I work as an Animal Therapist and I am facing exactly the same problem. Even worse sometimes, people call and try to get any kind of information, trying to keep me on the phone for hours! But - I have paying clients waiting for me and I believe they deserve my time.
The trouble is that I am caring for the animal, so what am I supposed to do? To ask to be paid for phone time?
I cannot wait for some suggestions here!

Dagmar
www.animalconnection.com.au

I think that vets should only have telephone conversations with regular clients but then for free. For many people, it is sometimes difficult to understand what the vet is trying to tell them in a personal conversation nevermind over the telephone. Hence, misunderstandings can easily arise
I presume I have a special relationship with my vet as not only do I have his professional cell phone number, but also his private one. I respect my vet and only phone during office hours or immediately before or after to make an appointment, except when an urgent situation develops.

Dr. Khuly makes excellent points. It's amazing the entitlements some people think they have coming. Vets deserve to have a life, just as the rest of us deserve one.

I, too, am one of those lucky clients to have unusual access to my vet. I've used the doctor's home number only once and it was to ask if I should go to the emergency room. Had it been in the middle of the night, I would have gone to the emergency room without calling.

It pains me to see some of the message boards on the web where people are describing vague symptoms and asking random people what's wrong with Fluffy or Fido and what can they do without taking the animal to a doctor.

It pains me when so many people ask MY opinion trying to avoid a clinic visit. Although I have extensive experience with various maladies with my own critters, I am not in the veterinary field and can only advise them to take Fluffy or Fido to the doctor.

It breaks my heart when I'm told that Fluffy has been vomiting for two days and they're going to wait a few more days to see if they get better on their own. My answer is always, "I'd be taking Fluffy to the emergency room (or vet) immediately. This sounds extremely serious."

Veterinary care, as with human medical care, requires physical exams and testing. Yes, it takes money to properly care for a pet. Not only that, clients need to listen to the doctor and follow instructions. Do these same people treat their children and pediatricians the same way?

So many people seem to think they should get something for nothing. I don't know how to solve this problem since it's always the critter that ends up suffering. I would support any guideline a vet or clinic put in place to alleviate this problem.

Ms. Facsimile owned a severely asthmatic kitten named Toner, and lets just say Ms. Facsimile had more questions than money. Toner had a chronic condition that required regular dose adjustments but the questions were not just about Toner. There were questions about other pets I never saw, etc. etc. This client was time consuming and expensive to the clinic. This is where the experiment began.

Because this client had a full page worth of questions at least once a week, I told her to write everything down on a full page in question format and fax me over the weekend. Every Monday morning, with enough coffee, I would hand write the answers to her questions and zap the fax back. After a while I actually looked forward to these faxes like I was a kid with a pen pal.

Why was the fax from Ms. Facsimile about Toner so much palatable than a phone call? For one, I was not put on the spot; I could research, read the medical record, and think. Furthermore, the telephone is a menacing beast looming around every corner of every vet hospital- my message board was always caked with callbacks in the morning.

Why use an inefficient paper wasting fax instead of email, you might ask? I use the fax for certain clients and found it refreshing- much better than email. Fax content was always more courteous than email and more important to the client- important enough for them to compose, sign, print, feed, dial, and wait. That's effort.

Many people don't realize how touch and go sedatives really are on animals. Not long ago I had to take in one of my boys to have a vaccine. Vlad gets VERY scared and anxious when I take him in. At the time I'd given him a xanax which his regular vet prescribed. His usual vet wasn't in and another vet wanted to give him a shot to sedate him. I said no way was I going to risk sedation just for a vaccine! I now give Vlad a small dose of prescribed valium and all is well. But I made sure to have him checked and in good health to be able to give him anything.

Some people are just unreasonable and think their problems are the only important ones. My vet will do a phone consult, but that's because she's been seeing my cats since they were babies and knows their health. I adore her and I always make sure I let her know how much I appreciate the wonderful care she gives my babies.

Sometimes I can't be with my cat(s) for an exam. I have to drop the cat at the vet before I go to work and pick him/her up at the end of the day. I always leave a detailed letter to the vet explaining why kitty is there today (these are never the routine shots and wellness visits) including symptoms and any other observations. Of course the doctor has a history on file. This way the vet doesn't have to call me for the rundown. After the exam, she calls me to discuss her findings and answer questions. This seems to work very well. It's a busy practice and I respect the vet's time.

