Dermatology and Laser Centre — Local services in Los Angeles

Well, what do I have to say right now. Originally when I first started this journey with the Laser Centre I was very excited to get this tattoo removed. I was originally told before I agreed to pay the amount, which was a lot of money to me (almost 4 years worth of savings), that it would take 6 to 10 sessions to completely remove my tattoo. I initially only paid for 6 sessions because I was informed that this would be enough, or at least almost enough to get everything all gone. I have gone in each time like clockwork every 2 months to have the session performed. During the first 6 sessions I did not see much improvement from session #3 to session #5. I have mentioned this to my doctor there. After the 6th session, realizing that I would need to pay for 4 more sessions (which is terrible for me because I no longer had any savings left-it was all spent on the first 6 sessions), so I now have to use my only emergency credit card with a 22% interest rate to pay for the additional 4 sessions. This coming Monday on the 14th, I will be going in for my 9th session. I was pretty unhappy with my 8th session for a couple of reasons. 1) I normally get taken care of pretty fast because I am always early. I have to drive for 3 hours just to get to my appointment on time from where I live. I leave at 6:30 in the morning to get to a 11:00 appointment on time. I always get there early & usually get taken care of very quickly. That wasn't the case this time. This time I got there early at 9:30, as usual, & they were busy with other clients, which is fine, totally understandable. However, when it came to be time for my appointment at 11:00, I was still told that I needed to wait. I was apologized to, but it was cutting in to my time. By 11:20 I was taken in. The procedure only takes a few minutes, which brings me on to point number 2) I had mentioned to the doctor that I just wasn't happy with how visible the tattoo still was. She had mentioned that some of her clients had to come in 16 to 18 times before they really saw a lot of change. I didn't say anything to her, but that blew my mind. I had no more money for any more than they 10 sessions that I had already paid for. I was freaking out on the inside. I need this tattoo completely gone, but now it looks like I will not be able to afford to get it completely removed. It is lighter now, yes, but still totally visible & creating quite a problem for me. When I had the tattoo initially assessed, I was told that 6 to 10 sessions would take care of it. This is the only reason that I decided to go with them, along with the fact that I had seen good reviews online before I ever even went there. I am quite disturbed by the way things have gone, mostly financially & the fact that the tattoo is still very visible. The doctor has always been nice to me, & is a Christian woman, just as I am a Christian. I am not the type of person who likes confrontation, so I normally keep my mouth shut. Right now I am speaking. I do not forsee my tattoo being completely gone by session #10, but I wish that it could be. I would love to have more sessions after 10 for free, but I know that businesses do not work that way. At any rate, I will still finish up with my next 2 sessions, but I may have to live with this piece of ink for a few years longer until I can get more money. I have spent over $3,000 already, which may not seem like much to some, but when the first 6 sessions @ $2,200.00 was 4 years of my savings, it is a lot of money to me. After all of the times that I have gone there, I still have yet to meet Dr. Gene Rubenstein, as I have asked to meet him before, but it hasn't happened yet. My apologies, but I am a Dissatisfied Client so far,...

I called on 2/5/24 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Rubenstein. I was told that the first available appointment was months away. I was offered to see PA Eric in 10 days on 2/15. I was a little hesitant but I took it.

On the day of my appointment, 60 minutes before my scheduled time, I received a text stating there was a power outage and that my appointment was canceled. Freak accidents happen and we have to be understanding, but I did text back asking to be booked for the next available appointment, as I had a potentially cancerous skin growth.

By the next day at noon, there was no word from the office. I called and explained the situation to the staffer who answered the phone. There was a tone from the staffer of annoyance. I was told the next available appointment was a week later, but they were “squeezing people in” to make that happen. I’m not sure how it’s possible that I was being squeezed in when I waited just as long as to see a doctor as I waited for my initial appointment.

I reiterated that I don’t need to see any specific doctor or PA, but this didn’t change the wait time. I asked to be put on a standby/cancellation list and received a dismissive “sure”, so I pressed by asking how many people were on the list, and was told that they “don’t have a number”. What?! How is that possible?

With this being my first interaction with this office, I find the lack of proper customer service to be very off putting.

Now for the appointment with PA Eric, he was wonderful! The nurse who screened me was polite and efficient. Once she was done, I think I waited about 60 seconds before Eric came in. He was kind, explaining everything that he was seeing and all of the possible courses of action thoroughly. He made sure that I was comfortable moving forward.

I have to say that my interaction with the front office staff was better in person than I expected based on my scheduling experience, BUT it just seemed like there were too many of them and they were not doing a whole lot. There was just the slightest underlying “mean girls” vibe from one or two of them.

All things considered I’m going to continue to see PA Eric, but if the front office experience worsens, I will explore...

very efficient and clean. knowledgeable staff. been here for botox and fillers as well as standard derm appointments for my children. i’m on the fence about them right now.. We were just there a few days ago and one thing that was strange was how fast the appointment went. we had told the intake person why we were there - to see about dry skin and breakouts on my teen daughter. but when the doctor came in a few minutes later he sat down and told us very quickly of the plan ( 2 topical prescriptions) as if it was a one size fits all , standard treatment but he never actually looked at her skin. At all. He didnt even go through the motions of an exam or look to see what the degree of irritation was. I don’t know a lot, but I do know there are different kinds of acne. There are different kinds of dermatitis not to mention she hasn’t been there for several years, and I would’ve thought he would’ve asked those typical questions ( any changes since the last time you were here? what did we see you for last time ? anything?) or noticed that she has lots of freckles, and maybe mentioned sunscreen, or looked at them to see if there was any signs of skin cancer, i’m sure these are standard medications that get prescribed to any teenager who goes in complaining about breakouts and dry skin but I really thought there’d be a little bit more individual consideration. A dermatologist IS a doctor not just a botox dispenser. Even in LA. Maybe it’s up to the parent to question and to make the doctor really pay attention. but, I wouldn’t suggest going there for any Dermatology issues beyond the very standard or minimally invasive cosmetic. . I feel that they would miss things and with skin cancers being so aggressive and often fatal, early detection and a proactive doctor...