San Diego Health and Wellness Centers – Encinitas

I ended up here via a LivingSocial deal for a report of findings and massage package. 1 star is tough for me, so I think it warrants some context. I can’t speak for the other SDHWC locations, but it seems like their resources are spread thin and the Encinitas location is the forgotten stepchild to the others. First off, reception staff is super nice and friendly, but uncoordinated when it comes to bookkeeping and often lacked essential client correspondence. I had to request appointments for one location from two different offices for some reason (their website contact info is not updated to clarify this, btw). Katie would call to remind/​confirm any appointments, and seemed to be only one who knew what they were doing. Although I think she was native to another location.
1^st appt. — Submitted new patient paperwork, watched a 5-​minute dvd and was sent on my way. I mentioned my LS deal when booking and twice during this visit. The general response was «yeah, we’ll get you set up for that». I’m here now, in the flesh. I thought it was set up already! I was asked to bring more stuff and follow-​up for my «report of findings». I could have done it in this visit if I was made aware, but that’s just too easy now, isn’t it?
2^nd appt. — Office door was locked and Dr. Morrison (I think. This guy didn’t really introduced himself so I took reception’s word for it) arrived 7 minutes late. I’m no business management expert, but if you clearly advertise an 8am start time, you should be ready to go by 7:55 at the absolute latest. I thought this would be as bad as it got. Man was I wrong (read on). I s*** you not, the «report of findings» was a 10-​minute breakdown of their chiropractic package. I had previous chiropractic diagnoses, x-​rays, and treatments from Dr. Spence’s office in Mission Valley and Dr. Vu’s office in Clairemont (both of whom are amazing, in my experience). I brought in all my chiro history thinking we could expand upon that. Ha! No. They basically took a quick look, accepted it at face value, and used it to leverage their «lower cost» chiro packages (36 visits). The only contribution was a brief discussion on stretching routines they would have me do (which I can google and do for free at home). After trying to get me to commit to all of this off-​the-​bat (upwards of $ 1260), I calmly said I will sleep on it (that’s white-​collar nice for f*** no), and again was sent on my way. I mentioned my LS deal and they didn’t even look at it. Per LS terms, I had to do things over two visits, so I requested a massage appointment, part 2 of my deal (even though the «report of findings» really was not fulfilled).
3^rd appt. — Reception staff did fit me in to a 12 noon slot on fairly short notice. I arrived on time and was asked to wait about 15 minutes. I get it. 12pm is tough, especially with lunch schedules and all. No worries, right? Breathe. I waited in reception for 40 minutes. 40 minutes!!! (I can hear Louis CK mocking this now). Dr. Buelow (?) was magnanimous enough to acknowledge my presence around minute 30 before he took off. By minute 41, I declined the service and this gave me enough to be done with them altogether. LivingSocial totally understood my situation and converted my deal to LS bucks (thanks, LS!).
It’s sad when merchants treat LS-​ites or Grouponers like second-​class clients. I noticed some blaring differences in the treatment of regulars vs. new prospects at this office. It gave me more of a boutique law firm vibe than a health/​wellness center. Judging from other reviews, it’s a toss-​up as far as experiences go here; either really good or unbelievably bad. Staff here couldn’t figure out which side I was on. If my experiences were good here and they were cognizant in addressing my deal, I would have easily invested hundreds of dollars to stick with them long term. Alas, it was not meant to be. I’m out.

I was recommended to Dr. Morrison by a friend. I have never gone to a chiropractor before so needless to say I was a little skeptical. I’m really glad I decided to do it. The staff there is really friendly and is always willing to fit me in so it works with my schedule. I’m in and out in a few minutes. I have also signed up for a few massages and really enjoyed them. I would definitely recommend their service.

