I'm hoping I just caught everyone on a bad day, because my experience was that bad. My insurance changed, which prompted me to look for a new dentist in Hoboken. I read great reviews about Lucas Dental and thought I would give them a shot. Here is what happened:
1. Booking an appointment was easy. I did so over ZocDoc. However, the following day I received a call saying they weren't available during the time I selected and I had to reschedule. No problem.
2. Since I was a new patient, I downloaded all the new patient forms on their website, filled them out, and dropped them off at the office a few days before my appointment. I did this to speed up the process on the day of. In addition, I had my previous dentist send me my most recent X-Rays, which I then e-mailed to Lucas Dental.
3. On the morning of my rescheduled appointment, I received a call asking if I could come in at Noon instead of 1PM. Luckily, I work in Hoboken and was flexible enough to do so. I was only going in for a cleaning, which I assumed would be done over my lunch break.
4. I arrive at the dental office at 11:53, which was 7 minutes before my appointment, only to find the door is locked. At this point, I am super confused. They literally called me two hours prior to request that I come in at Noon, so I don't understand why no one is there ~5 minutes before my appointment.
5. A few minutes after 12, I see a bunch of ladies strolling down the street, lunch in hand, chatting away. They finally get to the door, and laugh it off, with a very insincere apology for being late.
6. The whole check in process was very scattered and unorganized, because no one is prepared to see a patient. In addition, I have no clue who anyone is. It was my first time there, which they mentioned, but no body felt the need to introduce themselves (which meant I had no clue who the receptionist, dentist, or hygienist was.. and everyone was all over the place, fumbling around trying to get back from lunch)
7. I tell (who I assume) is the receptionist that I e-mailed over some X-Rays, which she claims she cannot find. I double check by outbox on my e-mail, and sure enough, it sent. She asks me to send it again, and we go back and forth a few times. Eventually she questions my spelling and just gives up, saying "if you really want your dentist to see them, I guess you can show her on your phone". ARE YOU KIDDING? Obviously I want my dentist to see my X-Rays!
8. Finally I'm called to go back to a room, but by the time I stand up, no one is to be found. I have to ask the receptionist where to go. She points.
9. The room looked like a closet with old, outdated equipment. It appeared dirty, and there was no place to put coats/purses, etc. I had to put all my things on the floor.
10. It's around 12:15 by the time someone comes in to start my cleaning. I have no clue who this person is, as she never told me her name or asked me anything about my history/concerns. Immediately, she starts attempting to take x-rays. What really irritated me was she never told me what kind of x-rays she was taking... she ended up taking 18! I have NEVER needed that many x-rays in my 27 years of going to a dentist. What made it worse, she didn't know how to use the x-ray machine.. so it took FOREVER. She had to keep calling people into the room to help her. It was so painful and just felt very wrong.
11. It's now 12:30, and my cleaning hasn't even started yet.
12. Eventually, another woman comes in (no idea who, as she never told me) and I assume she is a dentist. Right away, she goes to start working on my teeth. No introduction. No conversation. No questions about my dental history, nothing. Naturally, I stop her and tell her I would like to discuss my dental history, show her my x-rays, etc. since i am a new patient. (note: At this point, I'm just pissed.). She gives me a rude look and agrees to talk about my history. I explain some of the more critical things she needs to know about previous emergency dental work I've had, and she responds "oh, well, that's not that bad" and gives me a smug look. At this point, I should have just stood up and walked out.
13. She does my cleaning, is SUPER rough, makes me bleed, & talks to the hygienist about their personal lives the entire time. At one point, she literally taps on my face to make me move my head.
14. The dentist starts rattling off some random notes to the hygienist before looking at me and saying "ok, ill see you in a few weeks so I can fill 2 cavities" and stands up to leave! She never pointed anything out or told me what was happening.. she just assumed I would take her word for it and come in to get cavities filled. She references the crappy X-rays that the other lady took (which I obviously don't trust since she had to retake so many of them). I will likely go someplace else for a 2nd opinion.
The "cleaning" took over an hour.
Tips: Work on customer service, educate employees & at least pretend to care about your patient. read more