I am having a denture issue with the Concord NH Office.
Of course I had to pay up front. They can not get the bottom partial to fit right after several adjustments, which means grinding off a little parts, they remade the lower partial which still does not fit and actually caused abrasions to the inside of my mouth. I have asked to see a different dentist but every time I go to the office I see the same guy who has not been able to get it right yet.
So here I am at a month later and my teeth still do not fit right. Monday I called the Patient Satisfaction line and spoke with Julie who told that Jen, the regional director, would get back to me with in 48 hours. 48 Hours just expired so I called back and spoke with Megan who gave me Julie's extension (1279) I called back to Julie's extension which was not answered nor was voice mail available after 15 rings. So I called back. This time Amber told me that the regional manager would get back to me sometime today (Wednesday) and that that was the procedure I had to follow.
When I informed Amber that that was not a satisfactory answer and I did not in fact have to follow the procedure I could instead file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the New Hampshire Board of Dental Examiners she seemed unconcerned and said well that is your right.
I looked Up Aspen Dentals record with the Better Business Bureau. They have a C - rating. That should tell you everything you need to know about Aspen Dentals supposed commitment to customer satisfaction.
In my personal opinion if you have a choice, use a different provider. If you have used Aspen Dental and are not happy file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the New Hampshire Board ff Dental Examiners the addresses are available on the web.
If my insurance had any other participating providers in the sate I would run away from this company. There commitment is apparently to something other than customer satisfaction.
Allie at Aspen Dental will probably post a comment that goes something like
"Aspen Dental is committed to providing all patients with exceptional service and care. We sincerely apologize if your visit to our office was anything less. We want to do everything we can to address your concerns." Don't be fooled I've been that route and you see where I am.
Below are the continuing effoert I have made to resolve this.
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Well Wednesday came and went and imagine my surprise that I was NOT contacted by Jen, the Regional Director.in all fairness I was contacted by someone in the local office and I do have yet another appointment today.
There is however another development.in discussion this issue with my wife last night I found out that Aspen Dental of Concord has charged me a little less than $600.00 more than the contracted rate allowed by the insurance company.in addition to that even though the billing representative at the office could not explain the discrepancy my wife was told we still owe an additional $9.00. Of course they refuse to provide an itemized list of charges. Just one more issue to discuss during my appointment with the Attorney General next week.
I called the patient satisfaction hotline back to find out why I have not been contacted by the regional manager and was told that a message would be forwarded to the regional manager. When I asked how that would be different from the previous attempt I was told that I could expect a call by the end of today.
When I asked about the overcharge I was informed that I had requested an upgraded denture that was not covered by my insurance. Let me tell you I never consented to any upgrade I was not given any options I was just told that this is what would happen. I need to look further into what was billed since all I have are procedure codes that I do not know how to interpret. Oh yes, there was no explanation of the $9.00 additional charge I supposedly owe though the representative did say I was in fact due a $6.00 refund.
Back to the service issue: I asked that my issues be forwarded to the regional manager's supervisor and was again told that the best the representative could do is forward the issue to the regional manager. When I again explained that Jen, the regional manager had already ignored the issue for the required two days I was told there was still no way of going any further. I asked for the representative's supervisor and was told that was Julie, the first person I spoke to back on Monday. I asked for Julie's supervisor and was told that was Ron, there was no way I could contact Ron directly and in any case he would not be in until 10:00. I reiterated that providing the same answer that had not worked satisfactorily in the past was not the path to 100% patient satisfaction. The representatives response was that I was going in circles and the call was going no where. I than asked how we could try another answer that had not been tried unsuccessfully in the past to stop going in circles and I was told the call would be terminated. I asked again and was eventually told to have a nice day and of course the call was disconnected.
So I called back. As soon as the call was answered I was informed that hanging up on me and not providing acceptable answers would make the issue go away. As it turned out I was somehow connected with Julie, though I don't think she was the one who initially answered the call. I was informed that the regional manager had asked the office manager to contact me and that was the best I was going to get. When I indicated that I was not satisfied with the answers I was getting Julie got noticeably angry, maybe tense is a better term, and raised her voice. She told me again I had the best answer I was going to get.
When I asked Julie if she was familiar with this site she said she was very familiar with it. I suggested that she search for this post and informed her that her name would be mentioned in my update. Julie's response was to tell me to make sure I use her full name she provided a last name (and spelling) of DeLair, hopefully I got it correct.
Anyway Julie continued to inform me in her raised voice that I had no other avenue to resolve my dissatisfaction. Get this, she specifically said, though I am paraphrasing not quoting, continuing to call the patient satisfaction line would not get me any closer to a satisfactory result. That speaks volumes about the commitment to patient satisfaction Aspen Dental has. Not that I'm surprised.
Of course in the off chance that someone actually dose try and resolve this I will post a follow up. Stay tuned but don't hold your breath.
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