3 /5 Where the Jones: Our family has been going to them for a couple of years now, and weve had many appointments—possibly dozens—and have never had to reschedule. Weve also spent thousands of dollars and plan to spend much more. My husband missed an appointment due to a situation that I wouldn’t call an emergency, but it was very serious, and I had to call last minute to reschedule.
I understand why they charge a $100 cancellation fee—theyre running a business and need to see a certain number of patients each day. They rely on people being on time. However, shouldnt there be some consideration for long-term clients? Why penalize a client who has been 100% punctual and reliable for years?
The biggest issue is the way it was handled when I called to reschedule—it felt rude and dismissive, with no regard for me as a longstanding client. The way I was treated makes me uncomfortable going there again, and frustrated that I now have to find another dentist. Why couldn’t she have been polite? I would have paid the $100 and moved on. Even better, she could have used the opportunity to affirm my value as a client and mention that, due to our good relationship, they would discount or waive the fee this one time. Something to acknowledge the situation and preserve the relationship.
Don’t get me wrong, the dentists and hygienists are great, but now theres a sour taste because of how I was treated. I would give the dentists and hygienists five stars, but the receptionist only one star.
EDIT AFTER RESPONSE:
I appreciate the response to my review. However, you did not comment about the way my phone call was addressed by your front desk rep. When it comes down to it, that is the biggest issue. As I said above “I would have paid the $100 and moved on” but the way I spoken to is what was hard to reconcile. The $100 was not even part of why I ranked the 3 stars as described above.
The suggestion that you should really take into consideration the history of appointments kept in the past by a patient before unilaterally charging the fee is still smart move but is secondary in this case. Lastly, your response doesn’t come across that you are concerned with having lost 4 patients due to the way they were treated on the phone.