I've hesitated to write this, but after repeated experiences, I feel it's important to warn others. Scheduling at Gulf Coast Eye Institute appears to be more of a suggestion than a commitment. In my most recent visit, I arrived early for an 8:15 a.m. appointment that had been rescheduled by the office weeks earlier. Upon arrival, I was told I did not have an appointment at all. After sitting in the waiting area for about 30 minutes with no update, I was then told my appointment had been moved to 10:15 a.m. without my knowledge. Unfortunately, this wasn't surprising. Over multiple visits in the past year, I've come to expect extremely long waits, often several hours past the scheduled appointment time. This doesn't seem to be an occasional backlog but rather how the office operates. What was most disappointing was the response when I raised concerns. Rather than acknowledging the issue or attempting to help, management was dismissive and confrontational, offering no apology and no real explanation. I was also told there was no way to escalate concerns beyond that point. Healthcare visits already come with stress. Patients should not also have to budget half a day for an appointment or feel brushed off when legitimate concerns are raised. Sadly, that has been my consistent experience here. read more

We started with a 1:30pm consult. After 6 1/2 hours in and out of the exam process we left at 7:15pm. The information we received from them was identical to that of the doctor in Brownsville, except we received that information in 45 minutes. We also found the staff to be apathetic and uncaring. They have a very capable PA and after she told us we had to return for the surgeon to approve the exam for a procedure I lost it. She then went out and brought him in. He signed off in less than 5 minutes. We had to wait almost one hour just to be scheduled for the procedure. We will never return there or recommend the clinic to friends or family. read more

Zero stars Horrible service and over booking patients to the point that people have to stand for hours as they wait to be called or until they die of old age while waiting. read more

The office experience is awful, they severely overbook appointments to the extent that there isn't any parking outside and the inside is worse. People standing and waiting 2 or more hours to get into an examination room. After that you have to wait in another waiting area again before further tests or to see a doctor. We had to leave Friday because my wife has Alzheimer's and after an hour and a half, I couldn't keep her in the waiting room any longer. Richard K read more

Easily the worst experience possible. My father is subjected to 2-3 hour waiting times every visit. On one occasion, he had to wait 5 hours. These people couldn't care less about anyone's time. The front desk personnel seem really unhappy with their jobs and ensure patients know it. Today they told us "it is normal to wait" despite having already waited 2 hours. That is NOT normal. The lobby plays movies with nudity and there are kids in the lobby. I wish there were other options but, unfortunately, this is the norm in the RGV and people here put up with it. Bring a book and something to do. They will not give you a wifi password either and the cellular service here does not work anywhere in the lobby. As a healthcare provider myself, I never run my practice this way and so glad I no longer practice in the 956 where no regard for people's time is valued by so many of my colleagues. Best of luck with this place. read more

Age related macular degeneration is so much better after the care of Victor Gonzalez!! As far as I'm concerned, he is the best!! read more

Extremely poor service. Expect extensive waiting periods of no less than 3 hours. Not worth their so called specialist treatment. Stick to your regular eye doctor. You will get better service. Their treatment is not that specialized. read more

We had an appointment at 10:00 am and just got called at 2:20 pm. It is always packed with people complaining about how they have been waiting for hours. We have been coming for several months and it's always the same thing. Management needs to do a better job at not overlooking. The patients are older and it's very tiring to wait over 4 hours to see doctor.​​ read more

So far, they have been very profesional; they explained you everything and gives you a comfortable feeling, of knowing you are in good hands . read more

0 Stars. This place has lack of organization. Even with appointments you wait hours to be seen. I went in for a specific procedure that the eye doctor herself stated I needed just to walk out with the same issue after 3 weeks of a procedure. this is not okay. this is due to lack of organization and doctors not listening to the patient to rush and see another. this is my vision they are working with how can doctors not be mindful of what they are saying, documenting and doing. do better. I am a young patient who shouldn't have to be traumatized for my first procedure to have to go back in again feeling anxious of the experience having to be redone. read more

mal servicio especialmente con los bebés , se tardan demasiadas horas y los bebés no pueden comer en ese tiempo , se les olvida al personal revisarlos y cuando regresan ya les pasa el efecto de el medicamento read more

The ladies in front were very rude after I explained to them I was rescheduled twice . I asked to speak to a supervisor before writing this review and was basically laughed at.. I wasn't advised before going to the appointment needed a new referal as I seen once befor and waited 1 1/2 hrs. VERY SAD SERVICE!!! read more

By far the worst place to get your eyes checked. Place closes at 5pm and im still here along with other patients. My eye appointment was at 2:30pm. Stay far away from this place. If I had only read the reviews before I made my appointment. I will not be coming here again. read more

they are extremely slow , took almost two hours , the front desk lady is rude. The wait times here are ridiculous and it never changes. y'all need to figure out a better system. read more

Do not waste your time or money with this place. We waited 3 hours then the female tech waltzed in with her new Starbucks coffee and didn't know what she was doing. The receptionist didn't either. They were incompetent, unorganized, and the female tech was very rude. She was unable to do her job, kept asking me to look at her screen to see what needed to be done as if I was her assistant. She failed to get eye measurements so our day was wasted. Terrible experience. Go to San Antonio instead for a legit medical appointment. read more

