Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
Then I would certainly find another practice to take my business to
6 monthly prescription by vets - befuddled!
- Thread starter Red-1
- Start date
southerncomfort
Well-Known Member
As a receptionist, I'd be instantly sacked if I spoke to anyone like that, and rightly so. There are some receptionists who seem to forget the customer service part of the role and simply act as gatekeepers.
I had a similar experience with a vet receptionist who called to say I hadn't paid a bill. I was able to prove that I had, but she all but called me a liar and was incredibly rude and unpleasant. I lodged a complaint against her, but they closed ranks and said they simply couldn't believe that she was capable of that behaviour. I moved practice after that.
Red-1
I used to be decisive, now I'm not so sure...
That sounds like a very sensible solution. Clear and fair.
Red-1
I used to be decisive, now I'm not so sure...
I was upset the time we went for our appointment and they 'forgot' us in the waiting area. That is with a 17 year old dog and a 14 year old dog, who were stressed at the various animals coming and going.
One friendly, quiet dog came to sit near us and the owner asked if they could say hello. A long time later, the lady said that her dog was there with a fever and diarrhoea. I was horrified and asked to be moved. They didn't seem bothered. I asked the vet if there was anything I could do, such as wipes or washing, but they said I'd just have to wait and see if they got ill.
One friendly, quiet dog came to sit near us and the owner asked if they could say hello. A long time later, the lady said that her dog was there with a fever and diarrhoea. I was horrified and asked to be moved. They didn't seem bothered. I asked the vet if there was anything I could do, such as wipes or washing, but they said I'd just have to wait and see if they got ill.
Red-1
I used to be decisive, now I'm not so sure...
Just booked in with a new vets, funnily enough the same as @Indy has just changed to. It is a well respected independent, recommended to me by many people.
ETA - I've booked with the experienced vet who used to be a cow vet and have been told by our pet sitters that he is very straight to the point and willing to look at different ways of managing a long term condition.
ETA - I've booked with the experienced vet who used to be a cow vet and have been told by our pet sitters that he is very straight to the point and willing to look at different ways of managing a long term condition.
asmp
Well-Known Member
I posted this in the happy thread a couple a couple of days ago. I rang my vet for a quote for Prascend tablets which they said was £1.52 a tablet. I also asked how much a prescription was. Realising it was much cheaper to buy online I phoned the vet back for a prescription. The receptionist then told me they could price match! I had to pay what the cheapest online quote was (£1.12) plus what would be the prescription charge cost but I was happy.
It is worth asking your vet if they can price match as they don’t always tell you about it.
It is worth asking your vet if they can price match as they don’t always tell you about it.
Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
I did that when we had 2 horses on Prascend. I made life a lot easier than having to mess about ordering online.
splashgirl45
Lurcher lover
This is what I do. I’ve just got prescriptions for Bravecto for my 3 and it gives me 4 tablets for each so that covers mine for a year as the dose is once every 3 months…
tda
Well-Known Member
I asked our vets if they would price match the insulin and syringes including the £22 prescription fee, or even somewhere close, she said no
HorsesRule2009
Well-Known Member
I get your frustration as the script is still currently valid.
And unfair that the receptionist was rude to you.
Though still confused as to why it's not the pharmacy you've contacted as they should only need the script once as would then be on file.
We can't put on anything that would take you over the time frame.
So eg if a box of meds lasted 6 weeks we would only have 1 box plus 3 repeats so 4 boxes in total which would be just shy of 6 months.
SOS
Well-Known Member
Yes the pharmacy’s should be checking as they also have a duty to try prevent the system being abused, however some don’t and arguably it’s not in their best interest to turn down scripts!
Widgeon
Well-Known Member
This is also what I've done before - there are multiple online pharmacies and I thought the whole point was that you as the customer got to choose which one you wanted to use.
Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
Yes, there's a reason I won't use them.
Red-1
I used to be decisive, now I'm not so sure...
The practice manager for the dogs' old vets called yesterday; he is a new manager and was going to go into the ins and outs of their procedure but I told him not to bother as I'd already booked with my new vets and just wanted my appointment with them cancelled and the records transferring. He was actually very good!
He'd already looked up my records and seen that in over 20 years of being a customer, over numerous dogs, I'd never been any bother as a customer. I think it took him aback that I'd already made the decision to move. I didn't 'want' anything.
