I came to Dr Igor German in December for an initial visit and emergency work for a broken front tooth. Several thousand dollars later, a root canal, and a temporary bridge in place, I left with an appointment for January.
I had the appointment January14, which resulted in another temporary bridge and hundreds more dollars. I got an appointment for February to be fitted with my permanent bridge. As I was leaving, I asked Shane, the receptionist, if I could submit a picture so that the finished bridge would be a somewhat accurate representation of what my original teeth looked like. She said I could email it or drop it by. I sent the email to their website address and thought the matter was taken care of.
I got a call from Shane about a week before my appointment in February saying she did not receive the pictures and that they had not started making the bridge. I tried again, had someone else try again to send the pictures. They were not received.
After several phone calls, Shane said the address was [email protected]—1st time it had been mentioned that there is another email address. No mention of this address is listed on their website, nor anywhere else. Shane was very rude, said it was my own fault that I could not possibly keep my original February appointment to get my permanent bridge as it hadn't been started. She said she had the pictures, which of course were received after getting the correct email address. She said she would give me a call when the bridge was ready. This was mid-February.
A month goes by, no call. My temporary bridge broke in 2 pieces on a Friday, March 17. I called @ 10 AM, got voice mail, which didn't mention office hours. I went to the office at 1 PM, which was closed. I called the phone number, got a recording to call their other office on the other side of town. I got another recording with yet another number which said to leave a message and someone would get back to me right away. I waited in the area until after 5:30 PM, still no response. I went home.
Saturday morning, March 18th, I got a call from a woman who asked who I was and which office I normally visit. I told her "the Silver Springs office". Her response was "Oh". No further calls. Still no response from Shane or anyone else in the Silver Springs office.
I went to work that night and the next 3 nights with a broken temporary bridge that kept falling out if I bent over. I did not receive a call back until after noon on Tuesday the 20th from Shane, telling me that both offices are closed on Fridays, that I should have known that, and that is was my own fault that it was taking so long to get my permanent bridge. She said it was done, had been in their office waiting for ME to call them to schedule an appointment. She also said that she had called numerous times, had others call numerous times, but got no answer. I replied that she had my home number, my cell number, and my email address. NO attempts were made to contact me. She even had my friend's email address who sent her a picture of me! She yelled at me and told me I had no reason to be upset because they don't offer after hours emergency care and it was my own fault that I was kept waiting. She told me that if I could not be in their office by 9AM the following morning, it would be another week before they could accommodate me, saying, "It's not our fault that you work nights and can't make it here by that time. I don't know what to tell you." I am working a nursing contract over 100 miles away from Ocala, 7PM to 7:30 or 8 AM. She was aware of this.
I called the other office, told them about my broken bridge and the way I was treated by Shane. They put a girl on the phone who works both offices. She said she would be there the following day and would work me in. She assured me that I would not have to have any contact with Shane.
I came in straight from work after working a 13-hour shift, got there before 10 AM. No apology was made for the delay in getting my permanent bridge, none for ignoring my emergency, nor did Shane apologize for her rude behavior. Dr Igor's comment was, "I know it has taken awhile to get your permanent bridge, but at least it's over now."
It was my front teeth that were being replaced. I work with the public, have to lean over patients in bed, with my temporary bridge falling out on the bed! It was humiliating, not to mention having to disinfect them to keep from catching something! I couldn't eat anything that had to be bitten in front, nor could I tolerate cold or hot without great pain.
Their recording says "someone will get right back to you", which is a lie. Their website talks about how friendly and courteous they are, how they cultivate trust and friendship, how they take care of emergencies. BEWARE! Once they have your money, you no longer matter to them!
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