Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Finally: Real Customer Service

FINALLY, I can without hesitation say that a medical institution has gained my full confidence. And it's for ANIMALS. The Veterinary Referral Center in Malvern, Pennsylvania has a wonderful orthopedic surgeon in one Dr. Franczuszki. He is not only knowledgable and practiced at what he does (which includes repairing little doggies' kneecaps), he is kind and understanding. His patience and friendliness also extend to the shrieking toddlers accompanying his clients to their appointments. He is almost always on time to the appointment, too. I know two other people who have had Dr. Franczuski operate on their dogs, and both were extremely pleased at the outcome. So it's not just me.

Yes, so the surgeon is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. But I can't not talk about THE STAFF!!! The receptionists, the techs, and whoever else has helped W and me, my GOSH they're great. They allow me to call from my cell phone in the parking lot and wait in the car until someone is ready to see W; they help me get W from car to reception area while I juggle my kids; they are unfailingly POLITE and RESPONSIBLE and INFORMATIVE and CARING. When someone failed to call me back yesterday afternoon in response to a message I left, they apologized profusely this morning. How often do you get that? There is a play area for children, the facility is squeaky clean, there are good magazines and people restrooms, I could go on and on. Even their telephone hold message is comforting. I LOVE THEM! When my knee gets bad enough for surgery, I'm going to put on a dog suit and go there instead of to the *&#$%^ people hospital.

I will calm down now and end by saying that if you live anywhere near southern Pennsylvania and your dog has orthopedic problems, you will not regret visiting Dr. Franczuszki and the Veterinary Referral Center. We drive almost an hour each way, and it is well worth the trouble for my peace of mind. I only regret that they will not give me a discount for the previous advertisement. Well, I don't even regret that. They deserve the good publicity. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

8 comments:

anne frasier said...

it's so hard to find good doctors for people or pets. i definitely think you should go with the dog suit. it only makes sense.

Mary Louisa said...

Yes, I'm glad you too recognize the inherent logic. My only question: do they serve jello? I guess I should ask W.

Angela said...

Tell Royal W that I'm glad he's got the best doggone Vet around! :) Oh and A Doggone Good Momma who travels the distance to make his throne comfy! Take Care ML!

Question? Why do I always do a word verification to post a comment on here. I promise I know my "ABC's!" :) Keep smiling!

Mary Louisa said...

Angela, I am just testing you to make sure you are qualified to be on the internet. YOU PASSED! No, really, it is a setting on my blog that prevents spam bots from leaving advertising spam in my comments section. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Angela said...

That's doggone smart of you ML. I wonder if I have that luxury on my blog! I will have to check it out! :) I'm so glad I passed the test! :)

stuffnsew said...

I am glad you had a good experience as ours was the complete opposite of everything you said. We had Dr Shelling which our appt was 4:30 and I saw him at 6:40. My dog was dying with pain. We waited another 2 hours for him to be admitted to the critical care unit on Friday by 11pm they had no results after charging us 1,800 dollars. Just a bunch of maybes. The doctor the next day said they were taking more xrays of his pelvis because they thought maybe he had something going on in his hip or knee. Meanwhile my dog is in complete respitory distress and shaking with terrible pain, fever 103.5. The next day they only gave medicine when we showed up unexpected and said they gave it to him before we came. It was unbelievable. We had to feed and walk him to pee at 1pm....because they said he didn't pee or eat. Well when the meds finally kicked in he went and peed a river and ate. The doc who read the xrays says she has to wait for radiologist to read them because she thought she saw something and that was it....all she said...We did ask a bunch of questions and got very little short responses. Why is he breathing and in such pain we asked. Well he has bad dental disease. Maybe its a bacterial lesion at the heart. Well we left wanting our dog back on IV. Called later still no report. So we went back over at 8pm. Same thing...dog never went out, no food and terrible pain. Pain meds given right before they brought him out. 30 minutes later and he can stand, eat, pee and poop. Still no answer from anyone. I ask to see the xrays and the very annoyed Dr Freeman goes and gets them. Now we are wondering are they just squeezing more money out of us for another night stay. Now saying the radiologist will be in soon, then maybe midnight. then finally an aide comes in and says he usually doesn't show until 3 or 4 am. WELL, after seeing the XRAY its obvious to me he has bone cancer. His bone has a tumor and it looked eaten from the inside out. Why are they putting us threw all of this. We took him home, he is much more content now that we are controlling his pain meds. Its Sunday 1pm and we are still waiting for the radiologist report from the doc. I have called left message and NO CALL. SOME EMERGENCY CARE!!! Very non caring except when it came to payment.

Mary Louisa said...

Oh my gosh! What an awful time. I'm glad your doggie is feeling a bit better. Poor thing. :(

We were seen through advance appointment at the orthopedic department only, only dealt with the one surgeon and his staff, and never had to use the emergency care area at all. So I don't know their doctors or procedures. Sounds like they need to improve things GREATLY!

How very sad that they couldn't provide better support for your pooch and you, too! :(

Melissa Shelly said...

I live in U. Bucks County and my new vet is referring me to Dr Shelling (?) for an ultrasound. She's convinced he has cancer somewhere though it isn't showing up on the Xrays--the calcium and amylase are elevated which indicates a big problem. Usually I go to Dr. Hodges at Valley Central in Whitehall and this Allentown vet isn't even referring to Valley Central--obviously some issue there. Wonder if it's their ridiculously high prices or something else.....anyway, I just found your blog as I was searching this Malvern Vet Clinic.
My baby is 12 (and a newf-lab mix) and I'm scared as hell. I don't want to lose him but I don't want to put him thru too much either. Plus I don't want to pay$5 K to find out he has a few weeks to live!!
Thanks for posting.