Boots Hearingcare Islington

My aids were faulty after taking great care of them and I have had them for less than a year. I tried to book an appointment with my home audiologist in Ilford and there were no appointments available for three weeks. This is the norm. Had to call several times to get a customer service rep to book me in at the Islington location as this was the only location in North/North East London with availability within three weeks. I checked online several times to look for cancellations. I traveled with my newborn for that appointment on 11/03. My partner had to take a half day at work in order to pick up my son as the only available appointment was at the end of the day. Both aids are broken. The audiologist sent off one for repair. She recommended I send both but my left one is partially working throughout the day so I kept it, or else I’m totally deaf. She did not offer or suggest loaner hearing aids. The first aid was available for pick up on 21/03 I couldn’t book in for an appointment to pick it up until 24/04. (Over a month +the three weeks I've been without it) I phoned customer service three times. Eventually I was put through to Helen who said she emailed the audiologist at Islington and I could pick up the repaired aid and drop off the broken aid to be sent out for repair at the optometrist desk. Helen informed me the only day I could do this was on 25/03 as the audiologist was away 26/03 and 27/03. I was meant to be on a field trip with my son. He was so l disappointed that I cancelled but I am deaf and I have been without a hearing aid for nearly a month and counting, unable to hear my newborn daughter coo and giggle. I decided to make the sacrifice and trundle my newborn baby through London to pick up the aid. The woman working at the optometrist desk is trying her best and is incredibly kind; but she has no idea what I’m talking about. The audiologist had not left the hearing aid to be picked up. She phoned her manager and head office. In total I've been waiting in the store for 90 mins. The lift at this location is broken so I had to leave my pram unattended downstairs and I hold on to a very fussy baby. After 90 minutes the Optometrist is able to locate the hearing aid although it is not programmed. So this trip was a waste, cancelling on my special day with my son was for nothing. I have to now drive to a different location to have it programmed and drop off the broken aid this weekend. Again missing out on time I could spend with my family. As of this email this situation is still unresolved. Helen has offered 30£ in vouchers and a hearing aid dehumidifier (?) . This is unacceptable. Because of faulty hearing aids I have missed out on a month (and counting) of hearing my daughter laugh, coo, yawn, fart, and cry. This has caused me immeasurable distress. I'll never get that time back with her. Because of several shortcomings of your repair services and miscommunications with audiologists I've wasted hours travelling to different locations, making phone calls, and missing out on a special trip with my son. I am a month in and still don't have hearing aids that work. Have chased customer service four times with no response. So posting publicly

It was an excellent experience for me as I was being face my hear problems from last 3 years, after getting treatment from this doctor I’m felling totally fit now, So I will strongly recommend to everyone who have any problems regarding hears.

Really welcoming appointment and everything was explained clearly

Good customer service.

From my initial consultation, hearing test and hearing aid fitting appointments, Vidya Nambisan was very thorough and professional thoroughout. She showed me how to use them, keep them clean & how to charge them. I cannot speak highly enough about Vidya, she provided a first class service. Thank you so much, Vidya. XX

Your equipment seemed really up to date and easy for me to respond to. The interviewer was friendly, cheerful and seemed to have all the necessary expertise. The appointment started on time and the premises were clean and pleasant.

Not impressed. Very pushy audiologist tried to hard sell expensive hearing aid so we walked away. Then went to Specsavers Muswell Hill who did similar test but found complete lack of hearing at some frequencies and referred to specialist hospital. Boots didn’t spot this.

Helpful and knowledgeable staff member.

Very helpful and polite

Vindaya was very friendly and helpful

Good experience

Informed advice, comprehensive but intelligible information, friendly and supportive consultant.

Ms Kalaeqi was most helpful and explained the hearing assessment at every stage.

Excellent courteous service. Quick service and now getting used to my hearing aids.

Very lovely staff both of them. Thoughtful and willing to spend time explaining everything. I was very impressed.

The audiologist was friendly and professional

Helpful consultation with Vidya, audiologist. She was informed and knowledgeable, expert and highly professional in her care. She explained each step of the test, the fitting, the management of aids very clearly and articulately and didn't bombard me with information. She built rapport well with me and made me feel confident in my decisions to purchase hearing aids which I felt were right for me.

Very Helpful

The audiologist was clear in explaining how hearing aids would help. She was patient and listened to my concerns. She allowed time to make sure I was ok to take them away and use them.

V helpful, listened well.

ADVICE ON HEARING AID - 03/09/2024 I was served by member of staff who showed a lot of empathy and made me feel confident that the product would improve my hearing. In particular, they made me understand I was entitled to return the product for a refund within a trial period of 3 months if I find it not suitable.

