De LA Pena Eye Clinic

I had a great experience with my first visit here. When I arrived there were at least 20 people in the waiting room, but the staff was polite and efficient so things moved quickly. (I only had to wait about 10 minutes to be seen after filling out my paperwork.) NOTE: Parking on Alvarado can be a challenge, especially during peak hours, so plan ahead and read the signs! After some initial tests and diagnostics I was seen by Dr. Benjamin Mandel who was personable, compassionate, and extremely knowledgeable. Overall a great experience. Highly recommended!

Incompetent and deceitful staff at both LA and Santa Ana location. The staff does not know or does not care to obtain proper authorizations for new patients. Called in August for an appointment, couldn't get one for until October. Went in October- they didn't have the authorization on file. I called my health plan, had them fax it- was told by the office that they received the fax and scanned it in. Was rescheduled for later in October, only to be told that the authorization they had on file was incomplete. DO NOT COME TO THEM. Both locations are horrible. I'd rather walk around blind than be helped by these people. If I could give them negative stars I would. Such a complete waste of time. Both offices need to be restaffed with people with more compassion, intelligence and competency. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS EXPERIENCE. Check the other reviews on here. BEWARE OF THIS PLACE.

I’ve never experienced a place with such bad communication and the worst call center ever. I tried to book an appointment for an eye exam for glasses and they said I needed a referral from my doctor. It was a hassle trying to get a referral from my doctor just to find out I don't even need one. They kept booking me for ophthalmology when I needed optometry. I had already made 2 appointment's prior to this and asked to leave early from my job both times but they couldn't take me in due to them saying that I needed a referral. My doctor's office called them (spoke to someone named Elliot) and let him know I don't need a referral because the appointment is for optometry and booked me another appointment with them for the next day at 3:15pm. I show up and they tell me I have no appointment for today, my appointment was booked for tomorrow at 10am but it clearly was not when my doctor's clinic confirmed with Elliot that it would be at 3:15pm today. All they did was say it was an error on the call center's side and tried to reschedule me for November. I ended up having to book an appointment somewhere else. I understand it wasn't the front desk lady's fault and she was really the only one doing her job correctly but this whole experience was extremely ridiculous.

My mother has had her first time appointment cancelled on twice. Each time she has been re-scheduled a month later. First time on 11/29/21 Dr. Mandel had hurt his arm (what I was told) she was re-scheduled for 12/21/21. The day of the appointment (12/27/21) I received a call cancelling the appointment yet again since Dr. Mandel had an emergency. I understand life happens but there has to be a better system to accommodate patients who were cancelled on at no fault of their own. It's been two months, my mother is in immediate need of medical care. As you can imagine it's frustrating to be cancelled on not once but twice. If it was your family member you would feel the same way. Yelp has bad reviews on this location, somehow google has them at 5 stars.

I've been a patient of Dr. Mandel's for almost five years now, and he's the best eye doctor I've ever had. He did cataract surgeries on both my eyes, and the results were fantastic! I feel very comfortable with him, and he's a really pleasant and kind man. The whole staff at De la Pena is wonderful - very efficient, great at their individual jobs, and very kind and warm. I feel lucky to have found Dr. Mandel and the De la Pena Clinic, and can't recommend them highly enough!