Small Vet Etiquette

[beowulf]

I got a personally written email from my (former) practice about scheduling annuals for my cats - a first for this practice after some ~7 years. I’ve used them for check ups, shots, and some general maintenance up until this spring. I do get email blasts, but this was a written email by a vet tech there checking in.

None of my cats are at the 12 month mark yet, one is at 9 months and the others at 6.

This spring I decided to no longer use them because of lack of availability when I really need them. Over the span of ~7 years I’ve had six urgent but not emergent matters during reasonable hours (I know! A first for animal husbandry) and they’ve never been able to squeeze me in. They offer emergency services for their clients. I also have had them drop appointments for staffing issues. This spring my cat had a significant reaction to the Solensia they administered, and when I called them they couldn’t fit me in for another 2 weeks. I couldn’t wait, and took my cat to the ER.

I found another practice. I’m not a small client; I have 5 cats and two have medically significant needs.

My question is - do I let them know? I know how hard that industry is so I’m reluctant to rake into a vet tech / front desk tech who has probably only been there for 3 months. I get it, I do. Part of me feels I should keep my exit quiet. This recent out of the blue and uncharacteristic email has opened a line of dialogue I didn’t have before. The practice did just expand and remodel significantly, so who knows maybe it wouldn’t be a problem in the future. I’d have stayed with this practice if I could - they are 2m drive and 5m walk from me, but I can’t deal with not knowing whether my animals will get care when they really need it.

[Ghazzu]

I’d consider a polite letter informing them you have switched practices, along with a request that they forward your animals’ records.

[endlessclimb]

We left a practice for the same reason - unreasonable (to us) lead times on schedule appointments, and unable to fit us in in when the animal needed urgent but not emergent care.

I second what Ghazzu has stated.

Our current vet is fantastic. Fit me in same day on two separate occasions, when the old girl dog was falling apart.

[Djones]

yeah just let them know you’ve swapped practices and request the records be forwarded. Don’t school them or burn bridges, it isn’t something that will turn out well in the end.

[Red_Dust]

I have ‘ghosted’ numerous vets over the years.
Because I moved, had no pets, or needed services that were not offered at one of those places.

The one or other office sent reminders in the past, I generally just toss them.
I can always go back to them, saying truthfully I have been a client before. I don’t think they actually expect you to answer back.

[horsepoor]

We recently moved our dogs from the vet clinic that we had used for years and let them know by asking for their records to be sent to the new clinic, and that was it. Part of why we left was the incompetence of the front office staff, and they did it again by not sending complete records, but at least they knew we weren’t coming back.

[Fiesta01]

@beowulf

This spring my cat had a significant reaction to the Solensia they administered, and when I called them trhey couldn’t fit me in for another 2 weeks. I couldn’t wait, and took my cat to the ER.

Not to derail the thread, but what type of reaction did your cat have?

[MissusS]

Now that I think about it, I ghosted my former vet practice… but it’s because the specific vet that we loved there had a life altering event that impacted her ability to practice. I didn’t like either of the two other vets, and overall the clinic was very expensive. I switched to the vet clinic which also happens to be where I board/ride. IF I were to switch away from them, I would definitely have a conversation but they are barn family. Literally, the old (retiring) vet is the BO’s husband, and the new vet is their daughter. They have a third vet in the practice who is unrelated, but I also quite like.

In your shoes, given no personal relationships and feeling like you aren’t any priority for them, I’d just politely respond that you are now accessing the services of another vet and ask for them to forward over the records. Thank them for their past services and support, and wish them well.

[beowulf]

She had a whole body skin reaction with open sores. It’s a known risk with Solensia but apparently rare. She went off her feed and was in a lot of pain.

Thank you all for the pulse check. I needed to hear it from other people too.

[trubandloki]

@beowulf

I got a personally written email from my (former) practice about scheduling annuals for my cats - a first for this practice after some ~7 years. I’ve used them for check ups, shots, and some general maintenance up until this spring. I do get email blasts, but this was a written email by a vet tech there checking in.

None of my cats are at the 12 month mark yet, one is at 9 months and the others at 6.

This spring I decided to no longer use them because of lack of availability when I really need them. Over the span of ~7 years I’ve had six urgent but not emergent matters during reasonable hours (I know! A first for animal husbandry) and they’ve never been able to squeeze me in. They offer emergency services for their clients. I also have had them drop appointments for staffing issues. This spring my cat had a significant reaction to the Solensia they administered, and when I called them they couldn’t fit me in for another 2 weeks. I couldn’t wait, and took my cat to the ER.

I found another practice. I’m not a small client; I have 5 cats and two have medically significant needs.

My question is - do I let them know? I know how hard that industry is so I’m reluctant to rake into a vet tech / front desk tech who has probably only been there for 3 months. I get it, I do. Part of me feels I should keep my exit quiet. This recent out of the blue and uncharacteristic email has opened a line of dialogue I didn’t have before. The practice did just expand and remodel significantly, so who knows maybe it wouldn’t be a problem in the future. I’d have stayed with this practice if I could - they are 2m drive and 5m walk from me, but I can’t deal with not knowing whether my animals will get care when they really need it.

I 100% agree with Ghazzu’s post. A polite letter asking them to forward your pet’s records is a fine response.

I am confused by some of the things in your post. How does one get from receiving a request to schedule annual exams (that typically schedule months out so the timing makes perfect sense) to “rake into a vet tech/front desk tech”?
It seems like there are miles between those things.
Even explaining why you are leaving - the regular care has been great, I just need an office that can squeeze me in when there is an emergent issue, but thank you for all you have done over the years - does not have to be rude or “raking”.

