RANT HERE thread

[Minnerbelle]

Im just being silly because you cant be allergic to steroids. One guy a few weeks ago refused to take his steroid eye drops after surgery because steroids "give him hiccups for exactly 48 hours."

I worked with a molecular biology PhD who insisted she was allergic to glucose...

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[battie]

I worked with a molecular biology PhD who insisted she was allergic to glucose...

Thats...... that's not compatible with life if I'm remembering the Krebs cycle and all that correctly.

 

[ajs513]

Thats...... that's not compatible with life if I'm remembering the Krebs cycle and all that correctly.

Nah just pump up those ketone numbers

 

[Minnerbelle]

Thats...... that's not compatible with life if I'm remembering the Krebs cycle and all that correctly.

Like holy hell man. At first she said she didn’t like sugar because itmakes people fat, then it morphed over time into an allergy. She would get all dramatic and be like, “ugh I have a wicked headache. That X I ate for lunch must have had sugar.” And she’d go to the coffee counter and go “I need agave syrup because I’m allergic to sugar.” This was in a hospital...

 

[Trilt]

Like holy hell man. At first she said she didn’t like sugar because itmakes people fat, then it morphed over time into an allergy. She would get all dramatic and be like, “ugh I have a wicked headache. That X I ate for lunch must have had sugar.” And she’d go to the coffee counter and go “I need agave syrup because I’m allergic to sugar.” This was in a hospital...

Oh honey...

 

[cdo96]

Also insomnia @cdo96

ugh yes

 

[killerleaf]

In reference to the Phd who claimed allergies to glucose...in my opinion, there is such a fine line between genius and madness. The traits that make someone so fine tuned that they make great contributions can also seem to turn against them, and push over into the "darker side of the mind".

 

[Lisagk]

Oof. Trying to cancel a lease that I signed for a couple of months ago for a city I thought I was going to move to but am not anymore. Anyone ever had to deal with something like this? Property manager agreed over text to let me break my lease and return my security deposit since I've notified him like 1.5 months before the lease starts and COVID, but now it's been about three weeks since that conversation and when I asked for an update last week he said he had someone lined up, but no communication when I asked again this week and that lease is supposed to start in two weeks. Getting stressed about being stuck in a lease for a place I'm not living in.

 

[WildZoo]

Oof. Trying to cancel a lease that I signed for a couple of months ago for a city I thought I was going to move to but am not anymore. Anyone ever had to deal with something like this? Property manager agreed over text to let me break my lease and return my security deposit since I've notified him like 1.5 months before the lease starts and COVID, but now it's been about three weeks since that conversation and when I asked for an update last week he said he had someone lined up, but no communication when I asked again this week and that lease is supposed to start in two weeks. Getting stressed about being stuck in a lease for a place I'm not living in.

I had an unfortunate situation where I was set to move to a new town, signed a lease with a roommate, and then had to stay where I was at for medical reasons. I was stuck in that lease for about 6 months before they found someone to take my spot. Hopefully that bit about having someone lined up was true and you'll hear back soon.

 

[Cyndia]

Oof. Trying to cancel a lease that I signed for a couple of months ago for a city I thought I was going to move to but am not anymore. Anyone ever had to deal with something like this? Property manager agreed over text to let me break my lease and return my security deposit since I've notified him like 1.5 months before the lease starts and COVID, but now it's been about three weeks since that conversation and when I asked for an update last week he said he had someone lined up, but no communication when I asked again this week and that lease is supposed to start in two weeks. Getting stressed about being stuck in a lease for a place I'm not living in.

Ugh I'm so sorry, that's super frustrating!! We're actually trying to break our lease at the moment with our apartment since we're in the process of buying a house. Never broken one before, and per our lease we knew we had to give a 60 day notice and had to pay a paperwork fee, but there was all this info in it about being able to find a subletter/replacement renter as long as it met their rental criteria. Then when we spoke to management today they told us they don't ever allow that and instead it's just a flat additional 2 month rental fee to break early. Aka we owe 4 months rent if we send in our notice tomorrow. Ugh. Still trying to figure out if we have a leg to stand on to get around paying the entirety of that.

Does the lease you signed allow you to try to also hunt for someone to replace your lease? Or at the very least are you able to put up some online postings advertising it and potentially just screen through and send on any viable candidates to your landlord as replacement options? In case the one he mentioned falls through. You should also look through the lease and check the wording carefully for fees and things if you break it early in case you do get trapped into it. I'd say it's a good thing you at least have a written text from him verifying he was okay with you breaking the lease.

 

[Minnerbelle]

In reference to the Phd who claimed allergies to glucose...in my opinion, there is such a fine line between genius and madness. The traits that make someone so fine tuned that they make great contributions can also seem to turn against them, and push over into the "darker side of the mind".

oh no... no no no. There was no genius here at all. Only madness. Like so incapable that I was often asked to do her experiments in duplicate so that they could use my data when she predictably ****ed up...


