Would you ask money off livery?

[fredflop]

Easy scenario. Dentist was booked in for a visit a couple of weeks ago, YO was meant to be holding horse for dentist. Forgot he was coming, and couldn’t deal wth him when he turned up (work reason nothing personal).

Dentist is now rightly charging me a missed appointment. However would you ask for a reduction off your livery? It’s money I can barely afford to loose. Yard was told well in advance of the visit

 

[Equi]

Not personally no because it’s still my Horse and I would have been reminding yo of dentist about ten times before the dentist came. I would be sure I was the one there next time though.

 

[wren123]

Double post

 

[wren123]

Is holding the horse a stated inclusion in your livery? If the YO was doing you a favour then obviously no way should you ask for a reduction.
If it is included then think about saying something but you have to weigh up the risk of upsetting the YO. You could say you are being charged for a wasted appointment and see what they say. But how much do you like where you are, Is it well priced?

 

[Theocat]

If it were anything other than the horse world, most of us would agree that a reduction on livery would be appropriate- the YO has let you down with a direct financial implication.

This being the horse world, though, you'll have to negotiate possible offence to YO in even raising it as an issue.

Personally I think the YO should reimburse the costs via a livery reduction. It will depend on your contract, but if they let you down, it's only fair they bear the consequences.

 

[Greylegs]

I think a small gesture by the YO would be appropriate, but whether you asking for it might cause you bigger headaches as others have said, is another matter! I think i'd just pay up the fee, re-book and make sure that you're there yourself on the day. Is holding horses for dentist/vet/farrier etc part of your livery agreement? Are you on full or DIY livery? If the YO was just doing you a favour and other things got in the way, then it's just one of those things, unfortunately.

 

[FfionWinnie]

Were you paying the YO for the service and is it a service they offer?

 

[fredflop]

Service is included as part of livery, don’t pay extra for it. I find it very hard to book appointments as I can only get to the yard at weekends, I work away from home, which then limits visits to Mondays and Fridays

 

[PapaverFollis]

Really bad customer service but as this is horse world not real world it might not be worth complaining about it. I think I would attempt to tactfully point out that their error has cost you money. And gauge their response. They may offer to reimburse you without further prompting. Given that YOs can make life hellish without limit if they are so inclined it is worth treading very carefully.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Easy scenario. Dentist was booked in for a visit a couple of weeks ago, YO was meant to be holding horse for dentist. Forgot he was coming, and couldn’t deal wth him when he turned up (work reason nothing personal).

Dentist is now rightly charging me a missed appointment. However would you ask for a reduction off your livery? It’s money I can barely afford to loose. Yard was told well in advance of the visit

No I would not, I would be miffed they forgot to be sure, but I would not expect reduction. Maybe in hindsight you should have reminded the YO the day before to make sure it was still ok for them to hold the horse or arrange someone else to hold it.


If you did then that is the YO fault but if you did not, you cannot expect a yard owner to remember and individual owners request without writing it down on the yard calender's or reminding them nearer the time.

You say you cannot book appointments, surely these can be done over the phone and discussed with yard owner, or text the yard owner the day before just to remind them, as I am sure they have many many things on their mind day in day out.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

If services are normally part of your livery arrangement, then of course you should be reimbursed for the dentist's charge. You should not have to keep reminding YO of something that should be part of their everyday business. How much notice did you give YO? Do you know what the usual system is for recording appointments such as this, so that they don't get missed?

 

[claret09]

i have to say i would have been a bit miffed at the yard owner, especially as you had arranged it in advance. i don't think you could really ask for a reduction but i know that i wouldn't ask them again - i would break my neck to make alternative arrangements - if they can't be trusted to hold a horse for the dentist what can they be trusted to do? i also know that any yard i have been on another livery would have helped out and held my horse if necessary

 

[chaps89]

I don't have loads of experience of dull livery yards but most include getting the horse out and holding them for farrier, vet, dentist etc. I also know that if one of those people turned up and the horse wasn't ready they'd go and get it. I'm presuming the yard might be smaller and so YO/grooms aren't always around? Either way I'd be miffed. As to whether I asked for money off or not would depend on my relationship with YO and how much I wanted to stay at the yard. In theory I would but reality may be different.

 

[FfionWinnie]

If it’s full livery on a decent yard I would expect recompense because I would also expect there was always someone there! I wouldn’t ask for it tho.

 

[JillA]

If I were the YO concerned I would offer a reduction in rent to compensate for my mistake, especially if the complainant made their point in a non confrontational way (as above, pointing out it had cost them). Am I the only one with regard to fairness?