We spoke about my experience with the practice. I told him that the vets seem dedicated and I'd always been happy with the treatment that the vets had provided. But, the upselling/ guilt tripping was sometimes upsetting, and the way the vets suggest one thing, so I try to comply with the procedure they say, and then the receptionist tell me I'm wrong, but I tell them that is what the vet said, so they check and suddenly it is OK after all - it all seems like a battle. I also told him about being forgotten in the waiting room and being seated next to a sick dog. He was taken aback as he realised that, at their age, my dogs were vulnerable.
I told him that I have had a difficult time at home over the past few years and that I already found the whole thing too hard to do. In my life, with the jobs I've had (including actually being a vets receptionist for 6 months LOL), I'm not behind the door with being assertive. but my pets are family and I don't expect to battle to try to follow the procedures. The receptionist being rude was simply the last straw.
The procedure, whatever it is, isn't the issue. The issue is being told one thing by a vet or other receptionist, then following what I am told, then being told that it is wrong, that is what feels like a battle.
He says he will talk to the receptionist: I said I wasn't bothered either way as I was now the customer of another vet and never need see or speak with her again. I also said that I hoped the calls were recorded, as I'm sure the receptionist will say I was rude, which I was not. I wasn't personal, didn't raise my voice or swear, just asked to be contacted by the practice manager. A low point was when she was shouting at me, and I said there was no need to be upset as I knew she was following procedure, I just needed to speak with the practice manager and she shouted back that she was not upset and that she could simply withhold the order until it ran out, then I'd have to pay again, and that she couldn't believe I was arguing about 3 days. He said that, sadly, they do not record their calls and that it was something he had wanted to instigate and he was going to use this as a reason to argue that they needed to implement this.
I have been in many public facing roles and know that when a member of the public says they are not satisfied with what you can do, and need to speak with a manager/supervisor/make a complaint, the only thing you have to do is take their details and facilitate that happening. There is no point in shouting at the customer and the last, sarcastic cut about having a good night, in a really nasty tone, was the final straw that meant I had contacted another vets.
In the mean time, I have my new appointment with an independent vets who have little pods for animals to wait in so they don't come into contact with other animals. Because of the pods, they have done away with the huge unfriendly reception desk.
From the new vet's web site "...all our team members (including the non-clinical team) have undergone training to become qualified as Certified Fear Free Practitioners to help you and your pets. We are passionate in our mission to protect our patient’s emotional wellbeing, which means that they are healthier, and much happier to visit our teams! It also means that as a pet owner you will have a more enjoyable visit to the vets and as a veterinary team we see real gains, we really do not enjoy seeing pets stressed either!"
My new vet was a large farm vet who has decided (according to someone who recommended me to him) that he's had enough of fighting cows and is now working with The Smalls, as he calls them. I'm hoping that a career in farm vet practice will mean that he will understand not wanting to GA an old dog to remove numerous fatty lumps, that aren't causing an issue.
Here's hoping, not least because I'm well aware that the new vet will soon be superintending the death of the doggos as they are on their decline, at a fine old age, after a fine old life. I will be absolutely devastated when they go and want to choose someone who will help us all through that time. Not least because one was mum's dog and the other my husband's. There will be emotion at their loss but also at the loss of another link to what family I had. Meanwhile, despite their various conditions, they dragged us to the pub again the other night. They had cuddles on the floor with bar staff. They are both ace.
Here is Heck, examining his new window sticker, which I bought as he's run into the patio door a few times since the cataract worsened in his right eye. I'm hoping it means he will now see if the door is open or closed!
And the two doggos in their beds, after dragging us to the pub and back!
He'd already looked up my records and seen that in over 20 years of being a customer, over numerous dogs, I'd never been any bother as a customer. I think it took him aback that I'd already made the decision to move. I didn't 'want' anything.
We spoke about my experience with the practice. I told him that the vets seem dedicated and I'd always been happy with the treatment that the vets had provided. But, the upselling/ guilt tripping was sometimes upsetting, and the way the vets suggest one thing, so I try to comply with the procedure they say, and then the receptionist tell me I'm wrong, but I tell them that is what the vet said, so they check and suddenly it is OK after all - it all seems like a battle. I also told him about being forgotten in the waiting room and being seated next to a sick dog. He was taken aback as he realised that, at their age, my dogs were vulnerable.