PhD =/= smart.

Sure, there are plenty of smart people who become PhDs. But there are enough dufuses that get accepted to a program, putter around with minimal understanding of anything they’re doing for years in a lab that just wants them to gtfo, and somehow the committee decides to just let them pass and leave...

She was so bad that in a lab meeting when I was asking for troubleshooting suggestions for an experiment and all three faculty said, “just buy new reagents because I bet you have a bad batch” and this post doc got super pissed and was like, “why is it that when minnerbelle’s things don’t work you all assume it’s the reagent that’s the problem, but when mine don’t work, you assume it’s me and start questioning everything I do!?” Like so awkward... She lacked understanding of the most basic biology/physiology to the point where everyone facepalmed in unison every time she presented anything.

 

[vetmedhead]

when mine don’t work, you assume it’s me and start questioning everything I do!?”

I just about spit out my tea at this, it's so hilarious. Imagine being so obtuse

 

[Aprilthearab]

Speaking of obtuse people...

We've been dealing with this one lady at the hospital for a few weeks now. Very long story short, she has an apartment full of old aggressive unvaccinated intact tom cats (who also happen to be 100%, spitting-across-the-room, can't-even-open-the-carrier fractious in the hospital). Her first visit, she brought in one of them for an "ear infection" which actually was a gaping wound on the side of its face. She was beyond upset when we told her that her exam fee won't cover the necessary sedation to even look at the cat as well as treatment.

We convinced her to neuter at least the most aggressive tom to maybe, just maybe prevent a few future gaping wounds. After that discussion, the following week she called at least 30 times (not exaggerating, we started counting then lost track) to ask to be put on the surgery schedule, only to change her mind and hang up.

Once it was finally scheduled, during the surgery she called at least a dozen times asking ridiculous questions like:
"Will he be awake when you do the surgery?"
"I have some kittens right now. Their eyes aren't open yet. Can you spay and neuter them today too?
"I feel like he died. Did he die?"

Since the surgery was done a few days ago, she has called at least another 50 times (again, not exaggerating) to ask things like:
"Did you put a needle in his eye?"
"Should I be washing his incision?"
"How long does he have to live?"
She also leaves multiple voice messages every night while we're closed saying things like "He's under the kitchen table. I crawled under to check on him but then I hit my head. He's doing good. Call me back in the morning."

I mean, I really can't make this stuff up! She has said all these things and then some. Something is clearly mentally wrong with her. I want to feel bad for her but it's impossible when it consumes so much of all of our time. We take turns (all the receptionists, techs, and doctors) picking up her calls because the receptionists are driven crazy trying to deal with her.

 

[killerleaf]

@Minnerbelle O my! My only previous interactions with a PhD's are two physicians, one "geek" and one nurse educator. All four were really close at times to that line...but they were wicked smart. I never knew you could be dumb and have a PhD!

 

[alissa14]

So... after 5 weeks of patiently waiting for my old navy purchase that was supposed to only take a week to ship, I open it to find my dumb ass ordered 2 of the same shorts and the shirt I was excited to get was poorly designed. Can someone please tell me why you would design a shirt like this without some sort of sheer layer behind the crochet on the front??? Why? I seriously don’t understand. Yes, I can wear the shirt with a camisole underneath, but that completely defeats the purpose of wearing a shirt for summer and the extra layer makes it hot! The same goes for white shirts. The white shirt I ordered from kohl’s is sheer enough you can see every color bra through it, including white. Why do they make white shirts that aren’t opaque enough to have some degree of modesty? I digress

Spoiler: This shirt upsets me

 

[WildZoo]

So... after 5 weeks of patiently waiting for my old navy purchase that was supposed to only take a week to ship, I open it to find my dumb ass ordered 2 of the same shorts and the shirt I was excited to get was poorly designed. Can someone please tell me why you would design a shirt like this without some sort of sheer layer behind the crochet on the front??? Why? I seriously don’t understand. Yes, I can wear the shirt with a camisole underneath, but that completely defeats the purpose of wearing a shirt for summer and the extra layer makes it hot! The same goes for white shirts. The white shirt I ordered from kohl’s is sheer enough you can see every color bra through it, including white. Why do they make white shirts that aren’t opaque enough to have some degree of modesty? I digress

Spoiler: This shirt upsets me

View attachment 314864

Lol depending on the size of those holes I'd probably still wear it as long as it wasn't in a professional setting
Also, a bra as close to your skin tone as possible often works better for sheer-ish white shirts than a white bra! Depending on how sheer it is of course

 

[capri1722]

Also, a bra as close to your skin tone as possible often works better for sheer-ish white shirts than a white bra! Depending on how sheer it is of course

Yes omg
It took me so long to learn this, like to the point I wore a white cami with every white shirt, even thicker t-shirts. In southern New Mexico. I was very sweaty.

