Lower Cape Veterinary Services - Eastham

"What a difference upper management makes in the climate of a business! Our entire family had been happily using Eastham Vet for over 30 years up until yesterday, when I was handed my pets records by a young, inexperienced receptionist who evidently "fired me" from being client there any more, for questioning one charge on my bill! My first experience with this individual was a few weeks ago when I was attempting to pay my bill with Care Credit. They kept telling me that I had to pay first and submit to my insurance company afterwards. I was trying to explain that Care Credit was a form of payment, not insurance, however, it was too confusing for them. A couple days later, after speaking with the supervising receptionist, that situation was clarified. The next time I saw the young, blond receptionist, they seemed to have everything figured out and was helpful (although I’m not sure how much of that was the supervisor behind the scenes). Now yesterday, I came in with my other pet for an annual visit. I expressed some concern to the doc about small dogs sensitivity to the vaccine that they wanted to give. They suggested that I could have given my pup Benadryl pre-appointment, however, since that didn’t happen, they could give our pup a Benadryl shot before hand, to avoid a reaction and just wait 20 min to give the vaccine. When I got the bill ($400 for annual exam), I noticed that the Benadryl was $37.50. As I was walking out the door, I stated "Wow, the Benadryl shot was $37.50?!", to which the receptionist responded curtly "YES. Those are our costs." I turned around and said "I understand, it just would have been nice to know before they did it. Its ridiculous." and I walked out the door. Twenty minutes later, after the tech gave my pup the vaccination in my car, the receptionist came out and argued with me that they asked the doc, and doc confirmed that they had gone over the Benadryl shot with me. I told them that my issue was that I hadn’t been told the cost and was annoyed to the point where I asked them to step away from my car. They then said that I was rude to them and slammed the door in their face (apparently in the trailer where they were sitting ten feet away from me?) and said “Here are all your records” (indicating that I was terminated from being a client of the practice?). I couldn’t believe what had just happened! Within the past few weeks, we have spent over $6000 on vet bills, so I don’t want anyone to think that this is about $37.50. I used to walk into this practice and be greeted by friendly faces with great attitudes that had been there for years, some for decades. Both my pets and I felt comfortable with the high standard of care. The climate is different now. I was told yesterday, when my pet was being poked 7 times in an attempt to draw blood, that I wasn’t allowed to hold him because it would be a liability if he bit me. Liability over patient comfort and care. Not the techs fault. These policies are pushed from the top. This is not to say that I don’t like anyone there. There are some new faces that have been perfectly fine and I’m sure are good, well-intentioned people. There are also two shining stars that I would like to single out. One is Dawn, who bends over backwards, going to bat for the needs of the client, in a considerate and helpful way, always with a smile. The other is Doctor Larned, who was very knowledgeable, supportive, and compassionate, through an extremely sad and frustrating time when my pet was very ill. I will write another review for Herring Cove, in Provincetown based on my positive experience with them. I am hopeful that after reading this review, in conjunction with the last review, which I see was only written a week ago, where the client had a frighteningly similar reception experience, the upper management of this business, (that I will never recommend to anyone I know again) will get the hint that they need to make some serious changes. PS Writing boiler plate responses to peoples reviews, when they have legitimate concerns, is never going to “regain their trust”"

"Update - 10/16/2023 - Will update review if any adjustments are made by Lower Cape Vet… Given reply from Lower Cape, I called as requested & await a response. I will update review after speaking with billing dept - contact Melissa - at Lower Cape Vet Original Review - August 2023 Brought our dog in last week for a possible tick issue - turned out to be a minor skin infection. Vet care was solid & nurse was kind & friendly. 4 stars - as it was a little odd with a mobile home set up instead of going into a regular office. The 1 star review is for the billing, office manager & reception. We were charged $212 for a very simple procedure and visit and we’re not told upfront at any time what would be the cost as a new client. Several reviews below 3 stars note the corporate owner & cost / like $1300 for spay/neuter procedure. We were told the office manager would call us to discuss as we were happy to pay the regular office visit price which is a little over $100 but the urgent visit seemed excessive. There was no call for over a week. So we had to call back and the office manager still was “unavailable“. Then the receptionist was unapologetic for no manager calling and asked if she could help, and she just told us the fee was the fee, even though we were not given the estimate or heads up of any kind. She then ended the call by asking us not to call back the vet. Needless to say we will be choosing another Vet on the Cape when we need one & will dispute the charge with our credit card given the lack of transparency & communication. The vet care staff was great, the billing, office manager, and receptionist need guidance on customer relations. At the very least, I hope the receptionist is trained to give new clients an estimate of the charges that they will incur. We would’ve found a different vet if we were told upfront that a same day appt was $212. Their website clearly states that customers will be given an estimate of the charges. Will update review if any adjustments are made by Lower Cape Vet…"

"Absolutely worst experience with a vet I have ever had. From loosing our dogs bloodwork to not putting notes in so the other vets know to refusal to be helpful in anyway. I recommend never bringing your pet here"

"I had a great experience at Eastham Vet Hospital! I’m on vacation and my dog was sick. They were able to get us a same day appointment. It was a great option versus waiting the 2-4 hours I was quoted for the Dennis Emergency care and the fee was slightly cheaper. They were efficient even with their construction. Can’t recommend them enough. My one con was I wish I could have gone in with my dog but everything else was still pretty great and my dog is on the mend."

"Had to bring our dog in the day before Thanksgiving as he suddenly became I’ll. Got an appointment right away and the covering vet from PTown couldn’t have been greater. She was so attentive to our and the dogs needs and wanted to make sure every avenue was covered while keeping expenses in mind. Her diagnosis appears to have been right on and we are so happy to report our senior hound is doing well ."