Consultation review: $500 Consultation

I sent photos and had a lovely phone consultation with Dr Emer and one of his "cosmetic consultants" after I paid a 50% ($250) deposit to talk to them. I was happy to pay that, since I was pretty sure that he was going to be "the one", and that $500 fee would be applied to the cost of my surgery. I scheduled my in person consultation for a few days later, and showed up for my appointment at his office. They did not have me on the schedule, but they did of course go ahead and charge me the remaining $250 while I waited to see another doctor. Red flag #1. After speaking with him and going over my goals, the consultant who I had spoke with initially on the phone said she'd send me a quote "tomorrow" (which was a Saturday) Monday came and went...no quote. After 2 weeks (and giving a bad yelp review), I finally got a quote and it was wrong. It didn't have all of the things that the doctor and I discussed. I replied back asking if everything was included. The consultant emailed me back and asked when a good time would be to chat. I told her "now". She never called. By the end of the day I replied, asking if she was going to call me or if she was waiting for me to call her. She replied back after a few days and said they were having phone problems, and she called me, which she should have done in the first place. If you're trying to earn my business, call me. I will call you back when I can. She finally sent me a revised quote a couple days later, and I asked for some more photos of patients who had the same procedures done. That took a few days. I replied back and asked a couple more questions, and we started the "when is a good time to chat?" cycle again. After 3 days of not hearing from her (and 7 weeks after my initial in person consultation) even though I told her my schedule was open, I emailed her and told her no thanks, I'm going to use another surgeon. She replied a few minutes later and said she was still at work, and could she call me? (Here we go again) She said that a consultant had just quit this week, so they were short staffed. Other than "having phone problems" I don't know what the excuse was for the rest of the delays, scheduling error, and lack of communication. I can't imagine what would happen if I truly needed them after my surgery. Dr Emer has a great social media presence, but I guess it's all smoke & mirrors.
So, I'm out $500. I hope I can prevent someone else from making the same mistake.