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| Banfield Pet Hospital Alexis Schulman, DVM Unethical, Undependable, & Understaffed South Bend, Indiana |
| 26th of Nov, 2011 by User225755 |
| I am writing this review after having the single worst business/professional experience of my life. If you want your dog to be seen promptly and by a competent and ethical veterinarian with adequate staff, please look elsewhere! I recently moved to the area, so I took both my dogs (who both have Banfield health care plans) to this particular Banfield, which is a charter owned by veterinarian Alexis Schulman, expecting the same satisfactory service I've enjoyed from this company in the past. Unfortunately, this was not my experience. In the past month I have made at least three appointments for my 1 year old dog "Abby" and each time, with less than an hour to go before the appointment, I received a call from a vet tech telling me that the veterinarian will not be able to see me that day (always with a different outlandish excuse). On the one occasion I was able to take my puppy, "Winston," for his mandatory shots, I waited over two hours AFTER my appointment time was to have started, and when he finally was seen, it was another hour and a half for a simple series of vaccinations. Yesterday I had an appointment for Abby at 6:00, which was rescheduled after having earlier appointments canceled on me at the last minute. Abby has an infection and is throwing up and losing weight and needed to be seen ASAP, but when I got to the office, there was no one there except other clients who claimed to have been waiting for 2+ hours. I signed in promptly at 6:00, and did not see a single employee-- not even the receptionist-- until 6:30 (Banfield closes at 7:00). The first words out of the employee's mouth were, "Oh, we meant to call you, the vet has to leave tonight and can't see you." My jaw hit the floor! I complained that this is a pattern of poor service and last-minute cancellations when my dog was sick and I had PAID to have her seen (I pay monthly installments for her health care plan). The employee tried to make more excuses, but I said it was unprofessional to have continual, chronic problems of this nature that inconvenience customers and put their pets' health in jeopardy. Finally, around 6:50, the vet pulled me into a room and suddenly told me she was not going to see my dog, and that I needed to leave right away or she was going to call the police. I could not believe my ears! I told her to go ahead and call the police and that I wanted to file an incident report stating that she was refusing to provide NECESSARY medical care that I had paid for and would gladly pay any amount for. When she saw that her threat of calling the police would not make me leave, she tried to intimidate me by saying her mother is a lawyer and I was slandering her business. I told her it's only slander if it's false, and everything I'd said to her employee was 100% true. She also told me I needed to "stop talking." She tried to silence my First Amendment right to free speech! I refuse to be silenced when my dog's health is in jeopardy and I paid for services she refused to perform. The other customers who were in the waiting room, and who earlier said they had experienced the same patterns of last-minute cancellations and excessive wait-times, were sympathetic and stood up for me when the vet accused me of being slanderous and a nuisance. All the customers said they would never under any circumstance choose to go to this Banfield again had they not already paid for the health care plans. I plan on contacting Banfield corporate headquarters to report the vet's refusal to treat my pet even though I had paid for the treatment and indicated I would happily pay any sum to have her give Abby the medicine she desperately needed. The vet was on a power trip and put her personal unhappiness regarding my legitimate complaints before my pet's health. Any good vet would never take out her anger or hurt pride on an innocent creature who depends on them for care. This was a fundamental breach of trust and she caused Abby to suffer, when it was within her power, and it was her duty, to help Abby. That, in my opinion, is morally repugnant and unforgivable. I am writing this review not out of spite but out of genuine concern for the well-being of the pets in the area. Vet Schulman does not put pets' needs first, and furthermore the office is chronically understaffed and extremely undependable. Please do your beloved furry family member a favor and seek another vet!! |
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I have recently had a very similar experience with this same Banfield & Dr. Schulman. I have had to wait excessive amounts of time to be seen every time I have been there (aprox 3 times). Like you, I am new to this area. My newly adopted cat recently had to have "emergency" surgery. My appointment was at 3pm, I did not leave the clinic until after 1am. Surgery was not started until around 11pm. When I called corporate to complain, they had her call me. She called after 9pm tonight and even went as far as to blame me for her mistakes & services I wanted & were not provided, as well as the vet I am seeing for a 2nd opinion (The rescue group has been a HUGE help in this matter since the poor kitty got very sick an hour after I adopted him and they refereed me to one of the veterinarians they use). She also blamed me for waiting until 11pm to start surgery because I hadn't signed the consent form. I hadn't been offered one to sign!
She has blamed me, her staff & the new doctor I am seeing for these issues, so I have contacted the Better Business Bureau and am in the process of filing a complaint with the Indiana Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners. I am also contemplating contacting the local news in regards to this because my experience was unbelievable! It sounds like others are having very similar experiences. I am very sorry to hear that. From now on, I will never use a vet without researching him or her online first. However, now that I have found a wonderful vet who provided a 2nd opinion, I do not feel I will be needing to do so for quite some time. |
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