A client's first visit with a new vet is sort of like a first date. Both parties try to make a good impression (mostly) while trying to figure out the other's interests and philosophies (regarding pet care) - and of course, there's a bill at the end.
In some cases though, somewhere in between the bread and the appetizer, the conversation slowly but surely turns from pleasant banter to a one-sided, deeply embittered bashing of "the ex" - how he/she was a crazy pyschopathic jealous angry horrible scum of the earth freak of nature. Etc etc. You attempt to gently steer the conversation towards more progressive, at-hand topics, but your dinner partner stands his/her ground. After the third glass of wine, he/she is throughly convinced that "the ex" was the devil incarnate - but you, YOU are AMAZING. You're nothing like the ex, they say, you are PERFECT.
Then you spend the next two weeks pretending to have an especially contagious strain of Ebola.
Maybe that's a bit extreme, but that's what I'm reminded of whenever the topic turns from the findings of a pet's exam to how horrible the Last Vet was. Whether it's a perceived improper diagnosis, getting ripped off, or just general mistreatement, the client obviously holds a deep resentment against their previous vet, and is intent on revealing every last gory detail - more than just "I left Dr. X because of XYZ. The End". The problem is, sometimes the complaint is 100% true and fair, but it would still be incredibly unprofessional for us to respond with the agreement the client is hoping to hear, unless there's a previous medical history that reveals evident malpractice. We don't know the vet or their side of the story, for better or for worse. In addition, it makes my spidey sense tingle - if we are this client's third vet this year, how long before we "mistreat" them and send them off to Vet #4 with tales of woe about how evil we are?
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