 

[alissa14]

Lol depending on the size of those holes I'd probably still wear it as long as it wasn't in a professional setting
Also, a bra as close to your skin tone as possible often works better for sheer-ish white shirts than a white bra! Depending on how sheer it is of course

The holes are pretty small but they're on the entire front of the shirt so idk... I get that some shirts are meant to be sheer but the website didn't seem to indicate that so...

I thought about wearing it to a small family gathering hosted by my boyfriend's family over the weekend... but then I saw the holes and didn't want to offend his old Italian grandma who once pulled my skirt down a little because she thought it was too short... lol.. It wasn't that short as long as I was standing and not bent over lol.

as for the bra... yeah.. I need more skin tone ones but they don't match as well or as cute when you have fun colored underwear. Also most of my bras are dark in general because I tend to spill food on myself. I avoid light clothing in general so buying this shirt was kind of "big" but then it was a disappointment.

I just hate that you can spend money on clothing for it to be poorly designed in the end. I just want to know what executive or designer approved this. How can you sleep at night knowing you created a crappy product?

 

[Aprilthearab]

Call I picked up today: "Hi, I'd like to switch to you guys as my primary vet. I've been going to x vet and I don't like it because they're too expensive. The last straw was when they told me to drug my dog for a nail trim!!"

.........

She's gonna be running when she realizes we are more expensive than x vet and we regularly recommend gabatraz for anxious and aggressive dogs.

And as an add-on: she asked to be scheduled "absolutely any day or time" so I went to put her on next week's schedule to keep this week's sick appointments open and her dog is not sick nor due for anything at all. Her response: "Are you saying you do not have any appointments open for this week??"

 

[alissa14]

Call I picked up today: "Hi, I'd like to switch to you guys as my primary vet. I've been going to x vet and I don't like it because they're too expensive. The last straw was when they told me to drug my dog for a nail trim!!"

.........

She's gonna be running when she realizes we are more expensive than x vet and we regularly recommend gabatraz for anxious and aggressive dogs.

And as an add-on: she asked to be scheduled "absolutely any day or time" so I went to put her on next week's schedule to keep this week's sick appointments open and her dog is not sick nor due for anything at all. Her response: "Are you saying you do not have any appointments open for this week??"

We received a bad review online today because they were told that due to the pandemic and us barely handling the case volume of our current clients, we are not accepting new clients at this time. We recommended ER. Apparently this was “Rude.” We also discovered that he left several bad reviews for other clinics in the area because they wouldn’t take him as a new client for his sick cat...

 

[WildZoo]

It's almost like maybe you should establish veterinary care for your pet before it becomes ill

 

[WildZoo]

Call I picked up today: "Hi, I'd like to switch to you guys as my primary vet. I've been going to x vet and I don't like it because they're too expensive. The last straw was when they told me to drug my dog for a nail trim!!"

.........

She's gonna be running when she realizes we are more expensive than x vet and we regularly recommend gabatraz for anxious and aggressive dogs.

And as an add-on: she asked to be scheduled "absolutely any day or time" so I went to put her on next week's schedule to keep this week's sick appointments open and her dog is not sick nor due for anything at all. Her response: "Are you saying you do not have any appointments open for this week??"

What was she trying to schedule for if the dog isn't sick or due for anything? Just the nail trim?

 

[alissa14]

This is a rather light hearted rant and I want to hear if anyone here has a similar situation and can share in my frustration.

My mom and aunt have a bad habit of binge watching in the evenings. I kid you not, they spend maybe 2-4 hours each evening watching TV and more on the weekends. The problem is if I find a show we all like, they will watch without me! I don’t always have time to sit and watch because work, school, etc.

To date, they have watched or completed 8 different series (not seasons, entire series) without me. It gets so bad that sometimes I feel like I have to watch a season ahead and get my binge on so it gives me a few days to let them catch up. I also feel as if I cannot be in my kitchen or living room during this time or else I’ll be exposed to spoilers (which has happened on accident when I was trying to get a snack or make dinner)

tl;dr: my mom and aunt have a huge binge watching problem and if we start a new show together, 9/10 they will leave me in the dust.

anyways: would love to hear from anyone with a similar issue

 

[alissa14]

It's almost like maybe you should establish veterinary care for your pet before it becomes ill

Most these people have established vets... they just aren’t happy that their vet also can’t see them right that second for their diarrhea/vomiting dog or whatever. For one clinic in particular we have had people try to come to us because the wait times are so long: one month or more right now due to the pandemic. Also people are reluctant to go to ER because expensive

 

[Aprilthearab]

What was she trying to schedule for if the dog isn't sick or due for anything? Just the nail trim?