I told him that I have had a difficult time at home over the past few years and that I already found the whole thing too hard to do. In my life, with the jobs I've had (including actually being a vets receptionist for 6 months LOL), I'm not behind the door with being assertive. but my pets are family and I don't expect to battle to try to follow the procedures. The receptionist being rude was simply the last straw.
The procedure, whatever it is, isn't the issue. The issue is being told one thing by a vet or other receptionist, then following what I am told, then being told that it is wrong, that is what feels like a battle.
He says he will talk to the receptionist: I said I wasn't bothered either way as I was now the customer of another vet and never need see or speak with her again. I also said that I hoped the calls were recorded, as I'm sure the receptionist will say I was rude, which I was not. I wasn't personal, didn't raise my voice or swear, just asked to be contacted by the practice manager. A low point was when she was shouting at me, and I said there was no need to be upset as I knew she was following procedure, I just needed to speak with the practice manager and she shouted back that she was not upset and that she could simply withhold the order until it ran out, then I'd have to pay again, and that she couldn't believe I was arguing about 3 days. He said that, sadly, they do not record their calls and that it was something he had wanted to instigate and he was going to use this as a reason to argue that they needed to implement this.
I have been in many public facing roles and know that when a member of the public says they are not satisfied with what you can do, and need to speak with a manager/supervisor/make a complaint, the only thing you have to do is take their details and facilitate that happening. There is no point in shouting at the customer and the last, sarcastic cut about having a good night, in a really nasty tone, was the final straw that meant I had contacted another vets.
In the mean time, I have my new appointment with an independent vets who have little pods for animals to wait in so they don't come into contact with other animals. Because of the pods, they have done away with the huge unfriendly reception desk.
From the new vet's web site "...all our team members (including the non-clinical team) have undergone training to become qualified as Certified Fear Free Practitioners to help you and your pets. We are passionate in our mission to protect our patient’s emotional wellbeing, which means that they are healthier, and much happier to visit our teams! It also means that as a pet owner you will have a more enjoyable visit to the vets and as a veterinary team we see real gains, we really do not enjoy seeing pets stressed either!"
My new vet was a large farm vet who has decided (according to someone who recommended me to him) that he's had enough of fighting cows and is now working with The Smalls, as he calls them. I'm hoping that a career in farm vet practice will mean that he will understand not wanting to GA an old dog to remove numerous fatty lumps, that aren't causing an issue.
Here's hoping, not least because I'm well aware that the new vet will soon be superintending the death of the doggos as they are on their decline, at a fine old age, after a fine old life. I will be absolutely devastated when they go and want to choose someone who will help us all through that time. Not least because one was mum's dog and the other my husband's. There will be emotion at their loss but also at the loss of another link to what family I had. Meanwhile, despite their various conditions, they dragged us to the pub again the other night. They had cuddles on the floor with bar staff. They are both ace.
Here is Heck, examining his new window sticker, which I bought as he's run into the patio door a few times since the cataract worsened in his right eye. I'm hoping it means he will now see if the door is open or closed!
And the two doggos in their beds, after dragging us to the pub and back!
tda
Well-Known Member
It wasn't that one, it was small pets one in Ossett
Pearlsacarolsinger
Up in the clouds
I do like the pods idea for the waiting room. We took 2 Labs into the local surgery on Monday (reactive brown one and her emotional support dog). We were exactly on time but needed to wait to see our chosen vet. The waiting area is split into spaces for cats and dogs separately. There was a noisy spaniel sitting in the cats area and a cat taking up a corner and 2 more spaces in the dogs area with another dog sitting next to the weighing scale. When spaniel was called to see a vet receptionist said to cat owner, "Would you like to sit in the cats area?" 'OH no, it's fine' said the oblivious owner, 'he's used to dogs'. Receptionist had to point out that some dogs may not be comfortable around cats. Meanwhile the spaniel's owner allowed his dog, after it explored a shelf full of goods to sell, to come up to our brown one at the full extent of its lead. Fortunately ours was on her best behaviour and more interested in the crinkly bag of treats that I had, while the support dog took absolutely no notice of the mayhem around her.
Alibear
Well-Known Member
My vets initiated waiting in the car for your appointment during covid, so human checks in with reception and goes back to car and vet comes out to the car park to get you when ready. They've kept this and it works really well. It's a rural practise so no walk ins.
Amy May In A Manger
Well-Known Member
Same.
tda
Well-Known Member
Our dog vet are having this procedure while they have some building work done, but I can see it becoming the norm