Banfield Pet Hospital

I wish I had read these reviews before I scheduled an appoinment. I recently moved from NJ and was already a wellness plan holder so I looked for a banfield in my near area. I scheduled an appointment for 4:00 and arrived at 3:45 with my dog. My dog is a very excitable dog that is very vocal about going to new places. He is in no way aggressive and enjoys the presence of other dogs. I have never had an issue at any other location or veterinary’s office. After waiting in the extra long line for a few minutes, an employee of Banfield asked me to wait outside with my dog. I took him next store to Petsmart and shopped. We waited on the other side of the counter for 30 minutes so that I could ask for their names and cancel my 4:00 appointment. I have never been so angry. This level of customer service is terrible and their staff is outright rude. I will never be back. I will be cancelling my wellness plan that was set to renew this month and finding a veterinary that is accepting of all pets.

I’ve been using this Banfield to take care of my canine sidekick for three years. Am I a sucker for bad service? Apparently I am. Or maybe I’m just hopeful? Who am I kidding, I’ve just been too lazy to find another vet, but after yesterday’s ordeal that’s about to change.
It took me 45 minutes just to buy some Trifexis for my dog. The ladies behind the help desk feel it is necessary to interrupt face-​to-​face service in order to answer every phone call that comes in. And they get A LOT of calls.
Also, when I asked her to please fill my dog’s prescription before she answered another phone call she chuckled. I was baffled because come on, darling, which one of us is covered head to toe in cat hair?
Isn’t this covered in Super Obvious Principles of Basic Customer Service 101? Why would anyone remotely interested in providing good customer service interrupt a face-​to-​face interaction with a client to answer a phone call? Why would you laugh at a client’s request?
Incompetence.
Sorry Banfield Vets, you’ve always been kinda nice and all, but your help desk ladies need to go pursue their true passion at a calling center.

This place is ridiculous. My dog woke up one Saturday morning experiencing sudden hair loss over one of her eyes. Like any dog parent, I freaked and immediately picked up the phone to call her vet when I realized they were only open on weekdays. I called around and figured that a visit to Banfield wouldn’t hurt because they are open weekends. The girl on the phone told me that they had no appointments but that I could come in at 2pm. She took down my name and my dog’s name. I found it funny that she had taken my info down if there were no appointments left.
I showed up about 1:45 to check in. There were two other people in the waiting room when I arrived. After the receptionist asked me to wait, I stood there for a good 10 – 15 minutes before being checked in. The funny part was she told me «There will be a long wait, I did tell you on the phone that this was a walk-​in appointment right?» When I told her no, she had not. She said «Oh, well it’s a walk-​in and we only have one vet today so it may be a while» (She wasn’t kidding) It was about this time that the vet came out and in a very stern voice told the receptionist that she is not to take anymore walk-​ins because she is only one doctor. She instructed the receptionist to send them to DeZavala to try their luck with their walk ins. She looked pretty pissed when she told the girl «There is only one of me and I cannot see all of these dogs today» That should have been my cue to walk, but of course, I didn’t.
It took another 20 minutes for me to get into an exam room. I was happy that I brought my tablet along so I could catch watch some football while waiting. The vet tech comes in and immediately asks me to grab one of the brochures for their Optimum Wellness plan and starts selling it to me. (Disclaimer: I knew that coming into Banfield would be like attending one of those time share presentations, they don’t know how to take NO for an answer) I politely decline and let him know she already has a vet that I’m happy with. He put on a video on the screen and told me the doctor would be in shortly.
Shortly was another hour. Every 15 or 20 minutes the vet tech kept coming back to play more promotional videos for the Optimum Wellness plan. Mind you, I’m on my tablet WATCHING TV SHOWS. If a customer is entertaining themselves, why must you play TWO HOURS worth of videos to keep them occupied? Oh yes, I forgot to add it took close to THREE hours to get the diagnosis and treatment. Not to mention they told me that my dog had periodontal disease and would need a cleaning very soon before it got worse. Guess what you get with the Wellness plan? Yep, you guessed it, a yearly dental cleaning.
The vet tech kept making weird comments to me and my dog, variations of this classic: «Tell your mommy you want to come see me again! Maybe she will switch vets for you and keep you healthy» I started thinking that the vet techs get a commission if they sell a Wellness plan.
After three hours, I now sit here having had to shell out $ 70 for a Banfield visit (I looked online for a free consultation coupon and saved myself the office fee). A few weeks had passed and my dogs skin has only gotten worse, I finally called her vet and it turns out that Banfield prescribed me a treatment that doesn’t work 99.9% of the time. Not to mention they threw in a pretty pointless itty bitty tube of eye ointment for $ 30. I paid the same amount at her regular vet and got a proactive course of treatment. The regular vet assured me that my dog does not have the early stages of periodontal disease and that she is far off from needing a dental cleaning.
I will NEVER go to Banfield again and I have been making sure to tell all my friends to avoid them at all costs. Banfield is the used car salesmen of vets.

Well, my wife and I have been bringing our 3 Yorkies here ever since we got them (4 year, 3 year, and 2 year olds). We take them for their comprehensive exams whenever they’re due (as well as their shots/​heart-​worm testing/​etc), and whenever they seem sick or are acting weird. The wait is a bit long, even if you have an appointment, and they seem a bit short-​staffed all the time. But they do a good job trying to figure out what is wrong with your pet if they’re sick. We do have the wellness plan and have had it for years on each of them. Although it is $ 25 per month per pet, in the long run, we have definitely saved a lot of money because we also like to take them for any little thing we notice is wrong with them (might as well take advantage of the unlimited visits!). I definitely recommend everyone to try them once and check them out.

I went in for a Bordatella shot for my male dog. The cost was to be about $ 70.00. Well I get in the office and the vet-​aid starts saying my dog needs this shot, this test, and that shot. The total was getting up to twice as much as I could spend. I asked if I could make payments, but she told me no «open» accounts are allowed.
Well, I said I couldn’t pay all that and would have to come back for another appt. The point is that each time you go in, it is automatic $ 40 fee. She worked with me to just give my dog two shot for under $ 100, which was nice. Yes, I still have to go back in and get more shots and pay office visit fee.
I think this is how the rope you into paying pet insurance for a year. I don’t know. I guess everything is a scam in the long run and everyone is out to make a buck.
Until I find a cheaper vet, I will keep taking my dog here. They are kind and do treat my dog very well. (Although, this is the first time my dog had alot of pain just from getting his anal temp taken.)

If you love your pet, avoid this vet!!!
Terrible service, incompetent veterinarians and «wellness plan» that is an overpriced revenue gimmick. They are never on time with pick ups, there is almost no personalization and besides simple immunizations (which you can get anywhere), their service is dismal.
You can never get out of their wellness plan and they do everything possible to jam it down your throat so that they have a 12 month revenue stream. The first time you sign up and use the service, you are obligated for a full year. This is not a month to month contract and you can only cancel once per year. And if you do nothing, it automatically renews for a full year.
Seriously, pet services are not as expensive at other vets and there are no terms and commitments.
DO NOT GO HERE!

I find the whole staff at this Banfield to be incredibly knowledgable and helpful.
I first visited them the summer before last when I found a stray dog running down a street in my neighborhood on what had to have been the hottest day of the year. They helped me get «Sid» healthy so I could find him a good home.
Now I have two dogs of my own and I take them to Banfield for everything. In fact, I just purchased the «puppy wellness plan» for my younger one and I think it’s a great deal.
Dr. Mou and all the rest of the staff rock!