She just wanted to establish herself with us (nothing wrong with that) and also needed prevention dispensed, but the dog wasn't due for more prevention for a few weeks so waiting would have been fine too. She just didn't want to wait.

Another phone call I took today: "Hi, I need to schedule my dog's grade 4 dental. He also has a tooth root abscess so he needs to be done ASAP. Can you put me on the soonest Monday? Mondays work best for me." I so desperately wanted to respond "Sure. The soonest Monday with availability for a grade 4 dental will be in late September." Instead I put her on hold to talk to my doctor who then arranged to come in on her day off to do the dental next week. It's crazy what accommodations she will make for people. She regularly comes in on Sundays (closed on Sundays) to see emergencies so they don't need to go to ER.

 

[ajs513]

She just wanted to establish herself with us (nothing wrong with that) and also needed prevention dispensed, but the dog wasn't due for more prevention for a few weeks so waiting would have been fine too. She just didn't want to wait.

Another phone call I took today: "Hi, I need to schedule my dog's grade 4 dental. He also has a tooth root abscess so he needs to be done ASAP. Can you put me on the soonest Monday? Mondays work best for me." I so desperately wanted to respond "Sure. The soonest Monday with availability for a grade 4 dental will be in late September." Instead I put her on hold to talk to my doctor who then arranged to come in on her day off to do the dental next week. It's crazy what accommodations she will make for people. She regularly comes in on Sundays (closed on Sundays) to see emergencies so they don't need to go to ER.

It’s times like that that you need to slip in a bit of petty. “Thanks for holding. I just spoke with Dr. Saint and she can do it on her usual day off, which is next Monday.” Nothing about it is in their face or rude, and you slyly let them know that she would have had a day off but she made a massive sacrifice to help their pet.

 

[Aprilthearab]

It’s times like that that you need to slip in a bit of petty. “Thanks for holding. I just spoke with Dr. Saint and she can do it on her usual day off, which is next Monday.” Nothing about it is in their face or rude, and you slyly let them know that she would have had a day off but she made a massive sacrifice to help their pet.

Usually in these situations she picks up the person on hold herself because she likes making personal connections with her clients. I think this works just as well, maybe better, than us petty talking them since the people who are in these situations and talk to her one on one are usually the same ones who bring us fruit arrangements, donuts, pizza, and other goodies as a thank you to all of us.

 

[Caiter92]

This is a rather light hearted rant and I want to hear if anyone here has a similar situation and can share in my frustration.

My mom and aunt have a bad habit of binge watching in the evenings. I kid you not, they spend maybe 2-4 hours each evening watching TV and more on the weekend

Wait are you not suppose to do this

 

[alissa14]

Wait are you not suppose to do this

idk... it makes me feel a little sad and left out sometimes. Especially if it's a show I suggested because I was interested in it only to find out that somehow days later, they're a week and a half ahead of me. I feel like the rate at which they consume content is astounding. It's especially bad right now because all of the prime time shows aren't airing new stuff so they're always looking for something new on Netflix. Otherwise they have a weekly schedule: Monday is Manifest or The Good Doctor Tuesday: This Is Us and New Amsterdam Wednesday: Chicago Wednesdays (Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD) Thursday: Law and Order SVU, Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy Friday: I don't think there's anything. They usually reserve this day to catch up on shows they may have missed because they decided to go to bed early that night or whatever. Weekends are for binge-watching. They truly are a phenomenon to observe lol

 

[Caiter92]

idk... it makes me feel a little sad and left out sometimes. Especially if it's a show I suggested because I was interested in it only to find out that somehow days later, they're a week and a half ahead of me. I feel like the rate at which they consume content is astounding. It's especially bad right now because all of the prime time shows aren't airing new stuff so they're always looking for something new on Netflix. Otherwise they have a weekly schedule: Monday is Manifest or The Good Doctor Tuesday: This Is Us and New Amsterdam Wednesday: Chicago Wednesdays (Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD) Thursday: Law and Order SVU, Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy Friday: I don't think there's anything. They usually reserve this day to catch up on shows they may have missed because they decided to go to bed early that night or whatever. Weekends are for binge-watching. They truly are a phenomenon to observe lol

Oh I literally was just making a joke about the binging cause on a lot of days after work, all I have energy for is curling up on the couch with my cats lol

That’s rude and annoying they keep doing that with shows you all planned to watch together, and I really don’t have any advice for it. A bf did that before and then would complain we had nothing to watch together, so I feel you

 

[ajs513]

Usually in these situations she picks up the person on hold herself because she likes making personal connections with her clients. I think this works just as well, maybe better, than us petty talking them since the people who are in these situations and talk to her one on one are usually the same ones who bring us fruit arrangements, donuts, pizza, and other goodies as a thank you to all of us.

