Sk:n Clinics

I would not recommend Sk: n. It felt very «for profit» and less «health and wellbeing» from the appointment setting via a mega call center, deposits required for consultations and then only applied to treatments that are very expensive, etc. I left the experience very annoyed and switched to another practice I’ve had great results with. This is a big corporate operation, I’m not a fan. I wrote in based on my experienced and received a very thoughtful reply (yet zero offer of compensation — I spent upwards of £300 — or to make it better), thus 2 stars instead of 1. Transcript below.
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Hi,
Dr Halfhide’s bedside manner is abrupt. He made several comments generalizing Americans, of which I am one. I found this unprofessional and frankly, annoying. If I’m paying £150 for an appointment lasting 15 minutes, I don’t expect to be insulted in the process.
Besides that, I was booked in for a nurse consultation that felt more like a pitch for products, then had to rebook in for the next day to come see a doctor. That initial consultation could’ve easily taken place over the phone, she didn’t even LOOK at my skin! It lasted about 3 minutes. I had to rearrange my work schedule 2 days consecutively and the entire process felt like I was being manipulated.
Also, I was sold products I cannot use now that the doctor prescribed Differin (adapalene). These were pitched to me on the «consultation.» Expensive products that I no longer can use that felt forced on me so someone could earn a commission. There was zero coordination between the doctor and consultant. Very odd.
I was not pleased with my experience at Sk: n. I’m not sure if this is always how business is done, but I certainly feel I was treated unfairly and inappropriately, not to mention that there didn’t seem to be a lot of cohesiveness to the treatment plans between the nurse and the doctor.
Colleen
– Response from Sk: n via email –
Hi Colleen,
Thank you very much for getting back to me.
Firstly I would like to apologise for your experience with Sk: n. I am very disappointed to hear about your consultation with Dr Halfhide, noone has complained about his bedside manner before and this is feedback that he would definitely want to know. We do take customer care very seriously so I am sincerely sorry for his comments.
In regards to the nurse consultation, she did write notes in your file as to why you were booked with the Doctor so I am sorry she did not communicate this effectively to yourself. There are several types of acne and she is an acne specialist, we can usually tell pretty quickly what type of acne a client has and whether or not this is something we can treat or if a client needs antibiotics, it isn’t something you can diagnose over the phone unfortunately.
I apologise you felt like it was ‘a pitch’ for products for commission purposes, however, our practitioners, nurses and doctors do not earn commission on any of our products or treatments. It is not like a spa or beauty salon, it is a medical clinic so this doesn’t apply to our clinics.
I have spoken to the doctor and nurse in regards to the products and the antibiotics, and you cannot use the products in conjunction with the antibiotics but as soon as you have finished these you can go straight onto the products to prolong the affects of the prescription that the doctor administered. This is why they were offered at the time.
Once again, I really do apologise that the whole experience has seemed rushed and a push for sales with inappropriate bedside manner from the doctor. I will raise this with the staff in question, this is not how we wish to portray our company nor treat our clients who we do value.
We really do appreciate your feedback so thank you for taking the time to respond.

I had a bad bout of acne about two years ago which left me with pigmentation scarring under my skin. I needed true advice on how to get rid of this scarring once and for all so I went to the sk: n clinic as there are many scattered across London. My experience was disappointing to say the least. After a consultation the staff encouraged me to get two skin peels to begin with that did nothing for my scarring. They then recommended I took a 6 course skin peel that would be sure to help. After two of these I saw no difference and was encouraged to continue with them and told that it takes a while to see an effect. After skin peel number 4 I had seen about 20% improvement when on their website they advertise it as a 90% satisfaction rate. So I continued to voice my concerns to the staff. Quite often it felt as if they’d forgotten the whole point of me getting the treatment in the first place — to illuminate scarring. I had to often remind them of this as they’d sometimes say ”well you have less spots” but that was never the issue to begin with. Anyway, I felt the need to finish the course as I had already began and wanted to believe it was just taking its time. I decided to ask the staff if I could be compensated if I saw no further improvement. The reaction to that was shocking. Instead of trying to find a way to help me they told me they’d have to stop treating me altogether if I attempted to get any form of refund. In the end I spent £1,500 on the treatments + products and only saw a 20% improvement with no desire from the staff to help me find a solution to the problem apart from spending more money. I was very disappointed with the service and treatments and would not recommend this to anyone. I still have scarring and an extended credit card limit due to this companies false promises.

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I went to Sk: n clinic in London Wall and was really happy with the service there, always polite and professional.
I’ll be back!