Unilab Quest Diagnostics

Useless to make an appointment.
They make you wait over an hour for blood work and they ask for payment ahead of time, even though you are not required to pay at front.
Every one working here seem very unhappy and rude:-/
Frequent problems having the results send to the doctor and never on time.
Aggghh!!!

1. Circle around numerous times around to squeeze into the tiniest parking spot, in the small lot that services four medical buildings.
2. Walk into a crowded room full of hungry patients begging the professionals to take their blood.
3. Sign in for walk ins or sign in for appointments.
4. Wait 5eva.
Avoid if you’re in a rush, especially in the AMs and even for drop offs. Never again. Late for work. Expect one hour plus wait.

My first and last time using Quest. After seeing my doctor in the same building he urged me to make an appointment at Quest because they were a «larger, more modern, and efficient lab» compared to the smaller ones I usually go to (i.e. ABC Labs). So, against my better judgment I made a 10am appointment on a Monday a few weeks ago to have my blood work done.
When I arrived, there were 20+ people (mostly walk-​ins) waiting in the waiting room. Grreeeatttt. The person at the front desk looked at the paperwork my doctor gave me and told me that she would bill my insurance $ 1300 (!!!) for my routine blood work + vit D & B check and that my estimated cost would be $ 200 something. Then she asked me for a credit card to charge and I kind of hesitated because I’ve never been asked for a form of payment up front before. I reluctantly gave my card to her. I only learned later (because my brother went to his appointment a week later) that they also give you the option of mailing you the bill instead. The lady didn’t offer me that option.
I waited about 20 – 30 min before I was called in. The phlebotomist was ok… not too friendly but she was efficient with her blood draw. She took 7 vials of blood from me… SEVEN! I’m sorry, but I’ve had the SAME exact blood work ordered in the past and gone to different labs and the MAX they’ve taken from me is 4. Why the unnecessary blood? Is it so you can charge me more than needed (probably)? My brother had 4 tubes of blood taken whereas other labs would’ve taken 2 for the same tests.
Finally, the phlebotomist allowed a previous patient to walk into the cubicle with her urine sample to place in the box while she was still drawing my blood. Doesn’t that violate HIPAA? (Yes, it does).
Oh. And 2.5 weeks after my visit, I got a credit card notification that Quest charged me $ 18 on my card for my visit so thank god my insurance covered most of it.
And I’ll probably stick to my usual labs in the future.

⁸⁄₂₁ VERY SLOW SERVICE. WAITING FOR 1 HOUR. 10:30 APPOINTMENT.
Bad experience. Only 3 phlebotomists. 20 patients on average waiting on a typical Wednesday. People with appointments, such as me, received no «on time» treatment compared to the walk-​ins. So what is the point of an appointment?
Let’s run some numbers. Since the appointments were spaced 15 minutes apart, and people were in the draw rooms for an average of 15 minutes, Quest expects each patient’s procedure to take 15 minutes on average. Each phlebotomist does 4 patients per hour. With 3 phlebotomists, they can do 12 patients per hour. So with 20 people in the waiting room, and more arriving as completed patients leave, quest has a built — in wait time of over an hour. Built — in. As though this is OK. Business as usual.
Never mind the one phlebotomist wandering back in a from outside after a coffee break with a big cup of something. It’s a safe bet her cup was not filled with hustle.
Because we were fasting, people became kind of woozy. A mother with 2 children became irate. She had made a 10:15 appt so she could get the baby home for a nap. 45 minutes and still waiting.
An elderly couple had been waiting an hour and a half. Everyone else was waiting the same hour or more.
Clearly Unilab Quest is trying to save money by understaffing on the phlebotomy side, while forcing fasting patients to wait an appalling time in the waiting room. Employees cost money and the fewer you have the less they cost. Think workmen’s comp, insurance, management overhead, cleaning costs, etc. Fewer phlebotomists means less cost. And they achieve that through excessive wait times.
What terrible customer service. What a bad model for the stockholders. What an awful way to treat patients.
The mother with kids begged and pleaded and was finally seen. At the 1 hour mark.
The elderly couple got up and went to another lab across the way.
I demanded my paper work back and went to a 3^rd different lab also across the way.
I was in and out of the other lab in 10 minutes.
Unilab Quest is running on borrowed time. Clearly local management has failed. But, corporate management, the CEO, is who must take the real blame. This is a company that cannot meet its customer service obligations at point of contact.
I cannot stress enough how badly the Unilab Quest lab on the 1^st floor of 612 Duarte in Arcadia CA is mistreating clients who need blood drawn. This understaffing and over scheduling of people WHO ARE FASTING is unconscionable.

Shady practices lead them to try and have you prepay for services. While it is optional, they don’t tell you this unless you balk at prepaying.

