Denise "Du" D.'s Profile

Dr. Pinero specializes in restorations (bonding, veneers, crowns, that kind of thing). I was referred to him by a co-worker because I needed a dentist. My childhood dentist in Minneapolis, who I would gladly drive 6 hours to see, has retired.

He does do general dentistry, and his hygienist, Angela, is great. It's a shame that they don't really see children (unless they have a long relationship with a certain family), because Angela is gentle, kind, and very friendly.

If I were ranking just Angela, this would be five stars.

After two or three cleanings and really liking Angela, I had some cosmetic work done there (bonding done as a child from injury chipped off in a fall. I've never broken a bone, but my teeth are another story). I wasn't happy with it because one of my front teeth was considerably longer than the other, but I called and Dr. Pinero saw me free of charge (rightly so) to sand it down (without anesethia) which improved it, but I'm still not happy with it because the work isn't smooth. He also nicked my gums (without anesthesia!) above a front tooth and even while it was bleeding, he didn't say he was sorry or even acknowledge that he had cut me. The cut took forever to heal and has since changed the look of my smile (now one front tooth is larger than the other because the injury made the gums recede. It's awful and I'm terribly self-conscious about it).

Plus, the billing specialist led me to believe that the work I was getting was sometimes covered in full but always covered in part by insurance because it was related to an injury (I think to talk me into getting it done) . . . I will be paying off the Care Credit card they talked me into getting for quite some time. (I knew something was up when they told me to get the credit card before they even sent it in to my insurance, saying something about how I had to pay at the time of service because insurance would pay me directly and not them, and how their office was in poor financial shape because the dentist had been away on medical leave, so I'd be doing them a favor. I am so gullible.)

I would recommend Angela without reservation, but her boss . . . not so much.

I understand the need for absolute certainty of identity with something as important as testing (I took the G.R.E. here on Saturday, and they offer oodles of tests at Prometric), but that is no reason to be rude. It's also no reason to enforce stricter rules than widely accepted by ETS. Of course there should be no phones in the testing room. Of course they will require a person to sign in and out. Of course, I expected to have my picture taken. But this place went too far. I felt like I'd been sent to the principal's office, when actually, I had chosen to be there. For example, all the ETS-related websites with hints about preparing for the test say things like "wear a watch" and "wear layers so you're comfortable in the testing room." Well, here, half the employees were rude and the other half were kind (and, frankly, a kind face is nice when you're about to take a test that might heavily influence your future, not to mention that a testing place is a business and I was a customer who had paid $160 to be there). We were barked at to remove our watches and warned that if we chose to keep the sweater on, we wouldn't be allowed to take it off. (Really? Really.)

The testing room itself was comfortable. There was a window unit air conditioner right next to me that was blowing regular air, which I liked because it kept it from getting stuffy and it also created some white noise. (There were also noise-canceling headphones that I didn't wear. Who knows how many people had worn them?) The chair I had was fine and the keyboard of the computer was good, too. (Nothing worse than a sticky keyboard when you're doing something important).

I was very ticked off that I wasn't even allowed to take it the slip of paper that I had written the department codes on for the programs I am applying to. I asked if I could get the sheet when I finished the test and was told no. I was told that I would be able to submit my scores by looking up the school codes (this I knew), but the department codes are harder to find and I wasn't able to find one of them. Now I fear the scores will be in limbo. And I, being a cynic, think that's part of the design (if the scores don't make it, I have to pay to have them resent).

Basically, if you have to take the G.R.E., you have few choices, Prometric is it around here, and they know it. Expect a comfortable environment once you get started, but one where you feel like you're in detention the whole time.

I finally got Illinois plates for my car, and after successfully changing the back plate, I realized that there was no way I could get the front one off. The nuts just spun and spun. My neighbor (a different neighbor than the one who recommended Herman's Auto in Tinley) said they bring their cars here for everything and have always been happy, so I drove on in. They saw me immediately, somehow got the plate off and put the new one on. I thought $18 was a little steep for a stupid license plate, but then I saw the sign that stated there was a $25 minimum for work done and that they did me a favor by charging $18.

The guys I dealt with were very nice and didn't treat me like a silly girl, and they told someone in the waiting room with me that he didn't need a $400 repair that someone else said he did . . . so I might take my car back here for more major work.