Quest Diagnostics

Went here for my annual thyroid check, since my past experience with them had been okay and the out-​of-​pocket used to be lower than another option. Today was worse, to a degree that I won’t be back. First, the fee to me has gone up to almost twice as much. The front desk employee, Miriam, repeatedly did not get my name right. The phlebotomist, a new person named Kathy (?), also had an issue with my name. Now for the real problems: incompetence and unfriendliness. I asked her to use my left arm, since I’m right-​handed and tend to bruise easily. She declined to do that: «I want to use the arm that’s closer to me.» (Whaaa?!) Then she poked my right arm with a big needle (instead of the smaller one they usually take) and asked me if it’s hurting; I said it felt quite uncomfortable, but was hoping at least she’d be done soon. Turns out that even after poking around, she had not hit the vein. «If you tense up like this, it’s not going to work.» (Blame the patient?!) Put cotton & tape over it carelessly, tried the left, at least with a smaller needle, got the blood. But then she said: «You have a bruise. Hold this!» (No sorry, please, anything.) Again, rough tape at the wrong angle. Then: «Sign this.» (with my bruised arms; no please… pattern!) took the form, dropped the pen on me, no «sorry», did not pick it up, did not notice/​care that I was hurting and annoyed. I got up, gathered my things and left the room — only to almost be run over at the door by her who tried to get out first. Total lack of compassion, politeness, and basic blood drawing and customer skills. I’ll go to the competition from now on — never again with this person!

Slow, slow, slow. No one greets you or acknowledges you. No one seems to be moving fast. I gave up.

Had a good morning being served at 9.45 exactly the time I booked the appointment online. I was there 10 min early. The person drawing blood was very nice and I was seen at the appointed time; I therefore wasn’t upset when she forgot to fill all order and we had to picks my other arm to fill one more test tube.
Love the free parking and the Saturday opening times!

The reason for five stars is for being open on Saturday. However I do advise to make an appointment online otherwise you will end up waiting for so long. The place itself is clean and it looks new. There were a total of 3 staff today on a busy day. Two phlebotomists and one in the front. The lady in the front, Amira is not so friendly and can seem rude at times. Johnny and Jesus were both professional, courteous and skilled. They can exchange conversation in a very good manner. For busy people who always works mon-​fri, having a Saturday on this location is a big plus! I don’t mind driving cause it fits my busy schedule.

Quick, courteous and skilled. Clean office. Not a fun place, so at least getting you in and out quickly is a must. This Quest fits the bill. Also, the phlebotomists rarely leave a mark or bruise.

I wanted to know, in advance, what a test would cost. From the main menu at 1−866-MYQUEST it lead me to a dead end («this menu option is no longer in service»). I eventually found the pricing department at 1−818−737−8103.

I like this place. It’s a convenient location, the techs are professional and pleasant, and there’s always parking. When I first started coming here six months ago, there was rarely more than a 15-​minute wait.
BUT! I have had to walk out of three of my last four monthly blood draws without even getting them done. Because instead of two, or three, or four people in the office, there has been only ONE person handling everything – patient check-​ins, phone, and blood draws. Twice, I waited for over an hour… the one person was doing her best, but the situation was impossible. A third time, I waited 40 minutes – again, one person covering the whole office – and thankfully, another staff member arrived.
This past time, I waited almost 40 minutes only to be told that my standing order had expired and they couldn’t do my test at all. And, because of their new hours – closed for lunch – there was no time to phone my doctor’s office and get the authorization, and the test, before the lab closed.
Now, granted, this could happen anywhere. But having more than one staff member would have meant that I wouldn’t have had to kill 40 minutes for nothing. I have come on different days, at different times, and it’s clear that the one-​person staffing situation is a policy, rather than a temporary inconvenience. Someone is trying to cut corners, and unfortunately, this means that I’m going to have to cut Quest.

Convenient location with lots of parking. I suggest making an appointment online so that you don’t have to wait too long. The woman who did my labs was very skilled with the needle. I didn’t feel a thing!

A procedure that only takes about five minutes took an hour and a half of our time. Saturday morning wasted in a waiting room because 1) we didn’t schedule an appointment, and 2) there was only one phlebotomist. It’s a good thing another phlebotomist arrived around 10am which speeded things up a bit. I wanted to give 2 stars, but they do deserve the extra star for being open on a Saturday.

Plenty of free parking (shared with Marshall’s Dept. store) usually no waiting plus Mariam really, really knows how to take blood. No more jabbing & jabbing & still missing the mark:
«Oh, let’s try again,» «oops!, your veins must be x, y, z» Ask for Mariam & you’ll feel no pain, there’ll be plenty of blood & it’ll be over quickly plus all with a gentle smile. — I would give 5 stars, but sometimes « Unilocal» thinks if you do that you must be paid by the business.

I love having a lab close to home and open on the Saturday (for those of us who work). The staff coundn’t be nicer and I was in and out in less than 10 minutes!
Thank you for making drawing blood a pleasant experience!

Soooooo glad we have a local lab in El Cerrito! Especially since my drs are all at Stanford!
Mariam is great, the place is clean inviting and friendly. And best thing, no waiting!!!
You’ll love this place, she’s also a fab phlebotomist, I barely felt a thing and she’s accurate!