Ok, so it's been four days since I've had my latest foster kid, and - for those of you holding your breath and on the edge of your seats from suspense - I am not euthanizing him. The little twerp is making a great recovery having been dewormed - he was loaded with hooks and rounds (intestinal parasites, folks, that your pets' heartworm preventative should be taking care of monthly *hinthintwinkwink*) as well as had some coccidia ( a parasitic bacteria that's relatively common) - and the use of his front legs has drastically improved now that he's getting a high calorie diet and isn't being sucked dry, nutritionally speaking. The kicker? The squirt has developed an upper respiratory infection. Am I surprised? Not in the least. Does he appreciate us suctioning his nasal passages several times a day? Not one stinking bit, but we do it anyways rather than bear looking at him with green snot dribbling down his face. Luckily we had already started him on antibiotics on Monday, so the URI is being taken care of. Now the challenge will be finding the pup a home, which is not as easy as it sounds. Utter joy.
Now onto the midweek wtf-ery. I'm unsure as to why so many clients have decided that getting nasty with employees on the phone is a good idea, but it's not. The most recent example happened yesterday afternoon. My coworker, our afternoon receptionist in training, answered the call of a client that had recently moved. After kindly telling the client that we don't work directly with 1-800-PetMeds or any other discount veterinary pharmacy website, but that we do price match to the site of their choice and would be willing to ship the medication they wanted, he proceeded to chew her out loudly. Now, mind you, I was sitting on the opposite side of the front desk - approximately six feet away - and could hear the vulgar names he was calling this poor girl. Not only did he resort to that childish behavior, but when she couldn't find his file on the shelf and asked him to hold for just a moment while she went to check other spots it may have been for various reasons he proceeded to threaten to call the BBB - Better Business Bureau - and report us for this.
Now, I ask you, how rational was this? Was it really necessary to throw such a fit when asked to hold for a moment so someone could find your file and be able to look at what you're wanting so as to ensure accuracy? I would certainly like to hear both sides of the conversation between you and the BBB when you state that you want to turn someone in for asking you to wait while they locate your file because they want to send the correct medication with correct instructions and the correct number in the bottle. I hope they laugh you off the phone, you jerk.
Moving onto the PetMeds topic. If your vet allows online veterinary pharmacies to fill your prescriptions, they're flat out morons. Online pharmacies buy drugs in bulk, so when you get them your pets' prescription may be expired or even the wrong thing. There is no guarantee that the medication you're ordering online - unless your vet's office has its own online pharmacy - is correct, it may even be wrong enough to harm your pet. These errors are why the clinic I work at will not work directly with online veterinary pharmacies other than the one we are partnered with through our website. Instead, we price match to the online pharmacy of our clients' choice so as to ensure their pets are getting the actual products they need and the clients are mollified by us willing to be flexible on our prices. So, to the people that say, "Oh, I get mine off of (insert vet pharmacy website)," I say to you: That's a lot of money to spend in the long run on something that could hurt your pet due to your penny pinching. I more than understand that medications are expensive, even for pets, but is it really worth your pets lives to save a few bucks?
No comments:
Post a Comment