I am a pet parent and have worked the front desk for vets. If I call or email my vet, I would wrap up the exchange at the point where the vet says an exam is best. I might ask why, but would proceed accordingly after I understood the reasoning. That's why I contacted the vet. Seems the folks who don't want to come in are lazy or frugal at the expense of their pet's well being. My favorite is someone who calls and wants to be taken that day as an emergency, but they've never been to the practice and it's been "a long time" since the pet has been to a vet. "Long time" means anything from three years to never. Oh yes, and money is an issue. "How much do you think (exam/treatment of a potentially emergent new client with no vet history) it will cost?"

If I call my vet it is usually to find out if my dog will have a problem and should I bring them in.
One time Molly gulped down an ice cream ( stick and all)so I called to ask if I she will be ok or do I need to bring her in.

I think paying for the vets time is a win win situation for me. If I am paying for it then I feel the Vet is giving their utmost attention to my pet and I can ask all the questions or get the help I need for my pet.

No doctor will prescribe most medications over the phone and that guy was an idiot. He sould not own a dog and you are best to be rid of him. That guy will give you nothing but problems.

There's only so much each of us can do for our clients. I'm the type who tries to make everyone happy, but even I have my limitations. Because I'm the owner of a professional pet sitting business, I know that clients don't always respect our time. I care about my clients and their pets, and I will make reasonable "donations" of my time to them. But, when a client becomes overly demanding, particularly over an issue that isn't as big a priority as they feel it is, I've learned to forgive myself for limiting my time with them. Have I disappointed a few clients? Yes. If you're in business long enough, it's bound to happen. But, all things being equal, I have to say that MOST of my clients are very pleased with the personal attention they get when they need it. And, that includes the furry clients. (Whom I tend to lavish with more time than the skinned ones.) :)

Love the Ms. Facsimile & Toner comments!
Great clients get great service, poopy clients get poop. That's the way it should be. As a small business owner I'm learning these same lessons and deliberately make myself unavailable when I need a break.

I agree whole heartedly with you on this one. Your time is valuable and mostly appreciated from your loyal patients. I know that I look forward to your posts everyday and appreciate that you take the time to write them for us. (without charge..) Keep up the great work and as any loyal loving pet owner would say there is no price/cost too much for the ones we love and love us in return.

I started to give out my phone number and email (as you mentioned, phone for excellent clients and email for really good ones), but it didn't last long before it was taken advantage of. I don't mind helping someone over the phone if I can, but spending an hour on the phone with someone just to convince them to go to the vet, or coming home to few dozen "emergency" emails is too much to ask. I have regular business hours - if it truly is an emergency that one of the other staff members can't handle, the staff member can call me and get information, and then relay it to the client. This keeps the conversations short and to the point.

This blog entry could have been about auto mechanics, baby sitters, hardware stores, or computer technicians. This is not an issue unique to veterinarians. Customers that talk incessantly on the phone are attempting to get something for as little as possible; as little time, as little inconvenience, and as little money as possible.

I do have but one rule. My livelihood is my profession and every time I utilize my skillset, I better be getting compensated. That compensation can be bartering, friendship, a can of beer, past business, future business, word of mouth advertising, SOMETHING, and I use the same exact rule when I deal with professionals.

So, Dr. K, if you are looking for a yard stick, there it is. Is the phone call being compensated in some way. If not, hang up ;)

I think you teach people how to treat you. If you call people who won't take the word of your receptionist, they will expect calls, expect you to give away your time, always. Why should the receptionists' advice be seriously considered if you don't consider the receptionists' word to be taken seriously by bowing down to the demand for you to make the call? Back up your receptionist by not calling.

An emergency might be different especially if the problem is related to a recent visit or ongoing problem, such as a bad drug reaction. Again the receptionist can decide whether or not the vet needs to call. Give the receptionist authority over your calls.

When you let some guy overrule your receptionist and make the call yourself, you also teach your receptionist they have no authority and what they say shouldn't be taken seriously. A receptionist with no authority can't act in your behalf.

Keep the guy in mind the next time you think going the extra mile to appease someone's unreasonable demands will earn respect. The demanding person will not respect your time anyway.

Sometimes people request to speak to "the boss" and you gotta allow them that. Now there is nothing keeping "the boss" from saying "if my receptionist says it, then it is so. From now on, please deal with her" or something similar.

Yeah- if they request to speak to a supervisor, that's fine. But if my staff say "They'll tell you the same thing i just did" well, then i can have my staff's back by supporting what they just said