I’m sort of conflicted, because while that can be true, the opposite also happens and is far worse. You end up with belligerent clients who get mad when you can’t accommodate them. “But last time you were able to get me in. I don’t understand why you can’t do it this time. Suzie-Q needs her dental done and it needs to be done within the week! I’m telling all of my friends how awful you are!”

Granted, I’ve become a super cynical person and my zeal for life has been snuffed out. I tend to carry bad client experiences with me for a long time, whereas something like a nice gift basket will make me happy for a couple days. But that’s personal preference.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I’m sort of conflicted, because while that can be true, the opposite also happens and is far worse. You end up with belligerent clients who get mad when you can’t accommodate them. “But last time you were able to get me in. I don’t understand why you can’t do it this time. Suzie-Q needs her dental done and it needs to be done within the week! I’m telling all of my friends how awful you are!”

Granted, I’ve become a super cynical person and my zeal for life has been snuffed out. I tend to carry bad client experiences with me for a long time, whereas something like a nice gift basket will make me happy for a couple days. But that’s personal preference.

Also, in support of my staff, I am careful not to be the “good, nice doctor” who makes exceptions for clients just because they spoke to me. That really undermines my staff’s work and creates a culture where clients don’t respect what staff tells them, and also creates issues for me because clients learn that they should just put their foot down every time staff tells them what they don’t want to hear and he all like, “I need to talk to the doctor!” about **** that a doctor doesn’t need to talk to them about. If I give in, they also tell allll their friends, “oh if you get the stupid receptionist, just say that you need to talk to dr. Minnerbelle, she’ll give you what you want! She’s the best!” And post that **** on social media and Review sites. Like oh ****, no thank you.

My staff knows when there are cases that may need exceptions to the rule, and they come to me with those and we discuss together if we should make those exceptions. If I have a patient/client that actually is a special case where something that needs to be done differently, I put it as an alert in the system so everyone is aware. Or I tell those particular clients to just email/call specifically to speak to me, and I will handle the scheduling. But if my staff applies a standard scheduling rule for a pet and the client is unhappy, I support my staff’s decision.

 

[genny]

Current mood:

(putting out fires, falling off the counter)

 

[Aprilthearab]

@ajs513 and @Minnerbelle, I completely agree. It works out nicely for a lot of clients but we do have a handful of very entitled people and I wish my vet wouldn't have ever let them get that far. I can't remember if I posted about it here or not already, but one time we had a lady flip out when her pills weren't quartered for her because my vet always quarters them for her. We said we would take them back in and quarter them and bring them back out in five minutes and she told us that was a pure waste of her time, a "horrible inconvenience," and that we should be ashamed of ourselves for not doing it the first time. She got a ~nicely worded~ email from our vet who finally cracked, telling her we would be glad to send her records elsewhere if she's not happy with our above-and-beyond service in a pandemic.


On a separate rant that also makes up for my head vet's pushover attitude -
Today, I was the only tech doing all doctor and tech appointments. Very short-staffed. At one point while I had a dog on a leash in one hand and the receptionists were both busy, I had to pick up a call while squishing the leash in my elbow, using one hand on the phone and the other writing notes for my tech appointment. The dog was a boisterous adolescent German shepherd who pulled so hard that the leash slipped out of my elbow so I turned to grab it just in time and he hit the end of the leash a bit dramatically as I caught it but at least he wasn't running free through the hospital. The dog just spun around and kept flinging himself all over the place with his excessive energy. I pulled the leash handle over my arm so it wouldn't slip again and resumed my call with the dog trying again and again to yank the leash, but I had to ignore him to keep on writing with one hand and holding the phone with the other.

My vet came to talk to me a few minutes later and said: "[Name of receptionist who doesn't like me] said that you were being really rough with that dog you were just holding and she saw him almost fall over because you pulled on his leash too hard." I explained that he just happened to hit the end of the leash pretty hard because it slipped and then I caught it, not because I was pulling on him or anything. She said back "Yeah, I don't have any doubt about that. She's a great receptionist but I take everything she says with a grain of salt. Just wanted to let you know how she felt."

I would absolutely encourage a complaint if someone saw incidents of someone being rough with an animal or saw an incident of deliberate harm, but for one incident she only partially saw around the corner, with absolutely no malicious intent and no harm done, and she didn't even ask me about? That was kind of scummy. I already know she doesn't like me (just one of those times I have to accept not everyone is going to like everyone, there's not always a reason and that's okay) so I know she just took the opportunity to complain. Oh well, at least my vet was on my side and that makes me feel a bit better about the situation. It was the first time anyone has complained about me and I took it a bit personally.

