I think they should remove the word "urgent" from their name…read more
SO, found my self in a bit of a situation; my dog was vomiting for a couple days, and after having a poop accident on the rug, and seeing how black it was (TMI...sorry) I decided to take him over to the vet. This was Saturday night, and my vet said the earliest they could get him seen was WEDNESDAY! UGH, so, I call Pet Check on Sunday morning to get on the wait list. This is like, 9:05am.
(Pet Check actually has a great CONCEPT of calling ahead and getting on a wait list. The system alerts you when it's your turn to head to the office, so that you can wait in the comfort of your home instead of waiting in the office. It does NOT work in practice.....)
I am added to the list, and am #5. At around 9:20ish, I am #2, and the text alert tells me to make my way over to the office. (I moved 3 spots in 15 minutes.....keep this in mind.) I arrive at the office 15 minutes later, and there are 2 other people in the waiting room. I check my queue and it says, "you are next!" The tech comes out and calls for......not me. One of the other people waiting was apparently before me.....ok. Fair enough. I wait.
While I'm waiting, TWO SEPARATE groups come in, (both with cats in crates....not sure if cats get special treatment or something...) and both are seen IMMEDIATELY. Like, handed the crate over the front desk immediately. Ok again....maybe those were absolute emergencies, although you don't know what MY situation is, so maybe don't go out of order, but I digress....
*ahem* TWO. AND. A. HALF. HOURS. LATER. I am FINALLY called. I sat in the waiting room, with my dog whining for almost THREE HOURS!!!!
I make it to the waiting room and talk to the tech and the doc. Now, the tech and the doc were great. Personable, friendly, knowledgeable, and I didn't feel rushed. The office was clean, and they explained the options and charges RELATIVELY clearly. (I say "relatively" because although they were upfront and honest about the costs, they didn't explain the costs for each thing, and the itemized bill doesn't help. Example: "IDEXX VetLab Station Chem 17 only - $98.70....dafuq is that?)
So anyway, after sitting for ANOTHER 30 minutes in the exam room, I get my blood test results, my meds and my walking papers.....grand total: EIGHT. FUCKING. HUNDRED. DOLLARS. I almost had a heart attack. (Wonder how much they would have charged to revive me....)
Listen....I get it...it's "urgent" medical care, and I would pay it again for my dogs health, but holy credit cards Batman....that's a TON of money to drop in an afternoon for a couple pills and an IV.
Most egregious of all is the INSANE wait. Why did the call ahead service tell me to come TWO HOURS before I would be seen? What's the point of calling ahead at that point?!?! I know you can't predict how long the person in front of you is going to take, but what's the built in buffer?! They have to tweak the alert system settings. That's ridiculous to be told to come, and then have to sit for 2.5 HOURS in a plain ass waiting room. They didn't even have magazines! No tv...nothing.
HOPEFULLY; for my dogs health and my wallets health, I never have to come here again.