This place shouldn't be in business. We've attempted to take my daughter there on three separate occasions. The first time they made my wife wait 3 hours and then told her they would need to reschedule. The second time we had to push it back later in the day because of a cardiology appointment that took priority and then they canceled on us again. When my wife called to ask why it was canceled the receptionist hung up on her. Now on the third attempt my wife was told to not feed our newborn 1 hour prior to going in. She has been there for 3 hours now and my daughter hasn't fed in 4 hours. The only reason we are still even working with this office right now is because the hospital is partnered with them and set up the initial appointment when my daughter was discharged. Please do not give any business to them under any circumstances until they clean up their act. read more

I was referred to this clinic because I needed a retina specialist to take care of my problem as soon as possible. While the doctor's care was good, he took care of the problem, my gripe is with the waiting time to be seen. They overbook their patients and they are the ones who suffer. My first time there, my appointment was for 8:45 and wasn't seen by the assistant until 12 and by the time I saw the doctor, it was 2p.m. That is a horrible waiting time! If I need to see an eye doctor again, I will probably go somewhere else. The front desk told me my insurance would cover their part but I had to pay everything out of pocket. Never again. read more

Gulf Coast Harlingen and McAllen are excellent, best customer service, outstanding and very knowledgeable and helpful doctors. Especially Dr.Perez he's great top notch Eye Doctor one of the best in the Valley! And the staff is exactly how customer service should be 10/10 ! Insurance or Cash/Private pay doesnt matter they treat everyone the same. One of the best experiences I've had going to any Doctor in general! Keep up the amazing work Gulf Coast read more

Do not bring your relatives here. Wait time is like over an hour, sometimes two or three if you're very unlucky and by the time you go in, you are only seen for just a few minutes. This is a classic symptom of a clinic overbooking their schedules for the sake of making more money and not not caring about their patients at all. One time they called to make an appointment for a day that was already a hassle to go out on and later that day they cancelled after arrangements were already made. Who even does that? This sounds like a bunch of greedy doctors looking to make top dollar at the expense of the patients. I can tell too, I've seen where all their money goes, to their Teslas parked in the lot. Maybe they should use all that money to fix their internal operations or hire better doctors that will actually take care of the patient! read more

We were recommended to this clinic for my mother's vision, the doctor was great attentive, and explained everything. My issue is with the people in the office, and the fact that we had an appointment set at 10:15AM and we were not seen until 12ish more than an hour just to be seen. The wait time for the cashiers, registration is the worst. Not only that there is a 25$ fee for any document that they fill out for you, good thing I was there with my elderly mother to fill out everything for her. There was absolutely no social distancing what so ever and everything was so crowded. All in all, bring snacks you'll be here for a long time, and make sure you fill out all of your paperwork yourself. read more

This place has so many appointments set at the same time for many patients. I bring my step sister for injections and I really hoped that this appointment would be at least an hour wait but not like previous times it was a 4 hour wait again to be seen for 5 minutes. Office people need to set appointments for 5 people at same time. read more

My elderly mother was a patient at this eye institute. While I am sure that the medical staff is very capable, their process and approach leave a lot to be desired. For over 2 years, she has had a chronic eye issue. Each time she had an appointment, there was a different eye doctor placed as her attending physician with little of no follow through on her issue. Each doctor would tell her to stop what ever treatment the previous doctor had given her, and started he on a new one. Each would tailor to his specialty (eye lid, retina, glaucoma, etc) here eyes just kept getting worse. We (her family) pulled her out of their care, and placed her in the care of an oftalmologist in Mexico city and her eye health has improved significantly. The centralized, production factory process that this clinic, as well as some others follow with their patients, is a disgrace to the medical profession. Their only goal is to provide mediocre care to their patients while processing as many parientents as possible so they can charge as much money to the insurance companies. read more

I had an appointment at 2:00 pm I arrived at,1:38. I left at 5:10 pm without any Dr seeing me! My time is important too! Terrible experience! Won't be back!!! read more

This place overbooks patients! Lobby was jam packed as well as hallways. They are remodeling and office was hot as you know what. I arrived for my scheduled appointment time- I've been waiting for an hour as of now. My appt was just for an eye exam for glasses, not even to see the specialist. Absolutely ridiculous that this is allowed to schedule so many appointments! Do better Gulf Coast!! Don't overbook and have compassion for people. read more

Staff is over worked and is not getting compensated for the amount of work the doctor provides his employees. I wouldn't be surprised if all his employees quit on him one day LOLz.. He just needs to be nicer over all. read more

We were recommended Dr Patel at Gulf Coast Eye for my husband's cataract surgery. Dr Patel took time to explain the procedures & options in lenses available. He also explained in detail because my husband doesn't do pain well. Husband ended up with the laser removal which cost more than simple Medicare paid for surgery. Follow up went quickly. No extended waits like some friends had with BIG NAMED doctors. Husband had both eyes done 2 weeks apart with no pain or problems ...ending with 20/20 vision & able to use simple "cheaters" for reading with the understanding that a few years down the road he might need prescription readers. We will recommend Dr Patel for this surgery to friends. read more

ni una estrella se merece mi niño de 7 años se desespero muchisimo 2 horas y media espera do nos vinimos sin comer pensando que no se tardarian y una eternidad para atendernos tienen foto de 11 doctores y nadamas habia como 2 y llenisimo de gente es super estresando no lo recomiendo para nada a menos que de traigan lonche para esperar o snacks read more