 

[MOOSEygoosey]

Okay, rant time

So last night for the first time in my career, an angry client ****ing made me cry. I answered the phone and a man said that he had lost 2 pets in 2 weeks, a 9yo dog and a 2yo dog, the 9yo was already cremated but he wanted to "donate" the 2yo to us for a "teaching autopsy" so he can find out what happened. I told him we can't do a donation but he can submit his dog for necropsy. He immediately said, "Are you ****ing kidding me?! You do obviously don't ****ing love animals!! You're all the ****ing same and it's all about the ****ing money!! You're all dinguses and you're going to ****ing burn in hell all of you!! So you don't ****ing care about animals at all?? You don't want to know what's killing all of my ****ing pets?! What if it kills other peoples' pets?! You're such ****ing dinguses!!" This went on for about 30 seconds before I said, "Sir, I'm so sorry..." immediately cut off "YOU'RE NOT ****ING SORRY!!", "Sir, I cannot imagine the pain you are in from losing your 2 dogs in 2 weeks but yelling at me and cursing at me isn't going to fix your problem or bring them back. A donation necropsy is for when a patient comes into the hospital and has either a very rare condition or is being killed by something we've never seen before. In addition, the necropsy service has to actually approve of it as a donation so we don't just get to pick and choose what we send to them. I'm sorry but it doesn't apply in this case. How big was your dog so I can find out how much it will cost?" He gave me the dog's weight, his name, and his phone number, and I told him I would call him back. I needed a minute after that. A big reason this call upset me so much was because we had just finished (literally 30 seconds before the phone call) a 3yo cat who was obviously blocked and had been brought in for a euthanasia. We offered to unblock the cat but the owner said that he had been like this for over 48 hours and literally, I quote "I just thought he'd die. He was just kinda laying there and when I woke up this morning he was just still alive. I feel like such a horrible person." My doctor basically said, yeah, YOU ARE! Then she wanted his body back to bury him and honestly if I had taken that body out to her I would have ****ing smacked her. Then the phone call came. I called the number back and the wife answered and she was soooooo much nicer! I told her it would be $105 if brought in directly then...another swing. She said they're on long island..."how much of a drive would it be?"...are you ****ing KIDDING ME?! No way in ****ing hell are y'all going to make this trip to Ithaca (5.5 -6 hrs at 7pm at night), so I got ****ing screamed at for nothing!!!! She said they'd contacted their local emergency hospital who said it would by $1500 to submit it for necropsy at cornell...I honestly think they misheard and it would be $150 because...stuff. I told them to call other emergency hospitals and shop around. But that was definitely a ****ing hard moment.

/endrant

 

[killerleaf]

@MOOSEygoosey aww that just sucks. virtual hugs...

 

[kaydubs]

Sorry, Moose. We can always try to excuse the behavior with grief, etc but like, people don’t have to be jerks. That’s a choice.

Sending you love and mad kudos for being patient.

 

[DVMDream]

Okay, rant time

So last night for the first time in my career, an angry client ****ing made me cry. I answered the phone and a man said that he had lost 2 pets in 2 weeks, a 9yo dog and a 2yo dog, the 9yo was already cremated but he wanted to "donate" the 2yo to us for a "teaching autopsy" so he can find out what happened. I told him we can't do a donation but he can submit his dog for necropsy. He immediately said, "Are you ****ing kidding me?! You do obviously don't ****ing love animals!! You're all the ****ing same and it's all about the ****ing money!! You're all dinguses and you're going to ****ing burn in hell all of you!! So you don't ****ing care about animals at all?? You don't want to know what's killing all of my ****ing pets?! What if it kills other peoples' pets?! You're such ****ing dinguses!!" This went on for about 30 seconds before I said, "Sir, I'm so sorry..." immediately cut off "YOU'RE NOT ****ING SORRY!!", "Sir, I cannot imagine the pain you are in from losing your 2 dogs in 2 weeks but yelling at me and cursing at me isn't going to fix your problem or bring them back. A donation necropsy is for when a patient comes into the hospital and has either a very rare condition or is being killed by something we've never seen before. In addition, the necropsy service has to actually approve of it as a donation so we don't just get to pick and choose what we send to them. I'm sorry but it doesn't apply in this case. How big was your dog so I can find out how much it will cost?" He gave me the dog's weight, his name, and his phone number, and I told him I would call him back. I needed a minute after that. A big reason this call upset me so much was because we had just finished (literally 30 seconds before the phone call) a 3yo cat who was obviously blocked and had been brought in for a euthanasia. We offered to unblock the cat but the owner said that he had been like this for over 48 hours and literally, I quote "I just thought he'd die. He was just kinda laying there and when I woke up this morning he was just still alive. I feel like such a horrible person." My doctor basically said, yeah, YOU ARE! Then she wanted his body back to bury him and honestly if I had taken that body out to her I would have ****ing smacked her. Then the phone call came. I called the number back and the wife answered and she was soooooo much nicer! I told her it would be $105 if brought in directly then...another swing. She said they're on long island..."how much of a drive would it be?"...are you ****ing KIDDING ME?! No way in ****ing hell are y'all going to make this trip to Ithaca (5.5 -6 hrs at 7pm at night), so I got ****ing screamed at for nothing!!!! She said they'd contacted their local emergency hospital who said it would by $1500 to submit it for necropsy at cornell...I honestly think they misheard and it would be $150 because...stuff. I told them to call other emergency hospitals and shop around. But that was definitely a ****ing hard moment.

