I really don't like to leave negative reviews, but I feel others should know about my experience.
My experience with this practice has been up and down. While my boy was being treated before I ultimately had to say goodbye to him, there were times when I questioned this place. However, our experience improved when working with Dr. Lawrence. Her compassion at the end of his life, along with the clinic's convenient location near my apartment, made me feel comfortable bringing my other two cats there.
A few weeks ago, I went into the clinic in person to schedule appointments for my two cats. While making the appointments, the receptionist that day acknowledged that I had been there just over two months earlier to say goodbye to my other cat, whom the clinic had treated. He told me, face-to-face, that he could apply a credit to waive the new-patient fee for one of my girls as a gesture of kindness, given what I had recently gone through.
Earlier this week, that same receptionist called to tell me that my Thursday appointments had to be moved to Friday because of a "doctor emergency" that required the clinic to close. At no point during that call, or at any time before my appointment, did anyone tell me that the credit I had been promised would not be honored.
When I arrived this morning, after paying for a car service because the air quality was dangerously poor and I didn't want to expose my cats during what otherwise would have been a walk, I was informed by today's receptionist that they couldn't honor what I had been told. Not only was the promised credit no longer being honored, but the story of what I had been told had also changed. Instead, I was offered only a much smaller credit.
The issue isn't simply the money. It's that I was told one thing in person, relied on that information, and then was blindsided at check-in without so much as a courtesy phone call beforehand. If someone on the staff made a mistake, the professional thing to do would have been to contact me before my appointment and not wait until I arrived with my pets.
What made the experience even more disappointing was the complete lack of empathy from both the receptionist working today and Dr. McIlwaine. After losing my boy, I expected at least a little compassion. Instead, I left feeling so misled. In the end, I walked out and will be taking my girls elsewhere.
So, based on my experience, I cannot recommend this practice. If clear communication, honesty, and compassionate customer service are important to you, you should look elsewhere.