Quest Diagnostics

Worst experience. Desk clerk real ASHOLE

good was a super wet and cold day and they had it toasty warm in there, service was fast and quick and professional my doctor at lyon martin sent me here due to a power outage in their building had a lab apointment they sent me here with paperwork they were awsome

I HATE getting blood work done! However this Quest location is where I will go from now on. I was able to easily make an appointment online and was seen on time. The phlebotomist was great! He chatted with me to help me relax as I was obviously very anxious. In and out quickly and all done!

Trying to make an appointment via the phone for the last couple of days and each time I get past putting in the test it says it has encountered an error. If you try to press 0 to talk to a real person it says goodbye and hangs up. What gives? What is the point of having a local number if it automatically forwards you to a 1 – 888 number?

All the stars for ease and speed. I went without an appointment, was seen basically immediately.
Costs seemed higher than what I’m used to, but the lady printed out everything for me which was nice. I was in and out of there very quickly.
Unfortunately she was not able to get all the blood from my right side so she went for the left. I guess I was a little dehydrated, but the left side went much better. I saw her digging around a bit on the right. I have a large bruise now down literally half my arm that hasn’t disappeared for a couple weeks unfortunately, although no pain.

Very friendly, prompt, and professional. The space is well lit and uplifting, to boot. Gina both checked me in kindly, answered all my questions (had to look some tests up), and performed a painless blood draw. Who could ask for anything more, especially when it comes to the dreaded blood draw?

UPDATED 12/​20/​2014: It’s with a heavy heart that I update my last review on 12/​15/​2014 from 5 stars to a one star.
It was too long to write my explanation in the last review so here is my reasoning why.
OR IF YOU’RE IN A HURRY JUST READ THE BOLD TO AVOID ANY PERMANENT HEALTH INJURIES HERE.
I have to say Daryl and Gina are very friendly but after doing some phlebotomy research through several phlebotomy CE websites, phlebotomy textbooks, phlebotomy protocols from different medical centers, I’ve now decided their venipuncture (blood draw) techniques are UNSAFE.
When they could not get a successful blood draw on the 1^st 3 tries, they PROBED and FISHED for my veins.
I have very delicate and hard to find veins. But all phlebotomy training resources and guidelines say you should NEVER PROBE or FISH for veins. Repositioning the needle (rotating it slightly or pulling it out just a little bit or pushing it in just a little bit) if there’s no blood coming out (intial veniputure failure) is considered ok. But probing or fishing for a vein after the needle is inserted and there is no blood flow is NOT SAFE.
Probing or fishing for a vein is when there is excessive repositioning or needle movement (like withdrawing the needle and re-​angling the needle, even if the needle is not completely withdrawn, or tugging and pulling). Or another way of putting it is «fishing for a vein» is moving the needle around after insertion to try to
locate a vein.
WHY IS PROBING AND FISHING FOR VEINS DANGEROUS?
1. Because you can accidently hit and DAMAGE A NERVE PERMANENTLY. And if it’s your ulnar or median nerves or nerves that run off of those — you could get permanent hand damage or chronic pain along your arm.
Imagine not being able to type (or do your job) or use your thumb to turn your door knob for the rest of you life…
2. You can get VEIN SCARING. So the next time you try to do a venipuncture (blood draw) at that vein you can’t since there’s too much scar tissue in the way. And there’s only so many veins you can do blood draws from with less risk.
3. FISHING and PROBING can lead to hemolysis and actually change your blood lab results — so not only do you risk getting hurt but your labs possibly aren’t even accurate!
As of now, my venipuncture bruises are almost gone and I’m able to use both hands. I can extend my left arm but feel some soreness still in both arms and ghost pains. But I’m counting myself as lucky since I can move all my fingers at the moment.
But I might have excessive vein scarring at all 4 puncture sites Gina and Daryl tried. (Also FYI, blood draws should never be PAINFUL — even if they forewarn it’s going to be painful. That’s a HUGE SIGN SOMETHING IS WRONG. And what happened to me was wrong.) I’ll update you guys next time I get a blood draw if my veins have scarred to the point I can’t get blood draws from them.
In short, I’ve change my mind and won’t come back for my safety. Just to clarify, Gina and Daryl have GREAT bedside manner and that’s 5 stars. BUT I feel their blood draw methods are UNSAFE. The Mt. Zion Quest Diagnostics staff never smile — but at least they don’t use unsafe blood drawing techniques. I might go to Mt. Zion QD next time.

You know, for having to take a drug test, this was a pretty pleasant experience. This was picked by my employer as a prescreen test and was easy-​peasy.
I tried to schedule an appointment on the website, but it seemed like there was no availability (like…ever) and I only had 72 hours, so I just showed up. I was there around 9:10 (drug screenings are only 9 – 3) and things were pretty busy and picked up the entire time I was there. I was out the door by 10am, less than an hour.
Only downside, the water cooler was out of water — that was a big cup to fill and providing water would have been nice. Luckily, I brought my own bottle and was looking for a refill, just in case.
The lab tech (/​dr?) was very friendly and made the whole process was painless.

Arrived here today at 9:00 am with an appointment for 9:30 am. The ladies got me all set up with paperwork and within 10 minutes they were drawing the blood and finishing it all up. The people who work here are very professional and friendly. They make it a good location to complete your blood work (especially if you dislike needles). I was really pleasantly surprised for the process to be so easy and painless. It couldn’t have been better.

