Matt "mattymatt" B.'s Profile

Okay, they were really really nice about refilling a prescription for our rats. Several months ago, the boys had developed a sneeze, so we brought them in and got some Baytril. Within a few days, they were all better. But a few months later, the sneeze had resumed. So I called to ask if we could get more Baytril, and they did up a refill that was ready to pick up the next day. It was really convenient and nice of them. Five stars!

A miserable asphalt lot. From the street, it just looks like a blank wall; and on the inside, it's a sea of parked cars. It's unpleasant to traverse, with no shade and hardly any sidewalk or crosswalks.

At the very far end, there are a few shops. None are particularly remarkable -- a mediocre sandwich shop, an office supply store that is perpetually going out of business, a dress shop for the overweight. There is also the most dimly-lit grocery store I have ever seen. There are plenty of better alternatives in the neighborhood.

Well, that was easy. I just had my teeth x-rayed and inspected and scraped clean by Dr. Keck and it was all very quick and relatively painless.

I've courted bad luck in the past by going for bargain-dentists, so I decided to try out a slightly more posh office than those in the Tenderloin. I'm pleased that I did; it's not that much more expensive and the experience is SO much more pleasant.

Everyone's friendly, from Jerry the receptionist to Dr. Keck himself. There's also an affable dog in the office, which might suck if you have allergies but is pleasant company while you're waiting. They're super-organized and very thorough -- I've never had so many x-rays taken at once. Hopefully I'm not too radioactive now.

For an x-raying, I paid $72; an exam was $41, and a cleaning was $61. (Insurance covered almost all of it.) That's only a bit more than I was paying in the TL office where they didn't speak much English and didn't notice how painful their pokings were. Dr. Keck's cleaning feels better than others I've had; I'm a little startled by how crisp the edges of my teeth feel now. And he was very sympathetic to the inevitable moments of discomfort that accompany a cleaning.

They don't do a hard-sell for bonus features, either. About one slightly misaligned tooth, the doctor asked, "does it bother you?" When I said no, he said, "well then you probably don't need braces." I've been told by other dentists that I should have my wisdom teeth out, even though they don't bug me; Dr. Keck advised leaving them in unless they started causing problems.

The only thing I'd change: a little more up-frontery about costs would've been nice. They didn't tell me how much I'd be charged for each procedure beforehand, and I'm too timid and shy to ask. I guess that's more my problem than theirs.

As an added bonus, they have a number of video selections that you can watch on an overhead TV while being operated upon. I recommend "Weekend at Bernie's II" or the Cher Workout Video.

Startlingly good health care. The most shocking thing about this office is the lack of wait time -- from the time that I arrive, not more than five minutes pass before I'm talking to a doctor. Doctor Robinson herself is  unstumpable; any medical question that I ask is apparently within her area of expertise. If you need a referral, she has a list of preferred provides at her fingertips. And her staff know all about insurance, so there's never any confusion about paperwork.

The only issue is that it's hard to reach the office by phone -- the line always seems to be busy. If you leave a message, they do call back, though it may take a day.

Nice neighborhood; clean building; and an efficient hospital is just a few steps away if you need x-rays or blood work or to be admitted for something. Dr. Robinson is great.

A satisfactory experience, and as pleasant a trip to the eye doctor's as can be expected. Everyone was clearly very experienced and comfortable doing their job, and the wait was minimal. Dr. Stamper (the younger) is very charismatic and friendly. The selection of eyeglasses is pretty good, too. I didn't experience anything particularly stupendous about the office, and the neighborhood is a bit sketch, but it is an altogether suitable place to go if you need to have your eyes poked at.

The prices on frames are not competitive. Frames that were $250 at Dr Stamper's were $180 online. Buy your frames on the web, then bring them in to the office to have the lenses put in and fitted to your face.

As a former Ritz employee, I know this isn't a fun company to work for, especially at those times when the customers figure out that they're not really getting a very good value for their money. But the customer service at this location can be staggeringly bad. There's an older woman who will interrupt, yawn, sneer, and generally indicate that she has no interest whatsoever in helping anyone. She will misspell everything, put callers on hold without telling them, and will never EVER volunteer services or information. It just makes the whole process of getting pictures very unpleasant.

The other kids who work there are actually rather nice. But this lady always seems to be frowning around at the counter or phone, so it's hard to avoid her.

The picture quality will be marginally higher than at Walgreens, and noticeably worse than Photoworks. The price will be marginally better than Photoworks, and noticeably worse than Walgreens. So, lowish quality, highish price. Whoo hoo. The only real advantage this store has is its convenient location.

There is no reason to buy cameras or accessories here -- it's far cheaper online. And of course, Ritz's extended protection plan is a useless joke. Customers seldom need it, seldom retain all the necessary paperwork, and repairs take for ever.

I don't understand how it's possible to have better food AND better prices than any other supermarket in SF. Whatever, I'm just glad TJ exists.

Yes, the parking can suck -- unless you're a City CarShare member! Then you get access to the super-secret always-empty parking lot on the roof of the building. You have to drive to the next block over and then go up a ramp, and then you're on top of TJ's with tons of parking spaces to spare. We've never had to wait in that awful line of cars waiting to get into the "normal people" parking lot.

It would be nice if there was reliable public transit nearby. For that matter, it would be nice if there was reliable public transit anywhere in the city. The 38 and 43 run close by, if you don't mind waiting for them.

The pre-made frozen meals are handy, though I find them a bit heavy and greasy sometimes. Aside from them, there's lots of very healthy foods. Whole-wheat this, soy-based that.  Great selection of fish, cheese, cereal, nuts, and wine.

Not the widest selection of produce, although they did reorganize and improve that somewhat in October of 2006. I'm miffed that they don't carry ramen. Lines are always long, even with all of the checkstands open.

When the lock on our front door broke, we found Diviz Lock & Hardware to be really friendly. They explained all our options, advised us on how to choose a new doorknob -- it was like they were helping us buy a car. There was a bit of a wait for them to come out; I called on a Saturday and their first available appointment was on Tuesday. And $75/hour to fix a lock! I guess that's a normal rate, but geez, locksmiths must make a pretty good living. Overall, though, a good experience. They worked quick and I would totally trust them with another job.

Me & the wife eat here all the time, and we've never had a bad experience. The menu is broad enough that there's something for anyone's tastes, and the food is really really delicious. A bit posh-looking, too -- we thought with "express" in the title it would be greasy, but it's really well-crafted food. Cheap, too. We're always like, "I can't believe how much good food we're getting for so little money."
Nice decor, nice crowd, nice staff. Sometimes the wait to get a table is a bit long, but always worth it. Be careful with the spicy dishes, because they're not shy.
Once, we were eating dinner and a big party broke out into "Happy Birthday," but it wasn't like a normal restaurant-birthday-singing ... it was like some crazy 8-part harmonized choral hymn. What a nifty place.