Think her name was Jo-​neen. Or at least that’s what it said on cubicle #1. She was fast, efficient and tolerating of my profanity as she stuck me and again as she removed the little sucker. Classy aren’t I?
Anyways only upgrade would have been nicer cups to pee in. It was kinda flimsy and u gotta cap it so the cup kinda crunches if you’re not careful. We all get pee on our hands at least once in a lifetime but I’d like to avoid it if possible. You know what I mean. Screw top please.

Went in for a physical work up… great thing they open early!!! I got there at 6 first in line when they opened the doors I was greater and helped immediately. I could understand everyone who it interacted with and had no issue with forms or insurance. Everyone was friendly and lively even though it was very early for most.
I had the pleasure of getting stuck by Rebecca A she made it quick, easy and painless! She was very pleasant and the right amount of social– kept me calm and entertained but still had me out the door quickly and on my way to work! By far one of the best medical situations/​visits I have had here in CA! Highly recommend this facility based on my experience there last week!

Don’t even bother with appointment. It’s doesn’t matter since they will have you wait while all the walk ins go in first. Ridiculous!!!

They took my daughter in right away and she said the needle was painless and the process quick!

The wait here was 45 minutes. They’re waiting room has 40 chairs. This is the second busiest lab in the area. There is no waiting at the lab at 301 West Huntington Drive in Arcadia their staff are very friendly and professional. Their needles are also pain free, just kidding

Didn’t have to wait to long today.

One reviewer is talking about another Quest, located off Huntington Drive, not this one. This location is on Duarte Rd, the south side of the street, on the ground floor, in a grey building. Oddly, there’s no signage for anything, but trust me, it is there, along with a pharmacy and a ton of medical offices. There is plenty of free 2 hour parking behind the building, and two entrances from the back. The wheelchair accessible ramp leads right into the building, with Quest as the first door on the right. The waiting room is a huge square, bright lime green, with chairs and benches. The line forms against a wall, with another wall separating the waiting area from the drawing rooms. There are multiple drawing rooms, I think 6 or 7 (no views of anything from any room, as it is all enclosed). To make things easy, have your form filled out and your insurance card ready. There are 2 different sign in sheets to know if you have an appointment or are a walk in, and even if you are late, appointments always get priority.
This location is now my place of choice; it is open Monday-​Friday 6:30am-5pm and Saturday 9am-​12pm. I highly recommend making an appointment, which can be done online, just because you get priority. Obviously, Saturdays can get crowded, but as long as you are inside the doors at noon, you will be seen. I’ve yet to make an appointment, and I have been in and out in a reasonable amount of time. I’ve also been here on a Saturday with my husband-​if you can, try not to, just because there are a ton of people waiting. The staff, as insanely busy as they can get, are still calm, courteous, and take your privacy seriously. You can elect to be called by your last name or by a number, and are lead into a drawing room. The drawing room is the same lime green, with a table in case you need to lie down, a nice wide chair, a cabinet with their supplies, and a computer. You verify your name and date of birth, your blood draw takes place, and you verify your name on the tubes and sign the tech’s form. Should you need to provide another sample (aka urine), the restroom is right next to exam room 6, and is nice and wide, for yourself, or if you need to assist someone.

Brought my 13-​month old to get blood drawn for the first time. They were very kind and careful. Highly recommended!

Warning: This is not a restaurant! It’s the place you go when you need to have some blood drawn for a lab test prescribed by your doctor. Sometimes it’s an emergency and you need to go where your doctor sends you, but if you ask, you often have a choice where to go.
You could go to a crowded, run down lab where you wait 45 minutes to be seen, or you could go to Unilab in the Santa Anita Medical Plaza. Everything about your experience here will be easy and worry free (well, at least as much as these things go anyway).
The Arcadia location is convenient, the parking is easy, the building and landscaping are attractive, the office and waiting area are calm, and the folks who work there are friendly.
The view out the window is one of the best views in the city. If you’ve been to the Santa Anita racetrack, you know what an amazing view you get from the stands. The view out the window of this little lab is right over the racetrack. If you’re going to get your blood drawn, it might as well be in an environment like this. Check out my pictures.
The biggest and best secret, though, is that nobody else seems to know about this place. There is a chance that you might have to wait for one other person, but in the few times I’ve gone here it has been smooth sailing in the door and out before I knew what hit me. This morning, there was no other customer in sight the entire time.
Just don’t tell your friends about this place or we’ll all be waiting 45 minutes in a crowded waiting room.
The only reason this lab doesn’t get a perfect 5 is that it isn’t open on Saturday (I have very high standards).
Location: 6 story brown building just North of the Methodist Hospital, just South of the race track. You need to be heading West on Huntington as the road splits and it’s on the North side.
Fax number (for your doctor to fax the lab test order): 626−254−9891
Hours: Mon-​Fri 7:30am — 5:00pm