I had a very thorough and professional experience at my appointment

The assessment was very thorough and things were explained to me clearly.

My audiologist, Dr Zaineb, was very kind and explained everything clearly.

Very professional

I hadnt noticed and was then puzzled why each hearing aid had a different end to it. I went back to Boots and the person l had seen saw me almost immediately. She reassured me that this is correct due to a different prescription for each ear.

Warm, friendly manner of audiologist. Full explanations of what was happening and the information shown by the tests.

I am highly impressed with Ms Zainab Khaleqi's service. She is knowledgeable, attentive, patient, and very efficient. A great experience. With much appreciation.

dealt with on arrival and equiped with appropriate hearing device and assured of after service

I like their performance services

A really thorough appointment and I felt the person I saw really cared about what I needed to improve my hearing and discussed the various options with me.

Zainab was incredibly helpful, explained things clearly and was patient.

Getting my ear’s done and the honest opinion.

Ear test was conducted professionally and quickly. Selection of hearing aids was made easy and clear

Excellent service , friendly and knowledgeable. Only issue is that it can be difficult to get an appointment quickly because they are very busy.

I visited boots Islington for a hearing test and to replace my NHS hearing aids, I can’t recommend zainab enough, she’s highly professional and friendly, my new hearing aids have literally changed my life, my hearing aids now connect to my mobile phone making it easier to communicate with friends and family. I also recommend my 85 year old anxious mother and she left her visit feeling happy and reassured. All follow up appointments have been amazing and zainab really does have the patience of a saint.

She was very pleasant helpful clear & patient. I am glad to have the follow up appointment to be able to get help & information on issues that now I have been using it have occurred to me . Thank you

On the day of my appointment, I was made welcomed by my Hearingcare examiner, she put me at easy, by first of all explaining in detail the process, making sure I understood each step of the set up, the product was the best I’ve ever tried. The procedure took about 75 minutes and I left there feeling that it was money well spent. Thank you Boots!

I booked at this location (2 hours from home) as it was the only one that could do an impression in less than one month. Booking was cancelled 20 mins before the appointment time without reason. The next available appointments was in one months time.

Made to feel comfortable everything explained.

One of my hearing aids stopped working (I’ve had it for about 20 months). The first time I went to boots in Islington they repaired it but it stopped working again a few days later. When I tried to book an appointment to get it fixed I was told I’d have to wait 2 weeks. There was no capacity to book an emergency appointment, only standard 15 minute appointments were available. When I finally was seen I explained how my hearing aid needed to be replaced and was told “you should have spoken to head office so they could provide you with a replacement”. Nobody told me this prior to the appointment. I was told that my broken hearing aid would have to be sent away to be assessed by the manufacturer and it could take 2 or more weeks. In the meantime I will be without a hearing aid. This will severely limit my quality of life. No apology was made for this miscommunication. By the time I get a replacement I will have been without a hearing aid for 4 weeks (maybe more). This is unacceptable. Given the amount of money I’ve paid (in excess of £3000) why should I have to put up with this level of service?

My experience with the audiology was a good one, everything was explained clearly, and all my questions were answered in a way that made the procedure easy to understand, Feeling satisfied with my experience.

Staff member put me completely at ease and explained everything in great detail and even wrote things down for me in case I forgot. Hearing aid is working nicely and it's good to be able to hear clearly again.

5 * to the consultant, she was open and helpful through the whole process, building both my wife and I to what she felt was the best solution. My issue is the lack of transparency on pricing discounts etc which is clearly a central policy

I turned up for my 2-yearly free hearing test and the audiologist told me I had wax in my ears and active ear discharge. I asked if she could remove the wax but Boots Islington does not have ear suction equipment. She referred me to my GP for treatment for the ear discharge and removal of ear wax. My GP was not able to see me until mid-January. So I decided to see a private company, Clear Earwax, in Waterloo, the same day. The audiologist found wax, which he removed using suction equipment, and no evidence of ear discharge or infection. All Boots Hearingcare centres should have ear suction equipment available (impacted wax is one of the most common causes of hearing problems). I am also concerned about the training and supervision provided for audiologists working for Boots Hearingcare. Making a wrong diagnosis of an ear infection is not a clinical disaster but it resulted in me paying £55 to Clear Earwax and wasted time for both me and for my GP practice. In future I won't be booking my audiogram at Boots Islington and would advice others to use Boots Hearing care branches that have earwax suction equipment.

Everything was clearly explained. Options were offered and explained. Boots hearing staff was very calm, polite and made me feel at ease.