/endrant

You can hang up on abusive people. I will over talk them to say "stop with the profanity or I'll hang up, that we do not and will not tolerate abuse from anyone".... if they continue, I hang up. You're not bound to help anyone that calls especially abusive people. Now, you might not be able to do this at your current work, though I'd ask a supervisor if you can, any supervisor would be dumb as hell to not back you up on that...1 warning then disconnect.

As a vet, hang up on them when they act like that, I always do.

 

[Caiter92]

I'm sorry @MOOSEygoosey some people just suck no matter what is going on in their lives. This person sounds like they were just trying to use their dogs death to guilt you, and would have been an dingus no matter what.

 

[LetItSnow]

You can hang up on abusive people. I will over talk them to say "stop with the profanity or I'll hang up, that we do not and will not tolerate abuse from anyone".... if they continue, I hang up. You're not bound to help anyone that calls especially abusive people. Now, you might not be able to do this at your current work, though I'd ask a supervisor if you can, any supervisor would be dumb as hell to not back you up on that...1 warning then disconnect.

As a vet, hang up on them when they act like that, I always do.

Learn to do this. And learn to not wait very long in the abuse process. The <second> someone starts getting angry with me, swears at me, offers even a hint of a threat, etc., I clarify for them that the conversation will be professional, that they cannot swear at me or my staff, that they can't abuse me or my staff, or I will hang up and they can go elsewhere for service. Set boundaries for them, and if they can't act within the boundaries, exit the conversation. No need to get in a shouting match - just tell them what the boundaries are and if they won't operate within those boundaries, leave.

Some docs are even more aggressive at our hospital. I transferred a neuro case to our other referral center hospital a few weeks ago because the neurologist was available there the next day and not at my hospital. The owner got down there, went bat**** crazy upon arrival, started screaming at people on the phone. They didn't even give her the "shape up or else" talk - they just called the cops and told her to leave.

You do not need to take abuse. You are not a punching bag. You are not there to help everyone regardless of how they treat you.

If your employer won't back you up on this, you need a new employer because that is a 100% crystal clear indication that your employer values any individual client more than you, which is a good reason to not work for that employer.

 

[MOOSEygoosey]

Thank you all so much for your support! I know that I probably should have hung up on him sooner but it's nice to know that that's a reasonable response. My supervisor is always supportive of not taking abuse, I think I was honestly in shock at how quickly this guy flipped and it took me about 30 seconds to process what was happening. I'm so glad it's over and now I have more techniques and skills to implement the next time it happens. I just wish we were able to express how it makes us feel to the client because for some it won't matter but I think for others it would give them a change of perspective. It's not our problem to fix people but I just wish there was a bit more empathy in the world. Thank you all again so much!!! It's appreciated more than you know

 

[Aprilthearab]

One of my least favorite clients came in today!

Demanded emergency appointment for her dog's "larger than normal" abdomen (he's obese). We fit her in during already double booked appointments. Called in ten minutes after her appointment began to "check out and leave" (doctor hadn't even seen the dog yet), complained that we were taking too long. It was actually a lipoma that we had already documented in the pet's history but owner forgot about until he was groomed today and made it more visible. Insisted on radiographs for said lipoma. Got upset when the vet didn't prescribe her Chinese herbs to make it go away. Complained about the price. Got visibly and verbally upset when the next employee who left the building wasn't the one bringing her dog out. When I brought her dog out, she complained that her dog is "so high maintenance" and "so expensive" even though she was the one who demanded unnecessary diagnostics/treatment.

Last time I talked to her she said: "When this dog dies, I'm never getting another one. I'm getting a goldfish. When that dies, I'm flushing it down the toilet and getting another one. And when that dies, I'm flushing it down the toilet too and getting another one." I told her "That sounds like a good idea, you should do that. Have a good day!"

If she just came in occasionally, it would be fine, but she comes in just about every week! She should know the drill by now but she just gets more impatient and demanding with every visit.

End petty rant. This is more meant to be humorous than anything. I mean, what else can you do except laugh at stupid stuff like this if you don't want to be miserable every day? Obviously this is nothing compared to the horrible things some other people have to deal with.
Hang in there @MOOSEygoosey, I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you!

 

[MOOSEygoosey]

One of my least favorite clients came in today!

