Not an emergency? Then you can hold...

[Oberonsshadow]

So I work for a corperate owned animal hospital that is not based out of PetSmart. Most of the time I love my job, sometimes however, I want to throw things out of windows...

We're a 24 hour emergency/GP practice, so we see everything from spays/neuters to vaccines, to HBCs. I tend to work the swing shifts and thus get caught in the 6pm rush.

The other night, an HBC (Hit By Car) comes in. The three other techs, myself and the doctor are all working on this dog, trying to keep it alive. The phone rings. We don't have an answering machine so all calls must be picked up. The other techs didn't need me at that instant, so I step back to answer the phone...

Me: ABC Animal Hospital, is this an emergency or can I place you on hold?
SC: Well... I really need to know about this medicine you sent home.
Me: I'm going to have to place you on hold.

I start to reach for the hold button and the client explodes.

SC: You can't put me on hold! You picked up the phone, now you have to answer my questions!
Me: I'm in the middle of an emergency, I can't answer your questions right now...

SC continues on a tirade, telling me that she was a long time client and my manager would hear about this etc etc etc

I put her on hold anyway. We finish stabilizing the dog. I pick the phone back up, and I swear, this woman was Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde personified. Nice, then ranting, then nice again.

Turns out that the last time we sent home this medication, the label read "1 tablet every 12 hours" and this time it read, "1 tablet twice a day" and she didn't understand why the medication had changed...

I finish with her, hang up and turn to my fellow tech, who asks, "Was that Mrs. Smith?" (name changed to protect the stupid) Apparently she calls every night at about 7pm drunk as a skunk and asks the same questions over and over...

Pet owners are insane. This I have decided...

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Not quite all of us are insane . . .common sense would tell me that twice a day = every 12 hours.

If I have a question about medication for one of my pets, I'll ask at the vet's office before I take my baby home and get the script filled so I don't have to bother him later.

That woman was just stupid . . . not to mention pickled. And, as we all know, stupid and alcohol don't mix.

[PepperElf]

how's the doggy doing?

and what an idiot drunk.

[Primer]

The clinic I worked at for 2.5 years was emergency ONLY, and we were open only when the regular vets were closed. Explain to me why it's an emergency to get vaccinations on Saturday afternoon, or you're so fed up with your cat clawing up your furniture that you want it put down on Sunday morning. (we sent that one to the animal shelter.)

Since we were emergency only, we did not generally have a relationship established with the client, and required payment up front. I can't recall the number of people that would come in dripping gold jewelry and designer accessories yet claim poverty.

I wish I had the patience with people to still be working with their animals, but I just could not do it any more.

On the brighter side, we did once have a "car hit by dog"--he was chasing a frisbee and did not see the car. We got him stitched up and sent him on his happy doggy way.

[pile of monkeys]

I had to take my dog to the emergency vet a few years ago, and I'm convinced the people in that clinic were probably the best examples of humanity I've ever met. You have people coming in, at all hours of the night (2 am for us), with their beloved pets injured or seriously ill, and both the animals and the humans need care and compassion. The front end people got us rushed in to the clinic, got the doctors started on the dog, then brought us out to the waiting area, offered water, and then, somehow, managed to make the payment up front discussion painless and not insensitive. They were fine with us sleeping in the waiting room until the pup was out of surgery, and we saw a few more people come in, just as much a mess as we were, and they were all handled sensitively.

So, yeah, if someone's working on saving someone's pet's life, you can leave a message about dosage instructions. Because someday, the situations may be reversed.

At the spa, when we have to put someone on hold, we pick up and say "Thank you for calling [place], could you please hold a moment?" The number of people who say "no," or say it's an emergency when it's very much not is astounding. The only thing that qualifies as an emergency is needing to get through to someone in the building because of a situation involving the hospital, the police, the fire department, or the morgue. Otherwise, you can hold for two minutes. Even if your precious sweetums is cranky at day care. They're bratty, not bleeding.

[zelper]

I have to come down (partially) on the customer's side here. If I phone a business and they pick up the phone my expectation is that they will either talk to me about my issue or go get someone who can do so. I find it bizarre that you are expected to pick up the phone and then refuse (as you must) to talk to the customer. If I phone and they don't pick up and I don't get an answerphone then I'll wait and phone back later. I'm actually not surprised the customer was annoyed although her response seems out of proportion.

Naturally the emergency situation takes precedence. I would seriously consider raising this issue with your managers. Picking up the phone and not talking to the customer is exactly the same as not picking up the phone in the first place, in terms of helping the customer except it annoys whomever is calling. You could point out that not only is it inappropriate because you have genuinely more important things to do but it's not going to make the customers very happy either.

[Belari]

I have to come down (partially) on the customer's side here. If I phone a business and they pick up the phone my expectation is that they will either talk to me about my issue or go get someone who can do so. I find it bizarre that you are expected to pick up the phone and then refuse (as you must) to talk to the customer. If I phone and they don't pick up and I don't get an answerphone then I'll wait and phone back later. I'm actually not surprised the customer was annoyed although her response seems out of proportion.

