I have a serious medical issue that I have been looking at helping via acupuncture. I visited Dr. Diana Tong Li on 2 separate occasions. First was a consultation which was extremely expensive at $69!!! I arrived on the dot for my first appointment but the doctor was just getting together with someone from building maintenance and they spent 30 or so minutes talking about fixtures and light bulbs.
I was pretty frustrated at that point since i was scheduled in for a specific time but they way the staff and the fact that punctuality was not a concern for her was alarming. I ended up waiting for her anyway and went through the consult. I told her that a concern of mine was whether insurance would cover her treatments to which she said I could fight the insurance company until they give me the money (???!!!). In the meantime, I need to start treatments right away and ..maybe.. i can ask to borrow money from friends or family (WTF!)... I unwisely decided to book a first treatment appointment with her. After all, her credentials spoke a lot for themselves in comparison to others in the area.
I arrived at my first actual appointment 15 minutes early. But the doctor was not there yet. They had me placed in a room and asked for me to undress and put on a robe and that the "doctor is on her way". I heard the receptionist calling the doctor on the phone informing her that i was here. Every 5-10 minutes, either the receptionist or a young male practitioner would come and let me know "she is on her way", with no apologies coming my way. Really? Neither asked if I needed the washroom, if I wanted a drink of water and worst of it - they did not offer an explanation of Dr Li's lateness. Supremely unprofessional. At one point, the young male entered and asked if he can start the session on me himself but I said no. I should not have to explain why. I wanted services from Dr. Li, not anyone else. Dr Li was over 25 minutes late. But I was undressed, in a cold room for over 30 minutes since i was at my appointment early. I was angry. I became fed up. I got re-dressed and left. The staff acted surprised that I did not stay around waiting for the doctor to finally show up. Neither of them apologised. Neither of them tried to explain Dr. Li's lateness.
In the end, dr li called and left a voicemail apologising for being 'ONLY 20 minutes late' with the universal 'i had emergency' excuse. she offered a discount on the first session. No thank you. You lost my respect when no one apologised to me until you realized you lost money.