnoxious. No way to reach a human for help if there is a glitch, other than to knock on the door into the lab. But of course no one answers. When I finally did reach a human, they were singularly unhelpful and short - in their defense, they are clearly understaffed and overworked, victims of their employer's corporate policies. A classic example of a large corporation engineering their operation for maximum profit without regard to the quality of customer experience and staff quality of work life. read more

This is a reminder to myself to never get my bloodwork ordered through Quest. Appointments are non-existent, I can't find anything available in the morning for 4+ weeks and I have to fast for this test. Walk-ins have over 1 hour waits and there is no way to check in if you don't have a physical insurance card with you, because there are no humans working there, it's just a crowded room with very uncomfortable chairs and a machine. Avoid this place at any cost. I will ask my doctor to cancel the order and go to another lab. read more

I've been coming here (and their former location) for years and always have had great experiences. Lalin is so professional and never misses my vein! She's such a hard worker and I love how efficient she is at her job. I appreciate the easy process of making appointments online and the estimated wait times for walk-ins. This Quest location is my go-to for labs. read more

This lab is ridiculous. The staff is very rude. If you have multiple tests to draw for they require multiple appointments. Who has ever heard of such a thing? read more

I consistently have a good experience here. The lab technicians are very nice, professional, pretty punctual, and they're really good at drawing my blood with ease unlike many hospitals I've gone to ( (I'm a hard stick). The results usually come same day, and at most, 2 days! Taking one star off because they tend to be a little pushy about remembering their names and taking surveys and making sure I request them. Other than that, I really like this location and the one in Foster City! read more

The lab hours are listed as 7 am - 4 pm and the website states that they accept walk-ins. We arrived at 3:45 pm and they refused to do a blood draw because they said that they were processing samples (there were no other patients there). With 15 min before closing and no other patients, refusing to accept a walk-in because they have to process samples is unreasonable. If they need time to process samples and not attend to patients, they should modify their hours so that patients don't expect that they will get service before the stated closing time. read more

Rose helped today... very kind and put altos effort into her job. She was the only one there and made an effort to get everyone in.

Very impersonal process. Better off getting simple tests elsewhere. Annoying lobby recordings in the lobby. And far too expensive. read more

Do not even consider coming without an appointment. They say they take walk ins but won't take you unless there's a no-show.

Horrible customer service! They do not have any care for the patients. I do not know what's happening inside because there is no front desk and the staff do not care about what's happening outside. Old people need help, the check in is very confusing and they just do not care. read more

This place is the worst, go elsewhere if you can. Waiting room is an awful experience and cesspool of potential diseases.

This meant to be minus stars review. Made an appointment at 9:30am on 5/23. I received a text message and asked me to check in upon the arrival. I did it, however, the lab was not open at all. A few people standing in the front encountered the same. Thumb down for Quest Diagnostic. There was not even a line to complain about this. Update: At 10:30 am, I received an email notification says this location is closed due to building maintenance. read more

this location deserves a -10 rating. I do not find myself writing reviews such as this but it seems like it is not the first. We hope this location does a better job to serve the community. There's absolutely no knowledge or compassion on how to be attentive to patients. They lack 100% of customer service. I cannot begin to explain. Though this location is super convenient & we gave it a try more than 2xs-Do not go here it's terrible!!! There are two techs Rose (or Melissa was the name she gave us once we told her we will file a complaint) & Laleh (tall Indian lady who is very nosey). They run this location however they feel. Don't book anything between 10am-11am due to their lunch closure. Trust us there is a major, a huge language barrier with these two techs but will not fail to emphasize "I need to go to lunch this is taking too long" or "I'm off in 20mins go to Room #3" but yet...still in the office. Then seated in Room #3 & tech is flustered continuing on "I have to go to lunch!" Pls remember that many people get lab work done for a reason. When a tech takes their precious time to complain about the "previous patient" while "new patient" is there-present-ready in the seat & then not feeling well...be present with them! Pls remember why you became a phlebotomist. If you are not going to give it your best remove yourself from this position. read more

