My experience with Banfield is a bit of a saga. If I could give them half a star, I would. I started using them because I lived nearby, my roommate used them, and they offered the monthly care plan, ... Read More
My experience with Banfield is a bit of a saga. If I could give them half a star, I would. I started using them because I lived nearby, my roommate used them, and they offered the monthly care plan, and I could drop my 2 cats off and pick them up after work.
Then I moved and the staff changed and it went downhill. I now had to drive 30+ minutes to get to there and my favorite vet left.
The first issue came when I'd asked for them to trim my cats nails too, and then was informed when I picked them up, that they couldn't take one of my cat's blood, because they had done the claw trimming first! So I had to take him back in later. To me, drawing blood was more important than trimming his claws. I started to wonder how they were treating my pets as they talked about one biting them.
I also tried to schedule appointments where I didn't drop them off and just stayed there, because driving there and back and there and back didn't make any sense and stressed out my cats. They didn't have a lot of those appointments.
My relationship really soured with Banfield last October when I took my cats in for their first dental cleaning. They called me later saying my one cat needed THREE teeth pulled and wanted to charge me $400! I asked if that could wait... it could... and was never mentioned again. So apparently it wasn't this great emergency.
Here are the issues I have with Banfield.
1) I have stood at the front desk where one person was on the phone for 10 minutes without acknowledging me or asking someone to come help me.
2) I called a few months ago to change my plan back to the lower amount and was told that would happen that day. It didn't and, when I called later, I was informed it wouldn't change until October, when my contract was up (guess what, I didn't renew it)... I was mislead.
3) One of my cats escaped and had a cat fight. A couple days later, I noticed two deep scratch wounds that were leaking puss. I called to schedule an appointment and was told they were booked! They suggested another Banfield, which was also booked. So a cat with infected wounds is not an emergency to them. Luckily, I had a check up appointment scheduled (which had never been confirmed) and was able to take him in. But I had to pay extra for the meds and collar. They said they would call to check up in a few days. They called 3 weeks later.
4) One month later my other cat began throwing up and coughing. This lasted all night. I talked with two vet friends (who are out of state) and we figured he had swallowed something. He wouldn't eat or drink. When he woke me up at 4am with more foam vomit... I called Banfield and left a message to explain that I was coming in with my cat and why. When I arrived, just as they opened, the receptionist and staff treated me as the biggest inconvenience for coming in without an appointment! My cat was throwing up all night! Yet they didn't seem to care that I was stressed and worried. Of COURSE, I had to leave him there and drive back home. They called just as I walked in the door (seriously) and told me that they needed to take x-rays. I had to pay $160 for them. They found nothing! They suggested I take him to a specialist, because they didn't want to sedate him and find nothing. So I had to drive BACK, where the vet on duty told me that my cat was prone to bite and then admitted that animals hated him!
Luckily, they referred me to AVC (Advanced Vet Care) which, if it weren't so far away, I would take my cats there all the time. They were wonderful! The difference was night and day. They were sweet, helpful, informative, and patient with my cat, who surprisingly does not bite when you don't manhandle him. They comforted me (by now it was about 24 hours since this all started). Turns out, he had swallowed a large piece of grass and it was stuck up his nose and down his throat. They took it out. I highly, highly recommend AVC. Unfortunately, I had to pay them, which was a lot, but worth it. My contract with Banfield ended this month, I've canceled it, and I will never use them again. Read Less