Ok..So I am a current Banfield employee so I'm going to withhold my name and exact job location.I'm writing this review to give my insight, as an employee, of Banfield and their practices.

Sad to say, but the terrible reviews you read about them are true for the most part. I concur with everyone else that is saying Banfield is a greedy and money hungry corporation whose last thought is the health and well being of your pet. MOST (Not all, we have 2 well-meaning vets at our practice) of the vets that I work with will try to nickel and dime clients for every little thing...like they literally make up charges if they think the client will pay them. From anal-gland expressions being charged but not needed, to fees for your pet to just sit in a kennel all day for nothing.

Most of the time clients aren't informed of fees till check out time (Oh, Goody!). The vets are more like sales people here.. I can't tell you how many times a client comes in for routine vaccines and the vet talks them into expensive bloodwork, thyroid screens, Xrays, and other non-sense charges...just to find out their pet is healthy after all. ITS A SCAM!

Don't get me started on the Wellness Plans. Although, in some cases they are a good deal (specifically the puppy plans)...the wellness plan itself has a many flaws. For instance, they are automatically set to renew even though its supposed to be a "ONE YEAR CONTRACT"... Time and time again clients call in wondering why their card is still being charged monthly for a wellness plan that they signed up for 3 years ago and aren't using.

We have to refer clients to corporate to cancel their plans since for some reason we cannot do it at the hospital. Also, (i don't know if this is policy at all locations) clients who sign their pets up for the WP are FORCED to drop off pets instead of having in room appointments. Who wants their pet to be sitting in a kennel all day, not being touched for hours, only to be seen by the vet/vet tech for under 5 minutes? The wellness plan pets are not prioritized and only seen when there's some downtime between in-room appointments...Drop offs for anesthetic procedures are normal but Drop offs for vaccines and regular checkups???

huh?? WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?? I think most people would like to be at the appointments with their pets..Would you drop off your kids at the pediatricians all day for a checkup? Many clients see their pets as their children.

The drop off policy is ridiculous and appears to me almost as animal abuse. There have been countless instances where a client drops off there pet in the wee hours of the morning (8 or 9am) only to find out their pet isn't ready to go at closing time! It's absurd and just down-right wrong. The office managers and head-doctor are in the mentality of quantity>quality.

I'm serious, the quality sucks. We are almost ALWAYS overbooked, and when WE'RE NOT the doctors and manager *** at us like it's our fault people don't want to come in. Wait time to be seen usually exceeds the half hour mark (hour+ waits are not uncommon.) The vet techs are not properly trained and a few do not speak very good English (along with a couple of the vets). The actual vet/client time is usually under 5 minutes.

Most of the time clients spend here is waiting in the exam room, alone with their pets!. The management constantly pressures us to overbook appointments, and if we don't "have enough" appointments they blame the receptionists (ITS NOT OUR FAULT YOU HAVE SUCH A HIGH CLIENT TURNOVER RATE! ) I thought my other jobs were bad but those were nothing compared to this'. A regular work day usually consists of showing up and immediately being bombarded by a huge line of impatient clients:.

After checking in around 15 drop-off appointment pets, the in-room appointments start coming in, which is usually 3 or 4 pets per hour?. During check in, receptionists must simultaneously tend to endless phone calls that come in (non stop, i swear) while clients in line glare at you". In the down time between calls and check ins/check outs (and getting cussed out by a client every now and then) we must make reminder calls for tomorrows appointments and follow ups for yesterdays appointments,. While in the middle of trying to manage the hectic tasks for the day, the boss usually comes up front either to harass us about how "slow we are" or complain about something irrelevant in front of clients;.

Every 30 minutes, or so, the doctors come up and tell us to call clients for them to discuss things we have no understanding or knowledge of (they don't like to talk to clients, i guess?)". At he end of the long day we are exhausted doing our closing duties and the boss comes up front and lets us know what we did wrong for that day and usually makes a remark implying he should fire us..(so much for motivation)... I get constant insults by higher ranked employees. I get talked down to on a regular basis and pressured to do too much in too little time.

Management is very critical and harsh to all employees. The office manager and doctors make other staff do everything. The doctors literally use us receptionist as a shield from clients. They never deal with any confrontations!

We don't get raises as promised, nor do we get any type of breaks...I can't wait til the day I finally get out of this corrupt place. Due to responsibilities like my school tuition and bills I cannot just up and quit without finding another job first. Every time one of my coworkers puts in their two weeks notice (which is quite a common occurrence here) I wish it was me in their place. I hope to find a new job very soon but for now i'm stuck here...I am thankful to have a job in this tough economy i just wanted to put the word out about Banfields business practices because I did start working here for the animals and I hate to see the pets and clients being treated so poorly.

The Banfield corporation just needs to be shut down or some serious quality control needs to happen. The quality is just horrible, i'd never take my pet to a Banfield. Steer clear, people.

Check out reviews of veterinary hospitals before you make an appointment.I'm sure there are some decent Banfield out there but BEWARE. 304b977