Watanabe Aoyama Clinic わたなべ内科青山クリニック

Never going back to this clinic!

The opening hours for the afternoon are 3 pm - 6 pm, but they only allow patients to make appointment until 5:30 pm, apparently hoping to have the end of business conclude close to 6 pm. I called to make a reservation for the day I was hoping to be seen by a doctor, knowing that my business day ended at 5 pm, and I would be cutting it very close. The reception was short and clipped with me even on the phone, telling me that no reservations were possible for first time patients and did not mention anything regarding the 30 minute early appointment cut off time. I have been to several other clinics with split schedules (morning and afternoon), but they have allowed walk-in clients up to nearly closing time. I can only assume that the reception staff thinks the policy is the ‘norm’, so they never mention it. After consulting the website, I saw nothing regarding this policy, so it made the receptionists cold refusal at 5:35 pm even more infuriating. I understand that I was late, and they do not need to make any concessions for me having arrived five minutes late, but there were several opportunities in the process from initial phone call and the clinic’s website that could have prevented this misunderstanding. The receptionist was to the point and terribly unwelcoming. The clinic clearly benefits from a beneficial location and services they provide rather than customer service. My only hope is that they indicate their idiosyncratic appointment policies on their website or during inquiry phone calls and fire their front office staff. I will never use this clinic unless there is no other option available.