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I think morally they should compensate but how much might depend on the livery contract and firmness of arrangements.

Like others though I’d be wary of asking because of how the YO would react so I might just suck it up. Unfair but often the reality of being a livery.

 

[HashRouge]

I'm inclined to agree with everyone else - you should get a reduction in livery, but you have to consider whether raising the issue will cause more trouble than it's worth. I have worked on SJ yards that also offered some full livery and I find it astonishing that the dentist turned up and was sent away again by the YO. I can only assume there are no other staff members? I know on the yards I've worked on we were expected to drop what we were doing for the vet/ dentist/ farrier. But we always had two staff members on at any one time, so anything essential on the yard could be done by one while the other held for the dentist etc.

 

[GirlFriday]

So, the dentist actually arrived at the yard and the YO turned them away? Or arrived and found no-one around?

If the 'work thing' that meant they forgot/couldn't deal with it was a serious thing and a surprise, e.g. another horse colicing then I'd leave it. If it was either a non-horse related work thing or something predictable (e.g. they were busy with weekly feed delivery) then I'd say something. Either a direct 'would you mind reducing my livery by x this month as dentist charged me x for a missed visit' or an indirect 'Oh, hi YO, I wasn't really sure what to do... dentist has charged me x for a missed visit, would you be able to have a word with him about that?' (YO can then say 'oh, they shouldn't have done that (well, really they should)/no, your problem/yes, I'll get them not to/oh, I'll pay that...) depending on the personalities involved.

All people in all jobs occasionally make mistakes. It is more about how they follow up than anything (as long as this kind of thing is a regular occurrence)

 

[ester]

Unless the YO was dealing with a life/death yard emergency with the vet etc I would tell them that I had been charged for the missed appointment and ask how they propose to resolve that.

 

[rifruffian]

I think that your dentist debt is a consequential loss and you cannot expect recompense from YO.

 

[JillA]

I think that your dentist debt is a consequential loss and you cannot expect recompense from YO.

Yes - in consequence of the YO failing to attend as promised

 

[Ambers Echo]

As this is a service provided as opposed to a favour then I think wanting a refund/reduction in fees is reasonable enough to justify politely asking for one. I would also accept whatever answer I got without making an issue of it.

 

[LaurenBay]

If this is a service included in your rent then I would expect to be compensated, as a YO it is their responsibility to stick to appointments and should be more organized to make sure they do not forget. Unless of course a situation had arose (Another Horse has injured themselves etc.) YO should have attended the appointment.

I would sent a text to the Yard owner along the lines of "Hi, I have received a missed call appointment invoice and just wondered why the appointment didn't go ahead as I advised you on (date you originally told her)" and she what she says. She may offer to pay. If she doesn't then its up to you whether you press further for a discount, it could make things awkward between you both.

 

[Apercrumbie]

I'd be quite miffed - have you told the YO that you've been charged? I think I'd let them know and see what they do with that information.

 

[Cecile]

If I were the YO concerned I would offer a reduction in rent to compensate for my mistake, especially if the complainant made their point in a non confrontational way (as above, pointing out it had cost them). Am I the only one with regard to fairness?

I think this would be the logical thing to do but the YO won't have ESP about being charged so its very important as you say that the YO is informed and go from there ^^
I like fairness

 

[SO1]

Obviously you are going to need the dentist to come back again so I would explain to the yard owner that you are going to need to get the dentist back but as you were charged for the missed appointment you need to make sure someone is available as you cannot afford to keep being charged for missed appointments.

I think it also depends on how much you were charged, how good they normally are dealing with appointments and the reason they gave for their non availability & how much you are paying for livery.

 

[LopingBill]

Just reading this thread reminds me how lucky we are. We have 2 horses in full livery and our YO cares. She lived with my boy through his final illness last year and cried with me when he went. I don't have to ask her to be "in attendance" for farrier, vet, dentist. She just is. Sad to see that the almost universal expectation of a YO is that you have tread carefully...

 

[rara007]

I'd expect YO to pay! Their error has cost you.

 

[Peter7917]

Absolutely you should get a livery reduction.

You pay the price you do to include someone holding your horse for vet,farrier,dentist etc. You made the yard owner aware of the appointment in good time.

They forgot and it's cost you money as a result. I'd be fuming.

 

[VikkiL]

Most definately yes you should be getting a reduction- you shouldn't be out of pocket for their mistake.
Maybe the YO doesn't know you have been charged for the missed all Ok tent. I'd bring it up in conversation and see what they say.