If integrity and honesty matter to you, read this before booking with Balance Art Acupuncture Vienna.
(This is my firsthand experience as someone who briefly worked with Dr. Guo, the clinic’s owner, in June 2025.)
I was told to answer “Yes, acupuncture can help” to every patient inquiry — regardless of the illness, or whether I even knew the condition.
That is selling certainty, not truth. A healthcare practice that teaches deception as routine cannot claim to heal with integrity.
Before my official start date, Dr. Guo scheduled multiple full workdays described as “training.” In reality, they were unpaid front-desk shifts — real work, no pay.
He even postponed the official start date to add more of these so-called “training” days. Free labor, disguised as preparation.
From what I observed, Dr. Guo appeared to repeatedly hire Asian women for front-desk roles — often individuals newly arrived in the U.S. or less familiar with labor protections.
This created an imbalance of power that made it easier to exploit trust and discourage objections.
He asked me to sign a W-9 “independent contractor” form for a role that clearly functioned as a regular employee position.
Under that setup there would be no overtime pay, no benefits, and no protection — everything normally covered by an employer shifted to the worker.
This structure looked built to save taxes and shift every possible risk onto others.
Unpaid “training.” Misleading paperwork. Scripted promises to patients. These are not accidents — they form a system.
If a clinic cuts corners with staff, imagine what it tells its patients.
I share this so others can make informed choices. If a healthcare provider operates in ways that compromise fairness behind the scenes,
patients deserve to know before they walk through the door. Integrity isn’t optional in healthcare.
If this is how a clinic treats its team, imagine how it handles its patients.
Written from firsthand experience — October 2025.
As of this writing, payment for June 23, 26, and 30, 2025 remains unpaid.
My original Google review was later removed, and I was explicitly warned not to visit the clinic to collect my check — being told it would be considered “trespassing.”
This statement is written to document what occurred and to help others make informed decisions.