Zero customer service & sketchy pet care
I've been a Banfield member for over 8 years and have two pets covered under their wellness plan. The good thing about Banfield is there are many locations to choose from so when they are booked for long periods of time (as they usually are), we can choose a different location. The bad thing about Banfield is they seem to be more about the money and less about your pet's health or customer service.
Recently I had the worst experience ever during a visit to Edina, MN Banfield. It started with an urgent appointment for a cat that was vomiting and lethargic. We thought she may have eaten something poisonous outside.
Problem #1. They didn't have an in-person appointment so we dropped off our cat and gave all the information to the already overwhelmed front desk person. Unfortunately, the front desk person did not write down that our cat had been outside and we were concerned that she may have eaten something (btw, I repeated this many times).
Problem #2. Although we pay over $100 per month for a cat and a dog on their wellness program, Banfield is always trying to get us to pay more at every visit. They use well-known sales techniques including making you feel guilty. Knowing this, I've learned to take things slow and ask for one step at a time rather than everything all at once. When Dr. Meyer called she recommended testing. Some tests were covered under our plan, but about $400 was not. I opted to start with what was covered under our plan and see what we learned before paying $400. This was not what they wanted to hear.
Problem #3. I got a call to pick up our cat. When I arrived, they had two medications for $70. One for acid reflux and another to calm the gut. No mention of the plan to do the other tests, no mention of the continued vomiting, and no mention of what to do about the fact that she may not be able to eat/drink to take the meds. I foolishly put my trust in this Banfield that they had listened to our concerns and that they knew better than me.
Problem #4. Four hours later our cat was much worse. I called Banfield and it was then that I found out that the front desk person had not mentioned she had been outside. I was furious! I felt she had been misdiagnosed and we had been given $70 worth of meds based on this misdiagnosis. Not only that but after reviewing the test results I discovered that only one of the two tests was able to be performed and the test result was negative. If this was the case why didn’t the doctor get back to me and continue with our plan to go to the next step and get more testing? They couldn't get us in for another appointment.
Problem #5. We ultimately ended up in the Pet Emergency Hospital. $3,000 later we discovered the problem stemmed from a hairball stuck in the small intestine. Thankfully the pet hospital was able to help our cat and give her fluids until she could naturally pass the hairball. They did the right thing by telling us our choices every step of the way, the pros and cons, and the costs. At one point it was very touch and go and it looked like surgery might be needed. If it had, the total bill would have been around $10,000! IF THE HOSPITAL HANDLED THE SITUATION AS Edina Banfield DID EITHER OUR CAT WOULD BE DEAD BECAUSE WOULDN'T SHELL OUT $10,000 RIGHT AWAY OR WE'D BE PAYING $10,000 FOR A SURGERY THAT COULD BE AVOIDED IF WE WORKED TOGETHER AND TOOK THINGS STEP-BY-STEP.
Problem #6. I tried to explain all this to the area manager of the Edina Banfield, she was having none of it. I should never have asked to get the $70 reimbursed because from that point forward that’s all she fixated on. Ultimately, I wanted her to see that they could make improvements in their process at Banfield. When emotions ran too high for us to communicate properly, she told me she’d have her area chief, Dr. Beckett, contact me.
Problem #7. Dr. Beckett did contact me and left me a voice message without a callback number stating that she had reviewed the medical records and Dr. Meyer had made all the appropriate medical recommendations and they could not provide any refunds. Funny enough I was not contacting her about a refund, I was contacting her about the customer service at Edina Banfield. It's interesting how this was missed in the message to Dr. Beckett.
Having read my story I just want you to consider how YOU would feel about Banfield. Would you trust them? Would you feel confident taking your pets to them? Do you think they value their customers or customer service?