After a lot of research, doctor's appointments and tests for a condition I have, I finally found a visceral massage therapist locally and asked my doc for a referral. The first impression of the office staff almost turned me back to my search, as they arbitrarily cancelled my initial appointment without letting me know due to the fact that they had not received the referral from the doctor. This in itself made absolutely no sense to me, because had they called to let me know they had not yet received it, I would have just paid for the visit, out of pocket and got reimbursement from my insurance company... I was that desperate for care and relief. If I had not called to confirm the time, I would have driven 20 minutes to the appointment to find out it had been cancelled.
Fast forward through about 9 weeks of ongoing, weekly therapy, my symptoms had mostly resolved, and since I was going on an extended trip abroad, the therapist and I discussed my discharge with some instructions for techniques I could use on my own.
This was all well and good, and worked great for about 2 or so years. But recently I began having the symptoms again, and asked my doc for another referral which she was happy to give.
I started appointments and started seeing results right away, but again experienced unprofessional administrative practice- this time, my appointment was cancelled and I did not find out until I arrived for it- again, no one called and told me. To their credit, the staff was accountable and apologized, and said they had an opening in "30 minutes". Well, over an hour later I was finally called back for the therapy.
I wish I could say this was the end of it- my last appointment was scheduled as the first of the day, and I was early, as I typically am. I paid my co-pay and was overcharged, so I had to ask for a refund of the $50 difference. I was brought back into the private room at the correct time, but there I sat... 5 minutes... 10 minutes... and then at 15 minutes, I put my shoes and coat on and walked out. The receptionist saw me coming and told me that Melissa, the therapist would be back with me soon. I said, "Sorry, I'm leaving and I want the rest of my co-pay refunded." At that time, Melissa came out of another space and instead of apologizing for being so late, she just said she had to deal with an emergency. To which I replied, "I believe my time is just as valuable as yours, and I also believe that your treatment of me was disrespectful- someone should have come to tell me about your delay- based on my past experiences with you, its obvious I'm pretty patient, but this experience crossed a line and I'd like to reschedule this appointment". She tried to talk over me several times, which just made me feel even more disrespected.
Next thing I know, the following week, I get a notice from my doc that Melissa ended my care.
So, not only does their administrative staff need more training, but the owner needs to remember that as a customer, I did not deserve that kind of treatment.
I would rather travel to Seattle for the kind of treatment that she gave me clinically, so I don't have to experience the treatment she and her staff gave me (non)-professionally. read more