Here’s a little segment I like to call, “What They Neglected to Mention.”
One:
Office manager: Someone complained that you didn’t spend enough time with them last night at their appointment. She said she felt rushed.
What they neglected to mention:
That client showed up 50 minutes late, 10 minutes after we closed, without so much as a phone call to let me know she was running late. I was in my car in the parking lot when she showed up.
Two:
Client: My dog threw up this morning. Can I come in after work?
What they neglected to mention:
He also threw up all night, and the three days preceding that. It didn’t have blood in it until today, though. Oh, and I can’t afford anything more than the office visit. Actually, I can’t really afford that either. Is Aleve bad for dogs?
Three:
My dog has a foxtail in his paw. The other vet just pulled it out last time so I am not going to let you sedate him. He didn’t need it last time.
What they neglected to mention:
Said vet required medical attention for the bite he sustained during that particular visit. Oh, was that important?
Hey! I had one of those last night too! Owner complained ‘had to wait 40 minutes before vet saw me’. What owner neglected to mention: he showed up 30 minutes early for his appointment!
This is why we love our jobs!
~Sara
LOL, I had a client yell at me once for coming back from lunch at 2, for her 2 oclock appointment. She arrived at 1:45 and had to wait. She told me I should have called her to let her know. Let her know what?
As a layperson, I see SO MANY people who should NEVER have a pet, much less a child; I can’t imagine what YOU see. Oh, and those perpetually late & oblivious people, they would be outraged if you were late treating an animal that arrived on time, but took longer because the owner was willing to actually DO something for their pet/friend! I HATE government intrusion into our lives, but sometimes I think a mandatory license and instruction course for owning a pet would save the numbers of animals left for dead or in shelters! Makes me scream!!!
Love when that happens. Oh, your dog has been vomiting and has had diarrhea for how long? And you want to come in right now- at closing time? What’s another week…or two! Grrr.
“…and I hope this isn’t going to cost too much.”
Oh yes. ALWAYS.
Wow, I am always amazed at your client stories and the lack of common sense. I am probably on the other end of the annoying spectrum when I visit my vet in that I tell them everything I think might be potentially useful in diagnosis. Next time I go to the vet I’m definitely bringing cookies to the whole staff – you people have to deal with so much garbage on a daily basis that you deserve some sweets.
Way to many people own pets who cannot afford them. They cost much more than a bag of food per month. People need to realize they need health care too. Failure to provide so is neglect.
When I worked at an animal hospital it was always 5 minutes before we closed (at 10pm after being open from 7:30am) that people rushed over because their cat was blocked.
I was at an emergency vet at 8pm and in rushed a family with their dog who isn’t breathing they hand the dog over to the vet tech who rushes it to the back and they perform CPR / give oxygen etc to try and revive the dog. Unfortunately they can’t bring the dog back. The owners were screaming they never gave permission for CPR and why do they have to pay for it. They couldn’t afford to bring the dog in when it started showing signs of distress so how can they pay for an emergency visit and CPR so they stormed out of the hospital and told the staff to throw their dogs body in the trash because they couldn’t do anything with it.
That is so unbelievably sad. How awful.
“My dog has a huge amount of blood in his belly and won’t get up. DO EVERYTHING! I will sign your Critical Care estimate for $500-800 no problem! SAVE MY BABY!”
“…but I only have $15 and no credit and I’m not going to try for your medical credit card and I’m going to get into an uncontrollable rage when you tell me you won’t call in the surgeon (at 3am) or do anything else because the stabilization you’ve done so far is well over $500 I don’t actually have. Also, I will refuse to euthanize and have listed my pet as a Code 2, which is open-heart CPR.”
I remember those days in the er. Ugh ugh ugh. That very exact conversation too!
I used to love it when they said, “Could you take a quick look at him?’ Of course, what they meant was a FREE checkup!
Wow. I’m gonna have to pat myself on the back for being such a good doggy mom.
If it makes you feel any better, since misery loves company, my hubby is an orthopedic PA and people aren’t any more conscientious about themselves and their kids — or the way they treat their providers. Face it, most dogs are much better than most people (yes, there are exceptions).
I guess that shouldn’t surprise me, but it still does.
Feeling your pain! People do this to lawyers all the time too, except fortunately (while often impacting very important life matters), it’s USUALLY not life or death with a being that can’t speak for itself like the fur-babies. It’s especially bad when friends start with, “I have a simple legal question I was hoping I could bounce off you” LOL I would imagine it’s the equivalent in your world of “Could you just take a quick look at Mr. Wiggles……he doesn’t look right….” 🙂
Uh oh, I think I have done that to you more than once!