Quest Diagnostics

Here’s what you have to do here to make it a smooth visit:
1) Schedule an appointment online. If you walk-​in, expect to wait at least 45 minutes, sometimes longer… And yes, appointments go ahead of walk-​ins no matter how long they have been waiting.
2) Have your paperwork ready. These ladies see 100’s of people each month so they will not remember you.
3) RELAX! I am scared of needles, I always have been… But the two ladies who work here were born to take blood. Honestly, I think they have cured my phobia. Today I wasn’t even aware the needle had gone in… THATS how good they are!
In all seriousness, heed the above advice, be pleasant and everything will go super smooth!

The people are mostly good, some very good – but the system is horrible. They often have only one employee and the policy is: one thing at a time. If that thing is a blood draw and whatever that takes 20 minutes, or if it is just handing a specimen over the counter with all the label done and all they have to do is put it in a box.
That means if you’re just handing a specimen, it sucks. One employee? Worse suckage. There can be one or two people in the waiting room and you still wait 45 min to hand a bag across the counter.
So, long waits are a big problem here.

We’ve been here for 45 minutes and not 1 person has been seen. The woman at the front desk has argued with almost every patient that has come in. The wait time and hostile environment has made my daughter so uncomfortable (when she was already scared to have her blood drawn) that we are going to leave and go somewhere else.
SMH. They need to get it together.

I wish I could give zero stars. What an awful experience. My 2 year old daughter’s pediatric GI sent us here to run a blood panel. We got to the office at around 4:30 pm on a Thursday, and you could tell that the woman at the front desk was annoyed that we were coming in right before closing time. I had parked in a 20 minute spot and I was with my two kids, and since it appeared we were going to have to wait a while, I asked if I could just run downstairs to feed the meter and the woman indicated that I would lose my spot (I was with two little kids, give me a break here). I ended up taking my chances and moving my car and still making it back in time before they closed. We waited for another 30 minutes before she finally took us in to get my daughter’s blood drawn. I should mention that the family right ahead of us had a daughter who fainted right after taking blood, and the woman working there just rolled her eyes and tried to make it like the mom was making drama for no reason. I am 7 months pregnant, and the woman drawing the blood (the same woman who greeted us at the door) kept pushing my antsy 2 year old daughter onto my belly. She told me I would need to restrain her, and I was trying my best, but then she kept pushing my daughter onto me, so much so that the next day I had severe ligament pain. All this, and she didn’t even draw the adequate amount of blood from my daughter because she said she was moving around too much. So now, we have to go back and subject my daughter to another traumatic experience, all because the woman working here has no clue on how to work with children. Very disappointed in my experience. I have called the management to complain as well. If you are taking young children to this facility, beware!

I’d rate a zero if I could! They just don’t work here! I waited alone in the waiting room for 15 minutes before anyone realized I was here because no one was working reception! I had an appointment to get blood drawn during my lunch break and left without getting helped! I told the secretary my appointment had passed and she shrugged and said take a seat! Horrible place! Do your testing anywhere else!

I, too, had the problem of not being able to speak with anyone to re-​reconfirm what lab work info they had in the computer. Sure enough, and the second time this has happened, they did NOT have the correct info. This was not their fault, but if they had any consideration about doing any bit of customer service like speaking to a real person rather than being routed around via a prompt, the problem could have been resolved. I, too, will be taking my business to LabCorp.

Literally as good as it gets. I was seen on time, the phlebotomist was phositively phleasant, and I was out phromptly.

Pretty impressed… I paid Quest Diagnostics a visit today for some blood work. Strange enough, no one was there so I had the waiting room to myself. I didn’t mind at all. The two women who came out to assist me were helpful and right away you can tell that these women work swiftly. They took down my information, asked me a few questions, and bam, I was sitting in room 2 waiting to be pricked. The process of blood drawing was so quick and painless, I was shocked when it was over. The woman who took care of my blood work was very kind, efficient and so talented at what she does! I’ve been to many doctor offices where nurses have bluntly stabbed me a couple times before succeeding. That was not the case here… as unpleasant as blood work and needles are, the staff here at QD Santa Monica sure got me in and out of there before I could even freak out.

