I have gone to Dr. Lai for several years and have no idea where these negative reviews are coming from. I've been to endocrinologists in both Santa Barbara and San Francisco and am much happier with Dr. Lai. I'm just slightly overweight, but weight has never been an issue with him. It is virtually impossible to imagine him being rude. The average time he spends with me is well over thirty minutes, and my questions are always answered in great detail. I have a specialized endocrine problem so my experience isn't related to diabetes. I can't say the office staff is rude, but there have been a couple of mix-ups with appointments, nothing that hasn't happened with other doctors. He diagnosed another problem, unrelated to endocrinology, that no other doctor, including internists and surgeons, had been able to diagnose or treat. Don't believe the negative reviews!!

Submitted Sept. 15, 2014

When asking questions to the office staff I was treated very poorly, i could not even get one word in as she was speaking over me, and when I asked who I was speaking with told me I did not need to know her name and then hung up the phone on me.

Submitted Feb. 22, 2013

I found Tammy, (new patients assistant) to be very helpful when I called to make an appointment, although the soonest appointment was 6 weeks into the future. My visit was at the Pismo Beach office where I met the front office assistant, Toni Ray and I appreciated her friendly and positive attitude. Dr. Lai was about an hour behind schedule. He went over my medical history with a fine tooth comb and discussed everything on the forms I completed and made medication changes. I feel that Dr. Lai is a thorough doctor and I have no complaints. He was very nice to me. I have seen Dr. Lai previously for weight loss and he definitely will let you know when he's not happy with you if you're not following his orders. But as long as you do what you're supposed to do for your good health, he's great.

Submitted Feb. 1, 2013

We were seeing Kris Dilworth for husband's type 2 diabetes. When we called in early October 2012 to make an appt with her we were told Kris was retiring and she had been planning this for a long time. We found this interesting as we had just seen her within the past month and she didn't mention it. It is now late December 2012 and we saw in the local paper this morning that Kris is with a doctor in SLO. We think we were lied to in an effort to keep us as a patient for Dr. Lai. We've already seen how he is and will NOT ever be his patient!! Good for Kris for getting out of there! Dr. Lai is a VERY controlling physician, to the point of walking in on every appt we ever had with Kris while she worked in his offices. See Kris, but do NOT see Dr. Lai ... Kris is absolutely wonderful and extremely knowledgeable ... and is excellent at explaining what is happening in your body, how it affects your health, and what you need to do in understandable terms.

Submitted Dec. 30, 2012

Came in for a 1 month followup & was treated VERY rudely by the front office staff..One of the ladies-Tammy was yelling at a patient on the phone (she yelled at me once too--horrible!) & Gail never smiled or greeted me-just asked what my co-pay was...Dr. Lai wasn't much better-he must have been trying to catch up from being 40 minutes behind-because he rushed through my appointment..My last visit in April was completely different--the M.A. was awesome-her name was Carrie (she was wearing a name tag & introduced herself to me) she was friendly & greeted me with a smile & asked me how I was feeling--she really meant it too! She treated me with respect & was very professional...This recent visit was a huge disappointment as Carrie was no longer employed there. I don't blame her for leaving that office & going elsewhere-I wish I could go to another Endocrinologist--these people do not care or respect their patients!! I don't know why the Dr. lets those 2 women treat patients rudely. :(

Submitted May 24, 2012

I recently returned to Santa Maria & started receiving care again with Dr. Lai. I saw him 3 years ago & was not impressed by his staff then, but now, his front office staff has been "new & improved"!! WOW, what a difference! Gail & Tammy are wonderful, so friendly & pleasant! Dr. Lai remembered me & was very kind, very knowledgeable and had a wonderful bedside manner! He spent almost an hour with me discussing my issues...I saw reviews below & don't understand how they could say those things--I had a great experience & am grateful that Dr. Lai & his staff are taking care of me! :) Definitely 5 stars *****

Submitted March 20, 2012

This doctor is extremely rude, condescending, only cares about your weight regardless if you're heavy or not, yells at you, puts you down, doesn't review your history unless you MAKE him, doesn't medicate you properly....I would NEVER recommend him to anyone. He wasted my time and caused my condition to worsen. I have since changed doctors and yes, I feel so much better, have dropped 20 pounds without trying because my levels are stable. Caring is such a simple thing to do, but this doctor doesn't have that capability.

Submitted Feb. 29, 2012

No bedside manner which I dont usually care about except he DOESNT LISTEN.

Submitted July 26, 2011

No time to learn about his patients, rude, yells, no real concern for your health, just wants his paycheck at the end of the day. Your life means nothing to him, that's very clear. He's in the wrong profession. I feel he could be better, but he chooses not to be. Staff was very pleasant and quick.

Submitted July 6, 2011

After reading all these negative comments about Dr. Lai I was hesitant but I am glad I didn't take them too much to heart because my experience with him was great. He was very informative and showed me in detail how T3,T4 and TSH work together. I am having hair thinning issues and he promised to work with me on it. And please note I saw him the day before Thanksgiving which most Dr.s might not want to be working or try to rush you through your appointment but he was not in a hurry at all. His staff was also very courteous. I am very happy that he sees patients closer to San Luis Obispo even though his practice is in Santa Maria.

Submitted Dec. 2, 2010