Naturally the emergency situation takes precedence. I would seriously consider raising this issue with your managers. Picking up the phone and not talking to the customer is exactly the same as not picking up the phone in the first place, in terms of helping the customer except it annoys whomever is calling. You could point out that not only is it inappropriate because you have genuinely more important things to do but it's not going to make the customers very happy either.

I disagree. I would prefer someone answer and put me on hold than not answer at all. At least then I know I will be helped. If nobody answers, then I will simply call elsewhere for whatever I need. If someone puts me on hold, I'll be annoyed that I'm on hold, but I will certainly continue going there for what I need. It makes perfect sense to me that if the office is in the middle of an emergency and the caller does not have an emergency then they should hold. That SC was a raving bitch in my opinion. I can understand annoyance, but to argue with a person who is in the middle of dealing with an emergency is uncalled for.

[csdrone]

Answering the phone in case it is an emergency is the reason the OP answered. Her response was perfectly legit and the SC is an alcoholic in need of a meeting.

[Nyx]

Turns out that the last time we sent home this medication, the label read "1 tablet every 12 hours" and this time it read, "1 tablet twice a day" and she didn't understand why the medication had changed...

I really hope the doggie made a full recovery. But that bit made me laugh out loud.

or you're so fed up with your cat clawing up your furniture that you want it put down on Sunday morning. (we sent that one to the animal shelter.)

THAT makes my blood boil. I've heard of people doing s*%t like that before. I know there's a rule about not wishing harm on SCs; but that, the punishment for that should be beyond any horror I can fathom.

[zelper]

Answering the phone in case it is an emergency is the reason the OP answered. Her response was perfectly legit and the SC is an alcoholic in need of a meeting.

I'm curious as to how they would have coped with two emergencies. Generally instructions over the phone are a poor choice during a real emergency and the best option is to get the patient to the vet asap.

Isn't there an emergency number for the vet? My vet certainly has one and I know others I have used in the past have had them. There is the normal number for making appointments, querying advice etc and there is the one for 'OMGkittahhurthalpnowpls!'. It's worth looking into.

Belari, I don't like wasting money on my phone bill to listen to Robbie Wiliams. I guess if you like 'Angels' then you won't mind holding.

[Broomjockey]

I have to come down (partially) on the customer's side here. If I phone a business and they pick up the phone my expectation is that they will either talk to me about my issue or go get someone who can do so.

But the OP would have talked to the person on the phone had it been an emergency. That means they expect emergency calls which don't have the time for someone to call back, or leave a message. And literally every other person in the office was busy saving a life. It was a trivial phone call, which was impossible to determine until the phone was answered. You'd suggest they risk another animal dying just because they don't wanna risk putting a trivial call on hold? I'm not sure you've thought your position through all the way.

I'm curious as to how they would have coped with two emergencies. Generally instructions over the phone are a poor choice during a real emergency and the best option is to get the patient to the vet asap.

They may know a second place capable of emergency services, or it may have been something that by the time the second got there, then they could have spared someone for 5 minutes. The OP would have to be the one to say how it would be handled.

[Oberonsshadow]

But the OP would have talked to the person on the phone had it been an emergency. That means they expect emergency calls which don't have the time for someone to call back, or leave a message.

Edited for length...

They may know a second place capable of emergency services, or it may have been something that by the time the second got there, then they could have spared someone for 5 minutes. The OP would have to be the one to say how it would be handled.

Thats exactly why we ALWAYS answer the phone. if its not an emergency, they can wait, if it is an emergency, I could have talked to them. Generally, we have receptionists on duty that take phone calls, so the techs don't have to get pulled away from whatever they are working on to answer a phone. However, this was at 11pm on a Sunday, and the recepts had all gone home for the day.



If it had been another emergency, it would have become almost a triage situation. I would have had to evaluate how bad the animal was based on the owners descriptions. If it wasn't life or death, but still important to be seen sooner rather than later, I would have told them to come down. If it was something that had to be seen NOW, there is another emergency hosp about 15 minutes away from us that probably could have seen the pet.

Primer, I know exactly what you mean. I cannot count the number of times someone has called at 3 in the morning to get a script filled or make an appointment for a week from Sunday. As well as people just showing up at God knows when to buy dog treats for Fluffy.

And yes, the dog will be ok. Took some major surgery and a whole lot of money and hospital visits, but the dog will be ok.

For those of you with medical experience, the dog ruptured his diaphragm and had liver, intestines and kidneys where lungs should have been. He also has a shattered pelvis, a spiral fracture on his humerus and various lacerations. He was and still is a mess. We fixed the diaphragm and he was on fluids till he was more stable. We went in today and fixed the breaks and stitched up the lacerations.

He has very nice parents who are willing to do whatever it takes to fix their dog. My favorite thing about this dog? 5 year old beautiful German Shep... He's got a great temperament and he's neutered...