I'll start off by saying that the actual Veterinarians at VCA are some of the best I've had the pleasure of working with. I have had an appointment with only 1 vet there, when we had just got our pupp... Read More
I'll start off by saying that the actual Veterinarians at VCA are some of the best I've had the pleasure of working with. I have had an appointment with only 1 vet there, when we had just got our puppy from a rescue, and he was pretty blah in general. His attitude left a lot to be desired, but he was still knowledgeable about everything we asked.
That being said - the issue I have is with the administrative office staff in general. I don't think I've ever called in and not been put on hold for several minutes when calling. If demand is that high then they should hire at least another person on staff, perhaps solely to answer administrative calls and schedule appointments while other staff handle in-person transactions. This is quite annoying.
As with most veterinary practices, I imagine, their prices for prescriptions are higher than you can find online. Unfortunately when you order online, the online vendors have to verify your pets prescription with their vet. This process with VCA is like pulling teeth EVERY time. An example:
We ordered heartguard for our dogs online from PetCareRX (considerably cheaper than buying directly from the vet).
PetCareRX faxed over the documentation but hadn't yet heard back, so they contacted us. I called the vet and they explained that since we had an upcoming appointment they were waiting until after the appointment to return the fax - which I don't understand. We have an active prescription so just fax the paperwork back! I didn't have the patience to argue with them, so I said ok.
We then went to our appointment and I'd forgotten about the heartguard, so about a week later I called back to follow up. This time they said they never received a fax from PetCareRX to confirm the prescription - which was obviously a blatant lie since on the previous call they confirmed they had received it but were waiting for our upcoming appointment.
Sadly this isn't a one-time occurrence, we jump through hoops for this crap EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I would understand if VCA's services were inexpensive compared to the competition, but the fact of the matter is that, in my experience, VCA's prices are at the highest end of the spectrum when comparing to others.
I go to VCA in Cromwell because we used to regularly deal with Dr. Efron - the absolute best Vet we've ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Sadly at this point his availability at the practice is something like one day a week and it's next to impossible to get an appointment with him. The other vets, as stated previously, are, for the most part, friendly and quite knowledgeable. Read Less