How should I react....How would you react?

am i the only one who thinks they have behaved inappropriately - how dare they speak to you in such a manner - you help to pay their wages, you help to keep a roof over their head.

regardless of your email content they are very unprofessional to behave in such a manner.

Personally i would drop and go with a bigger more professional concern.
 
Why not simply drive to the practice, and speak to the vet in person? Start with an apology for having caused offence, and say that that wasn't your intention, and you would like to know what the vet found so upsetting. Say that you were disconcerted by the extreme reaction, since you believed you had a good working relationship. Apologies presumably having been made all round for real or perceived insults, you can hopefully then ask the question about your horse that you were trying to ask in the first place.

It's very easy to be misinterpreted in an email, or even over the phone. When a situation is delicate, as this one seems to be, face-to-face conversation is sometimes the best way forward. I hope you manage to resolve this all amicably, since it sounds like you got on before this sudden misunderstanding.
 
We are accountants and get emails from clients all the time, and yes sometimes they do raise queries or issues with fee or work by email. Emails can come accross as quite blunt and sometimes rude when that is not the intention. We try and respond to every query or question raised, as no matter what the client has the right to ask questions to understand the work (most people do not have a good understanding, a few do). So even if you phrased the email in an inapproriate manner - the vet should have responded in a professional manner.

Mostly if you deal with a response in a professional manner, it can be quickly resolved to every one satisfaction. No and then you get the odd person that you can do nothing about, that is rare. (Often the smallest and least profitable clients are the most difficullt, due to lack of general business nounce), most business people are

I also think that it is far easier to deal with these issues over the phone as there is less likely to be a misunderstanding and can be dealth with more quickly, but email is such a widely used medium these days, and vets can be hard to get on phone, so I understand why you used this.

If I was you I would arrange a time to go and see the vet, or call him and just at least advise your intention was not to offend, merely to consider what options were available. If he continues to be difficult, then I would cease usng his firm and find another vet.
 
One thing I know is that if I spoke to a client like they did to me today - I would be thrown out, off the job, end of. Fact is I just wouldn't. If I felt upset by something I would establish facts before jumping in feet first and firing abuse.

They don't have a practice. Home address. I guess my underlying concern is how precious they are, or have become, the focus not being on the horses but reading stuff into an email that isn't there and then a complete lack of judgement on dealing with it. I wont tell you what my husband felt they needed......its wasn't polite. But they have kinda become a bit up themselves and so over the top. I have seen this happen when people work on their own - kinda lack input or comments from others and don't ever question their own performance.

I just wonder how this mindset or approach will affect their judgement clinically.
 
They are the business.
You are the client/customer. you are expecting a service and paying them money.
You could of written them an email swearing in Braille and they should still remain professional!
They should NOT be emotional or give an emotional response. That is wholly unprofessional.
Doesn't mean they have to give in ;), just means they should reply in a professional manner, explaining their reasons and cause of action plus the route to go down if you want to make a complaint. It should never become personal.
I worked in customer service, in fact I used to deal with very poorly people abroad and I would sometimes get irate family members yelling down the phone at me questioning things ect. I would NEVER have been anything other than 100% polite, understanding and professional. It would have been more than my jobs worth!
If they got truely abusive I merly warned them I wouldn't take abuse and would hang up if they continued but I could usually talk them down.
It was within the medical sphere and of course people worried and questioned certain actions. I was happy to explain our actions.
Your vets are totally out of order to behave so personally and emotionally towards you. I would complain and then find another practice. How awful, what other aspects of their business do they miss-handle???
It's the difference between a two bit shop and a proper business.
 
What a difficult situation

I'd be tempted though to go and see them to agree a way forward and test the water, if they are still unpleasant you can decide to walk away

We have all had bad days and plain old unprofessional days where we have bitten and then regreted it later, I'm not trying to excuse them 100% they should know better of course but you dont know if there is a personal battle going on in the background

yes they are running a business and should treat their customers 100% correctly at all times but sometimes things fall over for some reason
 
I think that was very unprofessional of the vet, and I certainly don't think that you, the (high!) paying customer should be jumping in your car tomorrow and going round to sort it out. I think that would play up to what seems to be a rather large ego. Even if they thought the email was a bit blunt they should have given a profitable and long-standing customer the benefit of the doubt. As for saying the email should have been addressed "Dear" - that's someone being a jumped up little pillock I think.