I normally don't write reviews however, this lab is awful. It say you can walk-in however don't bother. I had an appointment and came early before it even opened. They say 7 am and it was after 7 am one of the tech arrived at 7:09 am. The person who opened this morning no high no answer to my question just said to check in. The tech that was late I asked her if she could see that I was check-in she said, I can't I am with a patient. There was only two techs I saw and in 45 mins they maybe saw 5 patients between the both of them. Never will I go to quest again. read more

Aside from some challenges in finding appointment availability, this is a pretty well run facility. I've used it twice now in the last year. Once you have an appointment they seem to be really good at maintaining the scheduled time and the clinicians are professional, competent and friendly. read more

Absolute worst. Made an appointment and they said they couldn't honor it because I only received one due to a computer glitch. Not to mention I arrived an hour before my appointment when there was literally no one in the waiting room, and for a straight hour they took no one back and then said they were understaffed read more

If there is a bad lab, this one is worse. They literally will try hard to make you look like an idiot. Even the system on computer which they supposed to be using all day long , they know nothing about it. As simple as refreshing the page they have zero knowledge. It's so stressful experience there , that you can get hospitalized just for being there and dealing with such a unprofessional technicians. read more

My husband took our daughter there for labs. After waiting 40 mins the worker said she couldn't find the doctor's name with the matching address in their system so she couldn't do the labs. My husband asked her to call the doctor's office and she said they would have to get back in line. Frustrated, they left without getting the labs. I tried calling the lab but there was no way to reach a live person. read more

Just go elsewhere. They do the least possible to help clients and although we had an appointment, it started 20 mins late, then was rejected because e-doc was not in a pdf version...then took time to get it in pdf version and got back in line to get blood drawn...were on standby list...no others in room and when that clock struck 4:00pm forget about it, they would not take us. That was a waste of an hour of our lives. Never going here again. read more

Possibly closed permanently. Had an appointment but when I arrived office was closed.

Look past the slick new facility and front door technology and you'll see bad management all around. Certainly do NOT go there for any pediatric labs. Made the mistake of taking my child there and the staff didn't have the know-how or equipment for a basic blood draw. First I was told they couldn't do the lab because there was no bed for the baby to lie on. What? It's a heal stick. We had this done a dozen times in the hospital and it wasn't a big deal. I had to convince the staff to let my baby stay in the car seat for the draw (better than a bed, right?). Then they couldn't find the Dr's order in the system, even though my provider e-faxed it weeks ago. I had to call the provider and have them send it analog. Then for lab draw itself... They didn't even have the right vials/ tubes, didn't have a "scooper", and they couldn't even find a bandaid? No joke. The staff was fumbling and couldn't use the capillary. Baby is hysterical since it took 3x what it should, and they couldn't even get the blood in the tube. I told them to stop and walked out. Worse than a waste of time. read more

Absolutely the worst. Even if you have a very early AM appointment they are behind by at least 40 minutes during their first hour of business. I had an 8:20 appointment today. I live a mile away from the facility. I got there at 8: AM. Sat in my car reading a book. They give you a link to click to register. At 8:15 I clicked the link and walked into the crazy busy waiting room. No where to sit which is why I sat in my car. I spoke to a lovely woman and we chatted for 30 minutes. I asked her what time her appointment was. She said 8:10, so 10 minutes before mine. She still had not been called 35 minutes after her appointment time. I picked up my phone and saw a text from Quest saying I was 1 minute late for my appointment so I would have to reschedule. There is no one working the front desk, so I could not speak to anyone. Unbelievable. I had to go back home and reschedule. Next available was a week out. I needed these labs for an upcoming primary doctor appointment. I had to call my primary to reschedule, and I have to wait a month to get back into my primary. I am livid. Unfortunaltey this is my only choice based on my insurance. read more