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A Horrible Experience at the Vet
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Anonymous
| I'm not sure if this belongs under General Parenting but --- I just had the most horrible afternoon in memory, taking my dog to the vet with my nine month old and four and a half year old DC. I had an appointment for 11:15, and at 8 am the office called and said they had overbooked and that I could either come in at 1:45 or reschedule for next week. I have been putting this off for weeks (itchy rash under dog's chin) so I said I would come in at 1:45. Of course the baby was asleep, it took me forever to get our "luggage" (diaper bag, bottles, stroller, purse, etc.) into the car, wake the baby, change him and load baby and my older son into the car and get on the road. It looked like we were going to be 10 - 15 minutes late. The vet is WAY out in the boonies, one of its charms I've thought until now, and once out there I took a wrong turn and wound around and around the countryside until we were way late. I had to call them for directions, and by the time we got there it was like 2:25. The two receptionists looked at each other when we walked in the door and barely kept themselves from rolling their eyes. One said it would be a while, since I was so late, and I asked if we had time to take a walk. (The last thing I wanted to do was spend time cooped up in the waiting room of a vet with two kids.) She said yes. We went out for a walk and my four and a half year old immediately took a harsh skid on the gravel and got three nasty boo-boos. We had to go back in, and into the tiny bathroom -- me, my screaming son, the stroller and the dog -- where I washed his massive, bloody scrapes with wet paper towels while he howled and jumped from foot to foot. When we came out I asked the receptionists if they had a couple of bandaids, and they again look at each other as if to say, "she has a lot of nerve coming in here late and then asking for bandaids." One goes into a back room and comes out with one bandaid. (My son had scraped the skin off of his knee, elbow and hand.) I ask if we can have another one, and the two again exchange "the look." We were in the waiting room for ONE HOUR before I asked how much longer it would be. They exchange the look, then one receptionist said, "well, one person just went in and there is one more after them, so AT LEAST another half hour." She looks like she's enjoying punishing me. I said, "I've already been here an hour with two kids." She says, "Well, it's because you were late." In total, we were at the vet for TWO HOURS AND TWENTY MINUTES. By the time it was our turn -- the last of the day -- the baby had been long fed up with the stroller and I had been holding him so long that I thought my arm would break off. When the vet came into the examining room I was shaking mad. I told him that even though I was late, someone could have tried to accomodate us by slipping us in for an exam that takes a total of ten minutes, instead of making us wait so long, and he said, "well, the important thing is that we're taking care of your dog now." Of course when they were examining the dog and telling me my flea options the baby was screaming, arching his back and squirming for freedom, so I coudl hardly hear what they were saying, much less make educated decisions. When i went out to pay my whopping bill, my voice was shaking when I said to the receptionist, "I have to tell you that your attitude toward me was really hurtful." The words "I'm sorry" came out of her mouth like a bullet. Am I wrong to think they should have tried to fit us in, maybe make us wait half an hour or 45 minutes? It would have inconvenienced another patient by only ten minutes, while our over-two-hour ordeal was pure hell. There were pictures of kids behind the desk so I have to assume at least someone who works there has them. For what it's worth, I'm a single parent and a "simple" trip to the vet, or even to the grocery store, is a herculean event. Am I wrong to be upset? Is looking for a break simply feeling sorry for myself? Was my being so late offensive? I never want to go back there again. what's your take on this? |
Anonymous
| Ugh, it sounds like a terrible day. Sorry you had to go through that!! I would absolutely find a different vet. |
Anonymous
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Dude, that totally sucks. I'm sorry.
It doesn't sound like this vet. has a lot going for it - inconsiderate and unsympathetic staff, far-out location, and a rather pricey vet. bill to top it off. Do you like the service, no, do you LOVE their services? If not, then switch. There are a ton of vet. office in this area. Post a thread for recommendations if needed (off topic, of course). Hopefully, the kiddos went to bed early tonight and you can put your feet up and enjoy some much deserved peace and quiet! |
Anonymous
| I second finding a new vet. Easier said than done, I know, but yeesh. Jerks. |
Anonymous
I completely agree with this post. There is no way you should've been treated like that...if they couldn't have squeezed you in for a quick ten minute visit, a more courteous thing the receptionists could've done was to tell you that you were too late for the appointment and it'd be better to re-book you rather than have you wait two hours. It does sound like they were getting their kicks by making you wait longer. And your poor kids. I'm sorry they had to endure such a horrible day too. Find yourself another vet. They are a dime a dozen around here. |
Anonymous
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Im really sorry you had to go through all of that. Ive totally been there before.
It's amazing to me how little accomadating people can be to "life" circumstances. Life IS happening around us, things happen, things come up....I hate how people try to make you "pay" for being late. I wish people weren't so uptight and just flowed a little more easily...clearly you were already having a rough time by needing directions. It's not like you planned to be late. but they felt like they were teaching you a lesson by being rude? I dont get it. Im sorry 
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Anonymous
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It sounds like they treated you horribly. The rolling eyes, reluctance to give you band-aids, inexcusable. But should they have squeezed you in and made another patient late? I don't think so. I know I'm guilty of thinking that because I'm toting kids I deserve a break, but the reality is you don't know what other people are dealing with. They should have told you to begin with how long it would be and then made your wait as tolerable as possible. But the reality is the vet spends about 10 minutes with everyone, not just you. So I doubt your consult was any shorter than anyone else's. I hope your pup is okay and that you find a better vet.
