Everytime I go by my vet office I drop her fav lemon cream cake, or a bottle of raspberry wine for her husband, or small jewerly kits for her daughters.

All that since I brought her once a small, pitiful, scrap of fur of a kitten I found on my lunch break and that she spent several hours to save him and when I asked how much, she just smiled and old me that her fee would be to have me find a good home for him.

There I realised that she did understood and cared and respected me as much as I respected her. Now, I like to think, when I go to see her, that we are not only on a customer/ provider scheme, but also friends.

(sorry for the bad english, I french and somehow rusty in that domain).

Mmmmm...skeins of home-spun yarn. Now that's a product I would LOVE to have someone offer me. 

I am a dog trainer and I barter for services. I would do way more of it too. I wish there was a barter co-op of some kind! Best deal so far was skeins of hand spun yarn.

I've digg this story, I learn lots of new stuff here ! regard

It's a nice idea... but until the federal government starts acceptng loan payments in jam, or I can pass that bikini wax (yikes!) on to my apartment complex in lieu of rent, I don't think most vets actually would do this for any but the best of clients. The problem is exactly what you hit on in your post - most of this is not stuff you need or ould have otherwise been purchasing. I'd think about bartering services (if I was actually in a practice that facilitated this, of course, which I'm not anyways so it's a moot point) if it was in exchange for something I would otherwise have been paying for that at least approached the fair value for the visit, but it's a hard thing to quantify and even then you can't let word get around the community too much. No matter if it's something you need or not, you still can't pay a mortgage or your student loans or even buy drugs using pies and gift certificates.

Man, if the IRS knew what I currently barter for, they wouldnt be upset.  Now the work I do off the books for cash.  Oh my, that might be something to concern themselves with.

I hope no one from the IRS is reading this blog... hate to tell y'all but the "fair market value" of anything you receive is considered income.

A direct quote from IRS.gov - "If you conduct any direct barter - barter for another's products or services - you will have to report the fair market value of the products or services you received on your tax return."

When I was a kid we had a vet who made house calls and it was cute because we had a parakeet that would sit on his head while he was there and he didn't mind it at all.  Those were the days.

Yes.. Doctors still make house calls.. Even in NY.. We also get presents.. Would gladly accept home made jam.. despite learning how to make it, this summer... Don't think I'm going to find anyone making it here..

I have a patient coming to my mom's tomorrow to take apart her counters, and prep the area for the granite guy, and he's putting up wall tile..

If anyone knows where I can look for a behaviorist.. I have a Socrates that is going to get drop kicked.. and it's not just me thinking this way.. Think he has a couple of issues.. 1) separation anxiety 2) attacking other dogs, and people's feet..  I believe that he's afraid of the other dogs, and the people, and he's letting everybody know that he's a big guy, and not afraid.. He was the runt of the litter.. But I need HELP!!!!

Thanks Joe, That makes me feel warm & fuzzy!

How can clinics barter or exchange, with salaries to pay and expenses?

I can understand waiving the portion of the fee the doctor earns, but isn't that realistically about it?

I worked for one practice where the owner would sometimes get homemade corn likker in exchange for anabolic steroids and antibiotics for the guy's chickens that were being raised for cock fighting.

And that is not even close to some of the other gifts I received that were weird and wacky.

Joe

tripawds: Next time I'm in Colorado I'll have to make a stop––in memory of Jerry, of course, but also because I can't resist the lure of freshly home-baked bread. Too bad you didn't ask before last November when I was in Denver.

Hey Dr. K, Not only did our vet make house calls in the 70's and 80's (rural area), so did our family doctor, both of whom I remember to this day with great fondness as an important part of our lives. Keep up the good work. Suzanne

> I make house calls.

Cool! Don't suppose Colorado is within range? Rene makes some wonderful French bread. ;-)

10 years ago i would have said not a chance... Now? bartering is a great idea. I do it with my vet! I do her web design and other design stuff and we go "time for time" her expertise to mine. Out of pocket i pay for. So does she on my end. It works great here. But, always something to be wary of. And always something to get in writing. And get your upfront hourly cost vs. theirs. Before they inflate it. :) And don't be afraid to be specific. As long as out of pocket costs don't get added bartering is great. Tried it one time with a fence company who just plain ole forgot they gave me an estimate the year before. when it came time to barter? all of a sudden the fencing cost on their time, tripled. No thanks!

Patti,

We took our new Westie puppy to her first vet visit Tuesday.  It was our first experience with him.  For a number of reasons I was very surprised at the visit.

He took about 45 minutes answering our questions and giving us advice on the things important to Abby.  She actually went to sleep for about 20 minutes while on the table.

Between the girl at the front counter and the lady that did some "vitals", not to mention the Doctor, I'm guessing she got about 100 kisses.  Of course if you could see my Abigail Samantha Kelley, you'd understand why!

It looks like we got a good urn!

Over the years, I’ve accepted home-made goodies, gift certificates to restaurants, hair cuts, car washes, waxing services, department store gift cards, a used TV, untold Starbucks freebies (don’t tell corporate), horseback riding lessons for my son, massages, facials, book store certificates, PR services, IT help, a gym membership, personal training...and plenty more I can’t think of right now.

Let's see:  free-range eggs, baked goods, jam, honey, home-brewed beer, computer expertise, administrative work, car washes, store credit at the farm co-op, pet-sitting, pet grooming.

I'm sure there's more.

Thanks for the entertaining memories.

Appreciate the information, but I think the more we limit the mention of bikini waxing on this forum, the better!!  I resist the use of a Band Aid because I can't handle such pain.

<GRIN>

My vet has a plastic container on his counter that is used for donations.  The donations are used towards clients that cannot pay.  I always try to drop a 20 or so when I go in.

Stefani: Never ask the staff. Always ask the human who has the power to make the decision and has to say yes or no to your face. I've never been able to say no to a house call or a payment plan as long as the human asked me personally. But then, I don't work for one of those big impersonal practices where a veterinarian can count on going home with a certain amount in her pocket at the end of the week.

Oh...and we don't have certified techs, either. Trade-offs, you know?

It's great that you barter, Dr. K.  I am pretty sure in my metro area, there are very few vets who would do this.  There are only a handful that I know of who make housecalls, and I can't even imagine what would happen if I approached the desk to pay and offered 10 hours of editing services in lieu of money!  Perhaps I will ask them but I really doubt it. It would have to go through so many levels of management approval, and the receptionists jaw would probably be on the floor (or rather the "client services coordinator.")

CareCredit is the only option I know of that is offered to clients here who can't pay.  I took out carecredit once to pay for an operation to fix a broken  leg on a little kitten I found crying under a car in a storm, and no, they didn't give me a deal on it even though they knew it wasn't my cat and I was doing this as a good samaritan. (Not my regular vet so I don't know what they would have done, but it was a specialized operation and there were few places to go for it)