I would also guess that it is not really a personally written email. They probably have a formatted base they put your information into.
It is impressive what vet practice software can do now days.

[beau159]

@beowulf

I do get email blasts, but this was a written email by a vet tech there checking in.

My question is - do I let them know? I know how hard that industry is so I’m reluctant to rake into a vet tech / front desk tech who has probably only been there for 3 months.

I feel like you left out some info. What did this email say? Why do you feel you need to “rake into” the tech that sent the email??

As others have said, just politely say you’ve switched to another clinic and ask for the records to be sent. Do not explain why. In the event of an emergency, it’s never good to burn bridges.

I too changed vet clinics for our cats. Our cats need very, very little as they are pretty much outdoor farm cats, but I was turned off by poor availability and sub-par vet work. Switched to a small town all-animal vet, that’s actually not much farther, and have been much happier.

[OzarksRider]

My opinion (for what little it’s worth) is somewhat contrary to what others have said. IIWM, I’d be careful not to burn any bridges with the vet you left. You may have a new vet that you like now, but you never know what may happen. You might need the old vet again one of these days if something unexpected happens with the new clinic. I doubt if anyone would notice if you just didn’t respond to the email. Vet care is getting harder to access, and I think it doesn’t hurt to be established at more than one clinic.

Last summer one of my cats contracted cytauxzoonosis. I took him to my regular vet on a Friday during regular business hours. The vet thought it was just a fever of unknown origin, likely bacterial. He gave the cat a shot of antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory. That night my cat got much worse. Saturday morning I put in an emergency call to my vet and was informed by the answering service that there was no vet on call. I was shocked, because this was a change in policy that I had not been informed about even though I am a very regular client. I frantically started looking for a place to take my cat. The nearest emergency vet emergency clinic is 100 miles away, but I found a vet about 35 miles away who agreed to see him. That vet strongly suspected cytauxzoonosis, gave the cat subcutaneous fluids, and sent him home with azithromycin and atovaquone. Long story short, the cat was very sick for several days, but he recovered and I absolutely believe that vet saved his life. If he had had to wait until Monday to start treatment he surely would have died.

After that experience I was really tempted to dump my regular vet. But after thinking about it long and hard, I’ve decided to keep the regular vet but also use the other vet for routine care for the cat she treated for cytauxzoonosis and probably for any new animals I acquire. The main reason I haven’t totally switched is because it’s just so far to drive to the new vet. At least now I’m an established client at both places and that gives me options if I’m ever in a situation like this again.

[trubandloki]

@OzarksRider

At least now I’m an established client at both places and that gives me options if I’m ever in a situation like this again.

Truly curious - how do you stay an established client if you are no longer doing routine care there?

[OzarksRider]

I have 4 cats and a dog (and chickens and horses, but that’s another story). Three cats and the dog still get routine care at the first vet. Right now I’m only transitioning the cytauxzoonosis cat to the second vet. If vet #2 wasn’t so far away I’d take all my animals there, because they were so responsive on very short notice whereas I felt totally abandoned by vet #1 when my cat really needed help. I know vets are overwhelmed and the work is stressful and they need some down time, but at the same time good care requires that arrangements are made for clients to get emergency care. Ideally, I would like for all my critters to see the same vet, and the vet would have arrangements for emergencies. Unfortunately that’s not the case where I live so I just do whatever I have to do to make sure my animals are cared for.

[beowulf]

@beau159

I feel like you left out some info. What did this email say? Why do you feel you need to “rake into” the tech that sent the email??

To answer this question (and trub’s) specifically — because I am unhappy with the level of service from my longstanding practice, and felt it might be worth communicating that. If it’s not communicated how would they ever know why long-standing clients leave? I thought this was explained in my OP but I could have been more specific!

The email was definitely personally written and not an email blast. It came from one of the front desk techs, who I have communicated with in the past.

Anyway, I’ve worked adjacent to that field so I know how hard it is for vets and vet techs out there. Particularly techs! So I don’t want to be contributing to the toxicity they already experience by leaving a negative email in their inbox - especially since it’s not their fault. But that just might be me.

I’ve decided to do as Ghazzu suggested with the letter. The good news is most of my records are all already forwarded to my new practice anyway since I had to have them treat one of my cats when my preferred practice couldn’t fit me in.

[Ghazzu]

@beowulf

because I am unhappy with the level of service from my longstanding practice, and felt it might be worth communicating that. If it’s not communicated how would they ever know why long-standing clients leave? I thought this was explained in my OP but I could have been more specific!

It is possible that you may get a communication/survey type mailing from the practice asking why you are leaving, if you request the records.
I think your point about how will they know what they’re doing wrong is a valid one.

[Annie10]

she has other cats and uses both vets.

[Fiesta01]

Thanks for the info. So far, so good for my cat, but she does vocalize a lot the day of her shot, so I get nervous that she may be starting to have a sensitivity of some sort.

[trubandloki]

@Annie10

she has other cats and uses both vets.

Yes, she explained that very nicely.

[alpine1]

@beowulf

The practice did just expand and remodel significantly, so who knows maybe it wouldn’t be a problem in the future.

Do you know if they were recently bought up? This is happening to smaller vet clinics all over the country, and it is usually followed by a big remodel and more technology (like getting an email when you’ve never gotten one before). If they’ve been bought by a big company, the service may get better or it may get worse. It will likely get more expensive. I would switch clinics but not in any angry way. Just shop around for a new vet and ask the previous one to send the records over. If you want to tell them why (you didn’t feel like they care about you as a client, is what it sounds like), you can, but you certainly don’t have to.