To be honest, I’m a little surprised not only that there are so few reviews for this center, but also that they’re generally poor. Obviously everyone is going to have varying experiences. Anyway, here’s a «brief» description of mine:
I purchased a deal for a chiropractic consultation and massage through groupon. I’m always a little reluctant to buy groupon deals for these sort of places. Sometimes it can mean they’re trying to boost business that’s been down for good reason (s). I didn’t get that sense at all today. I had my initial exam/​scan/​consultation scheduled for 10:45 this morning and for reasons (almost entirely) beyond my control, I ended up being 15 minutes late. Considering my tardiness and the fact that I was redeeming a Groupon I prepared myself for a fairly cold reception. Not so. The receptionist (I believe her name was Leah) was friendly, professional, and completely understanding. They helped me sort through the standard initial questionnaires and got me into see Pejmun for an initial consultation. Pejmun was also a very cool guy, and clearly knows what he is doing. Without much history from me, after a brief exam, he was easily able to dial in on my troublesome areas. He was patient when listening to my history and gave me some good advice for things I can do at home to help my recuperation and the maintenance of my skeletal health. I’ll be back for a scan and more comprehensive consultation, and I’m excited to learn more about caring for my body.
Side note, they were sharing lunches with each other when I arrived and people there seemed to interact in way that was simply very nice to be around. Also, while I was waiting, this cool elderly gentleman came in (wearing the top of a baby blue tux, and track pants) and said hello to some people he knew. He was clearly one of their clients and the way that everyone responded to him put a smile on my face. One of the ladies at the front desk said he brings them flowers from time to time. What a cool cat, that kind of sh*t makes my day.
Let’s face it, work is work, an being in the service industry can suck. But the people here were very chill. I even had a nice brief conversation with another trainee (Anna) about sign language and alternative medicine. I left feeling not only hopeful about the potential to alleviate some of my back issues, but generally positive after having had a number of pleasant interactions with the staff.
I have a massage scheduled for this coming week, and I have to say, I’ll looking forward to going back.
Again, I have no doubt that the negative reviews have their merit, but if you show up and treat them with the sort of candor you’re hoping for, I have little doubt you’ll leave happy. I suppose it’s important to note that my experience was with the Encinitas center, I haven’t been to any of the others.
**I’ll update this review after subsequent visits.

Bought a groupon for this place. Drove 40 miles there to find out my chiro, Dr. Morrison, was sick. No phone call. The other chiro is kind of a sleaze. However, LULU’s massage made up for the whole experience and that is why I gave this place an average of 3 stars. However, I would give LULU 6 stars if I could!

I had a terrible first experience with this establishment. I bought a Groupon and my first appointment was for all the routine xrays, etc. My appointment was for 8am and i promptly showed up at 7:50 to fill out paperwork since i was told they opened at 7:30am. Well, the door was locked. By 8:05 I contacted their Kearny Mesa office and was told that he was often late and she would call his cell. At this point i became frustrated that i had to change my whole morning to get to this appointment since they only offer a mere 1 morning and 1 afternoon per week. The receptionist called back by 8:10 and said she didn’t reach him but that he should be there soon and that he was coming from Carlsbad making it sound like it was a long commute. uhhhh, I don’t think so. By 8:15, i figured he wasn’t coming. I decided to go to the Trader Joe’s next door and do a bit of shopping and then check back in after. 8:20 I return and the door is unlocked. However, no one is here. I called out a few times and waited another 5 minutes (at this point it is 8:25). he finally comes walking in with a coffee from the coffe shop. I was upset at this point for rearranging my morning and i had my first appointment at 10am. Figuring this appointment is around an hour and still had to go home to get ready, this left my morning very tight. Well, i call him on his lateness and he said he was there at 8:05. Nice try but that was a flat out lie. Anyway, the long and short of it is this guy (don’t even know his name) was extremely rude and didn’t apologize. He said on a couple occassions that i needed a massage instead. How insulting. he said to come back another time and i said that i needed to see him now since i opened up my schedule. well, he had such an attitude that i said forget it and i walked out saying i was going to cancel my Groupon. He said good. I called the Kearny Mesa office and told them how unprofessional and rude he was. They were very nice and apologetic. I’m sure the office was on him because i got a lame apologetic voicemail that morning from him and said to reschedule. Sorry that didn’t cut it. If you have an 8am appointment, you get there way before that time to be ready for your patient. Soooooo unprofessional. I cancelled my Groupon and wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. I could have referred this company to many people because i’m in a similar business so too bad for them.