In your shoes, if I knew the costs to date, I'd send them a cheque and go to another vet. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they are legally obliged to hand over the medical records to date if you ask?
 
tbh, taking into consideration all the information you've given here OP, i think id be looking around at what alternative vet practices are available you could transfer your horses over to.
This would concern me alot and what would concern me more is that if offence can be taken so easily and you are dealing with one person, the situation could reoccur other something else in the future.

you ARE a paying customer and sound like a good one (and a lucrative once with 2 sick neds currently running up all sorts of diagnostic test costs )
Would have thought he'd be kicking himself if he lost such a client.

..bizarre
 
Last edited:
My guess would be that it was an overreaction by a very stressed, tired, overworked vet who misread your email to be a complaint. Possibly because he has to deal with lots of clients who try to wriggle out of paying by making spurious, nit picking complaints, and unfortuantely you've got the brunt of it somehow.

The comment about hand holding is inappropriate as is emailing. Certainly in my profession, we are encouraged to email by the Law Society, so I cannot see why vets should be different from lawyers on this.

If you like the vet, I would tend to ignore and continue as normal, unless it happens again.

Funnily, I had a similar reaction from a vet who overcharged me and whom I had to ask repeatedly to stop invoicing me for an already paid bill. Eventually, after leaving several ignored messages with his staff, I wrote an email expressing, rather gently, my frustration and asking them to stop billing me. And like you, I got a completely OTT response back, in the form of a letter, and asking me not to use them again. It was very rude and accusatory and I think I must have had the same sort of reaction as you at the time. Not a one man band either.

Vets can be temperamental. Probably due to overwork and stress. I think some clients can be a complete nuisance, and some get sucked into seeing most clients as a complete nuisance.
 
Still think you should move yummy horses ask about ,find a big practice all bells and whistles they will to busy worrying how to meet the bills for all their overheads during this down turn to be rude to you! seriously I would never deal with a one man band you need the proper cover given by a big practice what happens if he's at a colic at one end of his area and you have an emergency at the other this is one of the main reasons I am with my vets who are very big well over a dozen vets probally nearer 20 always lots of cover about 6or8 only doing horses you always have lots of cover they are always bouncing ideas off one and other the down side is you pay for all the bells and whistles and you do occasionally have to deal with a receptionist who does not quite get that when I pay them well over a £1000 a month whenI say jump I expect them to to say when and how high. Must say though the problems I have had have all been on the small animal side were they don't quite seem to understand my time constraints I expect them to handle things like they do on the horse side but they don't have the same sense of urgency .
Good luck let us know what you do.
 
Thanks everyone. I have decided to complete current treatment and get the horses well and fit and if it needs me to bite my tongue (hard) to make that happen and work with the vet then I will - the horses health is more important.

After that I think I will move. Gunna have a chat with friends locally and my trainer to see who they recommend. I do have another practice in mind and will check them out more.

Really do appreciate everyones comments and thoughts - feel a bit better today. Spent a lot of time with the horses today and I always find that so soothing and calming. Plus had a great jump lesson on my show jumper so that was great. Out in a week competing.

Cheers everyone, never had so many replies!!! Shame it wasnt on a positive subject!
 
I am still gobsmacked that there are still one man practices about, seriously-who would choose such a lifestyle? too much stress.

I find it hard to imagine my vet reacting that way, almost completely unprofessional regardless of any provocation. still, we don't know the whole story (no offense meant OP). OP as suggested, go to a bigger equine practice if you can, that will have more equipment, better emergency cover and hopefully, a less stressed and isolated clinician.

I would/do not do business by email or text-hopelessly old fashioned ITR!
 
@Peteralfred....I promise you know the whole story from me but I do wonder with the reaction whether I know the whole story for the vet. Maybe other stuff going on in the background for them.

Will stick to plan...but I am no punch bag!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top