So, I contacted ( by email) a certain cosmetic centre to inquire about a procedure I had read about online. Basically it’s Botox but done in a way that it helps with teeth grinder and clenchers such as myself without changing one’s appearance. I wanted to get a price estimate, I was told I HAD to have a consult ( which is fair, and expected) she gave me a date I could book it. I almost agreed but had sense enough to ask if there was a cost… Turns out there is a 100 plus tax cost…. Just for the consult! That’s fine, I clearly declined. But what grinds my gears is that of I had of booked under the assumption that most consults are free and then showed up I would have been forced to pay 100 whether I wanted the procedure or not. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of a consultation? —Good Thing I Asked
This article appears in May 9-15, 2013.
You’re still taking up a specialist’s time, if you want a good specialist you’ll pay for the consult.
that is why some businesses advertise ‘free’ estimates. because it’s not a given
Your surgeon requires a consult before doing your knee replacement, and you can bet he charges MSI for it. This is a quasi-medical procedure, not just a make-up application, why would you expect to either go in without a consult, or not pay for the consult?
Do hookers charge for a consult as they pre-inspect your goolies?
Any professional medical office should have told you from the start that there would be a fee. I am guessing that by not telling patients right away or at all is how this company makes a few extra couple hundred dollars. The rich get richer any way they can.
Or is could be that you were told in some way such as a form or word of mouth from the business but you weren’t paying attention for any number of reasons. In the end you saved $100.
“How much do you charge for a consultation?” would have been my question.
Look for other methods than Botox, OP, that’s just another snake oil for the seriously stupid. I was a tooth grinder as well so my dentist made me up a clear plastic insert to put over my bottom teeth at night. Worked like a charm.
I suspect the $100 would be applied to the cost of the procedure, should you have undergone it.
The doctor/practitioner (probably) charges to keep the looki-lou’s at bay.
The time they spend on free consultations could be used to do the procedures, generating income, rather than liabilities…. See? Simple!
(botox for teeth grinding… LOLOL! LIAR!)