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Anonymous
I have to say I agree with this poster. There is no excuse for rudeness or front desk staff acting like asses. That does not excuse you from being late or bumping another patient. I have often just gone ahead and rescheduled vet and doctor's appointments if I know I am going to be late and made to sit and wait with kids in tow. It sucks but it is not their place to accommodate people just because they have kids. |
Anonymous
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I'm happy to see everyone is being really civil in this post, even as they have different opinions.
It is never acceptable for people to roll their eyes at you, or to be so deliberately unhelpful when it comes to handing out bandaids, etc. So that alone was simply wrong. In terms of knowing this would be more than a 2 hour wait, I'm sure they couldn't know, however. If one other person shows up late in the next hour, all of a sudden they have a slot for you (that's how it works in the doctor's office, anyway). So I don't know whether you could expect them to announce ahead of time it would be a 2 and a half hour wait. However, if they knew it would be very long, I agree they could have given you warning about it. In terms of bumping other patients, I would probably ask it this way: Would you feel comfortable asking another patient themself whether you could cut the line? In truth, there are times where it has been just SO stressful, that I have done that (certainly in the grocery store, but other times too). And maybe in this circumstance, had you asked yourself you would have gotten a kind, "Of course! You go!". But I don't think the receptionists should be prioritizing patients based on their apparent inconvenience (you really don't know what others may be going through, or what deadlines they have to meet outside the doctor's office). I think that the only time the line should be bumped (unless you ask yourself) is for triage purposes (ie, a dog rushed in who has stopped breathing, etc.. But find another vet! |
Anonymous
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When I read the title of the thread I expected an altercation and bite or injury in the vet waiting room. Sometimes they have scheduled patients based on calls that day or other situations that are emergencies and take them ASAP fitting in others as necessary. Whatever vet you choose to use in the future I recommend one with several doctors on staff and the facility where if necessary you can drop off the pet, pick it up later.
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Anonymous
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while I agree that the front desk staff sound rude, I see several things wrong with what the OP did. You accepted an appointment time you knew would interfere with your child's naptime. Rarely should one do that. Then, you arrive 35 minutes late and expect to be accomodated. Most doctor's offices that see people rarely accomodate.
I'm sorry you had to deal with this, but I would've ditched the trip when I knew I was going to be late. 5 minutes, even 10 minutes late is one thing but you expected a mountain to be moved for you when you came that late. |
Anonymous
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It sounds like it was a horrible experience for you. I know how hard it can be to manage appointments with kids.
That said, I have to agree with the others that you probably should not have taken the later appointment. Knowing it was going to be problematic, it just seems as if you should have taken another time. And no, I don't think that others should have been bumped so that you should be accomodated. I have gone to appointments by myself, but with a very sick mother at home, a husband who desperately needed the use of the car I had, horrible menstrual cramps, and no other time in my schedule except for the slot I had been promised. If you had gone before me, I would have been pissed. I know having kids can be rough, but we can't assume that it trumps what others have going on in their lives. |
Anonymous
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I have lot a sympathy for your situation - I am a single mom also and have had both child and dog (who acts worse than said child) at the vet and its never a good time. You should have passed on the appointment bc in my experience overbooked = long wait in the waiting room. The front desk staff was certainly rude also.
I don't think they should have put you in front of others though. I do know the feeling of wanting to be given special consideration bc you have young kids - I have often felt this way - but in reality its not fair and soon your kids won't be so young anymore and instead you will be need to get somewhere by 4 or 5 to pick them up from activies and then it won't seem so fair that they let the mom with 2 little kids - who skipped their nap do ahead of you - bc after all you have a schedule to keep also. I know in NOVA there is a vet who makes house calls and I used him when my daughter was a baby and a young toddler. |
Anonymous
| I disagree with PPs-- They should have accommodated you because they overbooked you in the first place. Presumably, if they hadn't overbooked and instead kept the appointment at your original (and more convenient for you) time, then you probably wouldn't have been late, your children would've been rested and fed and you wouldn't have had to wait so long. They called you three hours before your appointment to cancel on you, and you accommodated their change. Given that, it would've been less harm all around if the next person waited 10 minutes so you didn't have to wait 2 hours. Understandably you didn't want to take an appointment a week later when the dog is uncomfortable-- it wasn't a manicure appointment, after all! Just my 2 cents. |
Anonymous
EXACTLY! I can't believe this is the first poster to take this position. I totally agree with this. I'm not saying they should have whisked you in the minute you got there, but I think they should have taken you after the other people currently sitting in the waiting room had their turn. It was the vet's mistake to begin with (they said overbooked--they didn't say he had an emergency and had to shift some patients around). And rude staff definitely should not be tolerated. |