Okay Gang, I need to know how you would react to this letter I got in the mail today. But I have to give you alittle background here. Okay, alot of background. Bear with me.
I have been going to the same vet for about 16 years. There are 3 vets in the office and I have seen them all. One vet, Dr A, has been taking care of Kermit since he was diagnosed with Discoid Lupus.
Kerm is on Prednisone and has been for about a year. Kerm takes more pills than my grandmother did when she was 100. They got to be expensive getting the pills at the vet so I check for an online source. I found a place that I can get Kerms some of the pills for about half the cost of getting them at the vets office. I have been doing that for about 6 months now. No problems.
The last time Kerm was running out of pills, I placed the order online, and then called the vets office to get a refill for the pills that are not available online. I also told them that they would need to fax a prescription to the online pharmacy for the other pills. They said they would get right to it.
I went in that afternoon to get the pills from the vet and asked the front office if they had faxed the pharmacy and she said she didn't think so but she would do it right away. This was Thursday. I had enough pills left till next Friday, more than enough time to get the prescription, as the orders go out the same day or next day. I usually get them in 3-4 days.
Cut to the next Monday. For some reason I was concerned. I called the online Pharmacy and they told me that the Vet had NOT faxed the prescription and that she had just faxed them AGAIN.
I called the vets office Monday morning. Asked them what was happening. She said they had tried to fax the pharmacy on Friday and Saturday and they were closed. (The fax is a 24/7 fax line. It doesn't close) I said, "Could you PLEASE" get a fax off to them ASAP I am running out of meds for my dog. It was confirmed by the online pharmacy that the fax came in Monday afternoon.
Cut to Friday. Waiting for the mail. Waiting for the pills. Down to half a day left. I don't want to have to call the vet for a few pills for the weekend JUST in case they don't show up on Saturday.
NO PILLS. HAVE to call the vet.
I tell the front end person that I need to see if i can get a few pills for Kermit to get me thru the weekend. I only needed 9, since I had 200 coming (when ever they were going to get there). She puts me on hold, comes back and says that the vet, Dr. H, (not my regular) said no problem but that the smallest amount they could give me was 45. It would cost me $12. I again told her I only needed 9 pills to get me thru the weekend. And since it was because of THEIR screwup that I had run out, and I explained what had happened and I thought that they should accomodate me. Now it wasn't the cost that made me mad (even tho I was getting 100 pills for 11.00 from the other pharmacy and I did tell her that) but the fact that they couldn't sell me 9 stinkin pills. She gave me the old "Welllllllll"
I asked to talk to the vet.
He gets on the line and says, How can I help you? I proceeded to give him the whole background and told him I wasn't real happy. He said I should have planned ahead better. I told him I did. That when I put in the prescription I had over a weeks worth of pills and that if the fax had been sent when it was suppose to I would have the pills already. He said, if you had pills for a week then you should still have pills. ARRRG. "I STILL HAVE PILLS." I just don't have enough to get thru the weekend, if the pills don't get here tomorrow. All I need is 9 pills to get me thru til Monday. Then he says, (here I flamed) "so you want me to give you them for FREE?" NO! I WANT TO PAY FOR THE NINE PILLS I NEED, when I have 200 coming in the mail. I dont' want anything for FREE! Dr. H, I don't want to argue with you anymore. Are you going to help me with these pills or not? He said, you can pick them up at the desk.
Fine, I go down to the office and the girl behind the counter hands me the pills and I say how much. She says, The Dr. wants you to have them. I said, NO, he accused me of wanting a freebie and that was NOT my intention. So I paid for the 9 pills, said thank you and left.
That is the history. Now for the letter I received in the mail today. I really want to know what you all think. I did get hot but I never cussed, or called names or yelled. But I was shall we say, forceful.
Please give me an opinion.
Dear Mrs. tj, (only he actually put my name)
I am very sorry about the situation with your pills. I can understand your frustration. I do not appreciate the way you spoke with the staff and me about the situation. If we cannot handle the situation to your satisfaction in the future then we need to be more civil to one another. If you feel differently and if we can expect similar reactions from you in the future when I am attempting to solve the problem then I will be happy to forward your records to the Veterinarian of choice. If you wish to continue to have us care for you pets then please accept my aplolgy and allow us to try and perform up to your standards, as that is our desire. If you have any suggestions as to things we can do better please let us know.
Sincerely,
Dr. H
That's it. Now what is your take on this?
Hmm. I don't know what I would think. For whatever reason the Vet and staff thought you were out of line. That is a very subjective thing. Still, your actions crossed the line with them. If you like the vet and staff, then I would probably apologize the next time I was in. Or if not, I would find an office that was more concerned about my situation in the first place!
P.S. I love your layout.
looks like they are covering their rear end by shifting the blame...customer service is not what it used to be...i dont know if you need to apologize, but if you want to keep the same vet, just put on your best face from now and be the queen of nice ;-)
Wow. I think they are unfamiliar with the phrase, "the customer is always right," especially because you were well within your right to be upset with their delay in getting the prescription sent it.
It seems to me that the vet was out of line by sending you the letter in the first place. Considering you have had good experiences in the past with Dr. A, I would be hesitant to suggest that you switch to another clinic, but at the same time, the tone of the letter is not one I would have been pleased to receive.
Keep us posted!
Okay..I am like you - I fume. I would speak to Dr. A. about the whole situation, expressing your concern for their lack of interest in solving your problem. If I could, I think I would switch vets. I think they owe YOU the apology here.
Ok what you have to ask yourself is are you happy with their services overall, have they taken great care of your beloved pet? Is this the first time you've had a problem with them?
The front desk messed up, it's just that simple, but I guarantee that they probably won't do that again. It's unfortunate that you had this problem and you were in the right to be forceful about it but you should think about letting this go if you like the care they give your animal.
Hi, thanks for your visit and pinning on my guestbook. And what a beautiful layout!! It's wonderful, you have an excellent taste:)
cheers,
Pandora
I think they are arrogant and don't want to admit any fault. I think they don't communicate well amongst themselves or don't do their jobs efficiently. I think they were incompetent and WAY out of line. And finally, I think that you were very restrained.
EW!Maybe I'm too sensitive or something but getting that letter after the situation you described would piss me off. Big time.
It just seemed so condescending, and patronizing to me.