I have tiny veins and many doctors’ offices have tried to draw my blood, stuck me multiple times, then given up. I’ve been dealing with this for years. Quest’s phlebotomist Douglas got it on his first try. Unheard of. He’s amazing. I will never suffer through another blood test anywhere else.
Also, just schedule (and reschedule) your appointment online. Beyond easy.

The girl at the front desk is so rude. She expect patients to do her job! She has no interest in helping anyone & ignores you when you talk to her or ask her questions. She literally handed me back the vials & said we can’t run your tests. Seriously? Since when do you hand patients their vials & send them away?

Love this place. Maria at the front desk is so friendly and efficient. Nice to feel welcomed. Robin, the phlebotomy technician, is amazing. I did not feel a thing! Robin is also so friendly and welcoming. Even though my physician is with UCLA we insist on having our labs done at Quest. Having an insurance plan with a high deductible I appreciate that Quest’s charges are much less than UCLA. You can walk in or make an appointment. I’ve never had to wait long. Parking is in the structure. The facility is so clean and the waiting room has an amazing view. I highly recommend Quest in Santa Monica.

I really hate this company and have switched over to UCLA for getting my bloodwork. Quest is so corporate, with no heart and soul, AT ALL. I feel like cattle being moved through the system. They recently redesigned their centers and they chose a disgusting green and beige color scheme which is ugly and cold. There is always a min 10 minute wait (I’ve waited up to 30 min, which really stinks when you’re trying to get to a morning appt). The staff is usually nice, but since this Santa Monica location is always understaffed. the staff is stressed out and grumpy usually (and it’s made worse when the patients are grumpy for having to wait so long because they are understaffed!). The only good thing about this location is the view… it’s beautiful! But I’m taking my business elsewhere for a more pleasant experience. (When giving blood, I need as pleasant as I can get…)

Yesnia can draw my blood with very little pain. My veins are thin and collapse and run dry quickly! She gets the business done. Thank you for being there, Yesnia!

Getting blood tests is never fun, but this Quest location makes things pretty painless, pardon the pun. I’ve been here three times now, and for all three visits I’ve made my appointments online and gotten in and out in ten minutes without a problem. The office is clean and the phlebotomists are good.
Also, if you sign up on Quest’s website, you can review all your test results online about two weeks after you get them (blame the state of CA for the delay; they require Quest to hold back results 14 days).

Front desk woman in the Santa Monica office is like the worst DMV stereotype you can imagine. Rude. Bureaucratic. Mean. No smiles. I went in to simply drop something off and had to wait over 30 minutes.
Let’s hope their diagnostic skills aren’t modeled after their customer service.

Had a great experience. They are friendly, efficient and professional. Kim did the best job of drawing my blood I have ever experienced. She was quick and I felt nothing!

I am really bad with needles but I have been going to this quest for quite some time and it makes it a lot easier to get blood taken. Yesnia (one of the techs) usually draws my blood and she honestly is the best of the best, she is quick and makes it painless. It is a really busy place but I’ve learned if you are there before they open or before they close for lunch you get in right away after lunch, you can also make an appointment on quests website which helps a lot with getting in and out on time.

I can’t comment on this particular office, but Quest in general sucks. They have a fully automated appointment system that does not allow you to speak to anyone with pertinent questions. The system sent me to an office that no longer performs that procedure I needed. I sent them an email and never heard back. I notice that they respond pretty quickly when people are watching (i.e. Twitter), but that’s all for show.

I arrived at around 11AM it was very busy. There were two ladies at the desk then soon after there was only one person entering forms and doing the labs. The lady drawing the labs, Yesenia, was getting yelled at by customers who were angry there was only one person on staff and the wait was very long. I saw several people leave. I waited and although frusterated I was grateful Yesenia was so professional and compassionate. Despite people yelling at her, she maintained her professionalism. 1 stars for Yesenia and her awesome customer service 0 stars for Quest not properly staffing their facilities.

Not a great parking situation, but once I found a meter and walked over I did get in and out within about 30 minutes for a blood draw (no appointment, weekday morning), which is pretty reasonable. Employees were efficient if not over-​the-​top friendly & helpful.