Demanded emergency appointment for her dog's "larger than normal" abdomen (he's obese). We fit her in during already double booked appointments. Called in ten minutes after her appointment began to "check out and leave" (doctor hadn't even seen the dog yet), complained that we were taking too long. It was actually a lipoma that we had already documented in the pet's history but owner forgot about until he was groomed today and made it more visible. Insisted on radiographs for said lipoma. Got upset when the vet didn't prescribe her Chinese herbs to make it go away. Complained about the price. Got visibly and verbally upset when the next employee who left the building wasn't the one bringing her dog out. When I brought her dog out, she complained that her dog is "so high maintenance" and "so expensive" even though she was the one who demanded unnecessary diagnostics/treatment.

Last time I talked to her she said: "When this dog dies, I'm never getting another one. I'm getting a goldfish. When that dies, I'm flushing it down the toilet and getting another one. And when that dies, I'm flushing it down the toilet too and getting another one." I told her "That sounds like a good idea, you should do that. Have a good day!"

If she just came in occasionally, it would be fine, but she comes in just about every week! She should know the drill by now but she just gets more impatient and demanding with every visit.

End petty rant. This is more meant to be humorous than anything. I mean, what else can you do except laugh at stupid stuff like this if you don't want to be miserable every day? Obviously this is nothing compared to the horrible things some other people have to deal with.
Hang in there @MOOSEygoosey, I'm so sorry to hear that happened to you!

Thanks @Aprilthearab !! I'm sorry this client is such a frequent flyer! At least you get some fun stories Honestly we should all write a book about interactions with clients, it would be a real page-turner!

 

[battie]

I hope you feel better, @Elkhart!

 

[genny]

Not looking forward to the NP swab at all

I have an overactive gag reflex, and I didn't think the swab was that bad. It kind of smelled funny and was mildly uncomfortable, and then it was over. I thought it was going to be a lot worse than it was.

 

[finnickthedog]

This happened over a year ago so I shouldn't even care and it's a bit petty at this point, but I'm sitting here in primary care zoom rounds being salty as I realize my cat never actually needed a second RCP vaccine.

Which I'd be less annoyed about if it had just been the vaccine, but he had a reaction to the first one so the second one was also pre-med plus I had to bring him back for fluids, NSAIDs, exam because he reacted again plus I didn't have a vehicle at the time so I had to pay for rides to and from the clinic so... it's just annoying to realize he didn't even need that. If only I had known this at the time. Would've just declined it.

 

[WildZoo]

This happened over a year ago so I shouldn't even care and it's a bit petty at this point, but I'm sitting here in primary care zoom rounds being salty as I realize my cat never actually needed a second RCP vaccine.

Which I'd be less annoyed about if it had just been the vaccine, but he had a reaction to the first one so the second one was also pre-med plus I had to bring him back for fluids, NSAIDs, exam because he reacted again plus I didn't have a vehicle at the time so I had to pay for rides to and from the clinic so... it's just annoying to realize he didn't even need that. If only I had known this at the time. Would've just declined it.

Do you mean second as in a 3-4 week booster? Was the initial his first one ever? Or had there just been a lapse?

Just curious, that sucks he had a reaction despite pre-medding :/

 

[finnickthedog]

Do you mean second as in a 3-4 week booster? Was the initial his first one ever? Or had there just been a lapse?

Just curious, that sucks he had a reaction despite pre-medding :/

Yeah, second as in a 3-4 week booster. But I now know he didn't actually need one because he was an adult cat and one vaccine should have been sufficient for a year. Which like... sure, we probably would have just had the same thing happen when/if I brought him back in a year but at least I would have had a vehicle and not been dropping so much money at one time to treat his reactions.

It does suck. He spikes like a 105 fever, gets really lethargic, and won't eat. The pre-med didn't help at all unfortunately but at least since I was watching for a reaction we got to treating it sooner the second time around. At any rate, no more RCP vaccines for the kitty.

 

[WildZoo]

Yeah, second as in a 3-4 week booster. But I now know he didn't actually need one because he was an adult cat and one vaccine should have been sufficient for a year. Which like... sure, we probably would have just had the same thing happen when/if I brought him back in a year but at least I would have had a vehicle and not been dropping so much money at one time to treat his reactions.

It does suck. He spikes like a 105 fever, gets really lethargic, and won't eat. The pre-med didn't help at all unfortunately but at least since I was watching for a reaction we got to treating it sooner the second time around. At any rate, no more RCP vaccines for the kitty.

Ah. I guess if it's any consolation, guidelines may have changed within that time? We were (and still are) recommending a 3-4 week booster for adults if their previous vaccination history is unknown. If that has changed it must have been fairly recent.

Really sorry that happened though, poor kitty

 

[that redhead]

@Elkhart glad it was negative, sorry you still don’t feel well. I didn’t enjoy my two tests but poor hubs sneezed ferociously, repeatedly after his AND had a nosebleed. Sheesh.