12/31/2015: Help! My cat is being held hostage! I need to pick up Popcorn ASAP. He is boarded at AFHC while we were out of town. Because I could not pick him up before clinic closure on Wednesday 12/... Read More
12/31/2015: Help! My cat is being held hostage! I need to pick up Popcorn ASAP. He is boarded at AFHC while we were out of town. Because I could not pick him up before clinic closure on Wednesday 12/30, I advised the staff by phone that I would pick him up the following day (today). I was not told of an early closure today. I visited at 2:50 pm today and the clinic is closed with absolutely no point of contact listed. There is no signage at all at the entrance. According to the web page and this facebook page the clinic should be open. An open-ended disclaimer on the clinic web page stating new year's eve may affect hours is not sufficient. Staff knew I was scheduled to pick him up today. They have my telephone number and email address, yet I received no notification of an early closure. And AFHC is also closed tomorrow, meaning I can't pick up my cat until Saturday 2 January. This is simply not acceptable.
1/1/2016: Yay! Popcorn is home! As there was no other way to contact the clinic, I waited until early this morning, when I expected staff would arrive to attend to the boarded cats, and indeed, someone was there. They released Popcorn with many apologies and didn't charge for the extra night. I'm very satisfied with the accommodations and the level of attention they give to boarded cats and I'll certainly board Popcorn here when necessary.
However, there should be signage at the entrance, at a minimum clearly stating hours and a designated point of contact telephone number for after-hours issues such as mine. Moreover, when holiday hours are in effect, they should be clearly posted on the front door and in all online pages. This is nothing less than inexcusable inattention to elementary detail. Clients deserve to know how to contact someone on staff when they are paying to have their pet and family member boarded.
What's more, another front office issue needs attention. During several visits in advance of my decision to make a reservation to board Popcorn, I inquired about documentation procedures. Not once was I advised that I would be required to complete lengthy forms before I could drop him off. There was ample opportunity for the staff to so advise me, and I would have been happy to do so in advance. Instead, on the morning that I brought him, on my way to the airport, I was greeted with the blank documents and told it would be necessary to complete them before I could leave him. This is an unwelcome inconvenience and interruption of my schedule, and it could have been easily avoided by virtue of simply communicating with the client.
My issues above are all administrative in nature. I'm certain I'm not the only client who has experienced them. I would like to believe the clinical staff are not aware of these types of shortcomings and would find them troubling, but someone on the administrative staff is, and that person needs to rectify these issues.
If I were rating AFHC solely on the level of care and attention my cat received while boarded, I would give 5 stars. But the front office issues indicate sloppy administration, and that colors the entire experience. Read Less