After a SUPER-​PAINFUL experience at the Valencia St location (don’t go!!!), I panicked and literally power-​walked to the next closest location in the Castro. Thank GOODNESS I did, and Gina was working. It was Tuesday at 11am, so luckily she was able to help me right away, and when she slipped the needle in, it was like BUTTER. I didn’t feel a thing, and despite needing 6 vials taken, it was over in no time. Am definitely coming back for all my draws.

Went for a drug-​screen for work purposes. Very quick. No appointment needed. Depending on company and what you request to be tested. Some require pee + blood test. Was there less than 10 minutes with someone else in front of me. Called for hours of testing as it was not stated in the email.

Orland is gone and so is all the charm. For some reason they transferred him to another location a couple of years ago. Weird, considering he really had a loyal clientele there. When he left, we left. Bad idea, Quest!

Positives:
I made a reservation beforehand and was served relatively quickly (within 5 minutes of signing in).
The staff was extremely inviting/​kind.
Improvement Areas:
When I visit a place where there are needles and blood/​fluids are taken, I hope for the entire place to be extremely clean, however, the bathroom was a little dirty for my taste.
Also, the room I was taken to for drawing blood was not a fully enclosed space, so I presume people could hear the discussion the nurse had with me.

Such nice people!!! I love the staff here! :) I arrived slightly early for the service I needed done and they were able to help me. (You might say the matter was urgent). I felt like I was treated with respect and I thought they did a great job. So glad to be done with my pre employment screening.

Too bad Orland does not work here anymore. The service went downhill since about a year ago. The last time I went in the hefty female phlebotamist was having serious confusion handling the paperwork. Best of all, despite taking my insurance info and photocopying my card, I got a bill that reflected no insurance claim, thus necessitating intervention and a run-​around. Won’t be going back. BTW, this location is somewhat dingy and looks like it hasn’t gotten a good cleaning for several years.

Yep, Orland is amazing.
I have to get my blood drawn regularly, and have for years. While the place has changed hands a few times, and my insurance has changed several times, and sometimes the two didn’t meet up, I’m glad to come back here.
To summarize: THIS LOCATION is wonderful. The staff is friendly and excellent. The labs in the South Bay are awful. If there’s ANY issue with your insurance or paperwork, it’s a nightmare because the corporate side of Quest Diagnostics is a nightmare. But if you’re set up correctly in their computer system, THIS LOCATION is 5-​star.
Even though I lived in San Jose at the time, I came here because the labs in the South Bay are crowded, unfriendly, and incompetent. I had been told I needed to come back in so they could draw more blood, and when I asked WHY I got evasive answers and the runaround until I finally pressed the truth out of them: The technician hadn’t drawn enough blood to perform the necessary tests. I replied that I WOULD get my blood redrawn, but NOT in San Jose. So I came here.
In my experience, it’s not crowded so there’s not a long wait. Orland is wonderful. And I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid any insurance problems or otherwise having to deal with the Big Evil Corporation that owns them. Clearly, that’s where all the complaints are deserved.
I work in San Jose and stopped by on my way to work to get blood drawn this morning, the waiting room was packed, the staff was clearly stressed and unfriendly, and one woman had been waiting for over an hour. Again, the South Bay labs are a nightmare. So I made an appointment for tomorrow morning at THIS location. I hope Orland is there.

Recently tried the «new» facility on 15^th. Nice receptionist, no other clients present. I wish the rest went this well.
It has been 3 days and Quest still hasn’t faxed the results to either fax number on my orders. I’ve spent two days following up. It seems the tech who took my blood didn’t enter either fax number into my record. I had the phone person searching visitor logs to find my record of even showing up. That person told me, «the lab tech didn’t fill out your information correctly.» Too bad that I already entered it online and all she had to do was take my blood and send it off.
I really dislike this company. Take your business elsewhere.

It is what it is… :)

I have a medical condition that requires me to have frequent lab work done, so I am in here to have my blood drawn several times each year. Orland, the phlebotomist who manages this location and is normally the person drawing the blood, is always friendly and cheerful, and is one of the best I’ve encountered… I usually don’t even feel the needle going in. He’s been there for many years now, and I recommend him highly.
Although I’ve occasionally had an insurance glitch that I had to call to clear up, and the wait times are sometimes a little long, the problems are rare. These days, you can go to their web site and resubmit your insurance information if there’s a mix-​up, and I’ve found that takes care of most problems with no hassle.
I’ve been completely pleased with Quest and especially with the 15^th and Noe location.

The lab technician was pleasant, efficient, and the blood draw was painless. I wish I could say the same thing about dealing with this company.
I’ve used Quest for my lab work four times. They’ve screwed up my insurance in exactly the same way each of the four times. The only way to get them to straighten things out is to talk to them by telephone. Their telephone hold-​times are ridiculous: This morning I waited on hold for 22 minutes before finally giving up and hanging up and, just now, another 20 minutes. Again I’ve given up.
Last time, the billing agent said she would make notes about the problem (I quote) «in big letters, outlined with a yellow highligher…» It didn’t help.
If you have other options for lab work, I suggest you take advantage of them. Customer service clearly matters to individual employees of Quest (the lab technician, the billing agent), but their systems — being unable to avoid the same error over and over again, and hiring so few billing agents that telephone wait times exceed 20 minutes — are seriously broken. They act like a monopoly. Maybe they actually think they have a monopoly. The best thing that we as consumers can do is to demonstrate to them that they don’t by taking our business elsewhere whenever we can.
I will.