Trip to the Vet - How long do you wait?

[16_Hands]

I took my dog to the vet last night and although I had an appointment for 4:30 I ended up waiting over 20 minutes to be brought to an exam room and waited about 5 more minutes. Needless to say, I was getting a little po’d at having to wait so much. While I was in the reception area, the vet was there bs’ing with a client and I’m standing there waiting. I was about to ask for a copy of my vet records and leave when someone finally came out.

I think this is a little unreasonable, however, I have found this happens a lot with other vets, once I was kept waiting for 1-1/2 hours past my appointment time. They had an emergency and asked if I could wait but then were taking other patients and treating and leaving. That was the last time I went to them. How long do you wait before you speak up or take other action like going to a new vet? They are new to me and I haven’t been getting a good vibe from them although they came highly recommended.

[SmartAlex]

15-20 minutes is pretty standard at our vet office. But then the waiting is over and we spend about 3-5 minutes with the tech doing observations, weight, pull blood, etc while the vet lands. I’ve never had the frustration of listening to a vet BS while I waited. They usually hustle. They just use the time between to make client phone calls etc.

It’s frustrating to wait for an appointment that you are punctual for. DH gets angry all the time about his GP. He schedules first appointment in the a.m. or after lunch and still waits a ridiculous amount of time while my GP is very prompt.

[beowulf]

My current vet is extremely punctual. Occasionally he gets an owner who wants to talk more after the appointment, but I have almost never waited - I ‘check in’, fill out any information needed, and I’m usually seen within 2 minutes.

Emergency vets are a different story - I waited over an hour with a screaming, crippled dog last year with a friend - it was awful. I vowed to never go there again and not even a month later my own cat had his hind limb degloved by a dog – no other emergency vets in the area and we still waited over a half an hour to be seen.

[S1969]

My vet is really good; they tend to run on schedule so I think i’ve only waited about 5-10 minutes max.

I haven’t encountered any major emergencies at my current clinic, but the last clinic would call if they had an emergency come in that might really disrupt things. It only happened 1-2x but it was great.

My favorite vets from that clinic retired so I switched vets - my current vet practice is smaller and in the country; i think my vet is good (not as good as the last one) but the practice is on the ball and willing to refer out to specialists any time. So…for routine stuff…I’m much happier with this type of practice than a “cutting edge” practice that leaves you hanging out for an hour in the waiting room for a routine visit.

[HappyTalk]

If it is anything like the vet clinic where I work, the vet was waiting for her/his tech to become available. There is a possibility that the vet’s tech was still finishing up with the vet’s previous client. The previous appointment might have turned out to more involved that expected and maybe blood work or X-rays were involved which takes more time.

[Louise]

My vet is very good. Usually I am in within five minutes of arriving. On the couple of times when I had to wait, it was because there was an emergency, and I am perfectly OK with waiting when that is the case.

[Where_sMyWhite]

I’d say 15-20 minutes is reasonable. I appreciate that when I’m with the vet, they are willing to take as much time as I, or the animal, want or need and that all my questions are answered. I always assume they are doing the same with other clients and don’t mind the wait.

As for the 90 minute wait, if the vet you were waiting for was the one up to their eyeballs in the emergency, I can see that. Did you tell the front desk you wouldn’t mind seeing a different vet if that meant a shorter wait?

[betsyk]

The two clinics I’ve used most recently try to get you into a room as quickly as possible. The tech comes in, does weights and gets a history, and then the wait might begin - but you’re in a room alone with your own pet, so you don’t have to worry about waiting room drama (woof!) and you don’t feel like you’re waiting as long. I think the clinic we use now also schedules well, and you get in and out in a reasonable time without feeling rushed. No complaints!

[bdj]

I rarely wait for more than a few minutes at my vet’s office - when I do have to wait, it’s because they only have 3 exam rooms and they’re all in use at that point in time. Often, if there’s only one vet working and a free exam room, one of the techs will do all of our “pre-vet” stuff - get weights and set us up in an exam room so we can chill in there, instead of in the lobby, where other folks are coming and going, etc. If, for some reason, the wait is going to be long-ish and I don’t want my critters hanging out in the lobby (because I had a bitch in season, for example, or because I’m bringing 4 dogs and a cat in all at once for annuals), we often go back out to the car to wait and a tech will pop out to let me know that there’s a room ready for us.

If there’s an emergency? It sucks to have to wait, but what happens when your pet is the one in the treatment area? Would you rather they brush you off and send you somewhere else because they’ve got regularly scheduled appointments to keep? “Well, yes, I know your dog just got hit by a car and could be bleeding out, but Suzy’s FloofyDoofy needs that kennel cough vaccination and she has an appointment, so we’ll see her first.” Don’t know about you, but I’d rather they help the one that needs it first - if it’s going to be that long, we can reschedule.

As far as the vet “BSing” with another client? I’ve been with my current vet (he’s the practice owner) since he got out of vet school, and I’ve been with the practice since it opened, and I know pretty much everybody on staff, so yes, sometimes we do “BS” a little, but most of the time, we’re talking about the animals, so what you hear as BS might be me updating the vet or the staff about the pet of mine that had surgery a couple of weeks ago, or the one who’s on long term meds…

[Bicoastal]

At my current vet, I’d guess I don’t wait longer than 10mins. I leave my dog in the car. I check in, say my dog is in the car and ready when they are, and both of us wait calmly in our respective places. I don’t know why it took me so long to figure out that strategy. No more fretting, anxious restlessness, or my vigilant hyper-management because other clients are oblivious. Ahhh, so much better.

After the exam, I’ll take my dog back to the car before checking out and waiting for any meds or printed discharge instructions.

[fordtraktor]

My vet can be extremely unpunctual but it is a one-vet practice so I am glad that when I am the one with the can’t wait emergency, he drops everything to get here. (note: my vet does my horses and small animals so not like a big clinic.)

I am very tolerant of cancelled appointments/late arrivals/etc. because I really like my vet and his approach is fairly close to mine on treatment decisions, which is not always easy to find and matters a lot more to me.

My current farrier is punctual and I almost don’t know how to process that. I’ve been involved as a barn owner for over 25 years and this is the first time I’ve ever had a farrier that shows up at the scheduled time consistently.

FWIW, sometimes they might be taking other patients because it only needs something routine the tech can handle without the vet on that pet, while your pet needs to see the actual vet and has to wait until the vet is free.

[fordtraktor]

Oh – forgot to mention, if it is a real problem and the wait is super long or you have somewhere to be, I’ve left my pet at the vet’s before to be seen. Then come back and get it that evening or the next day. If it is not my fault my vet doesn’t charge me for that.

[RobinL]

A couple of weeks ago, I had a wait because an emergency had come in, and they were seeing patients around whatever was going on. 3 days later, I was the emergency with my other dog, and they worked me in. I probably fuss more at my other Drs than the vet’s office for being late.

[TheHotSensitiveType]

Usually I wait less than 15-20 minutes at my vet office. There are times where there is an emergency so I have had to wait longer, but I get that. There are other times where someone called in sick and they couldn’t find someone to fill the shift so I waited awhile. Since it is not a chronic problem there, I just deal.

If you are finding this happens a lot without explanation, I might be looking elsewhere.

[Marshfield]

I run on time. On the rare occasions where an emergency surgery comes up, my staff calls folks and gives them their choice or rescheduling, dropping pet off, or waiting.

Your time is valuable and deserves to be respected.

That said, having spent the better part of 15 years seeing my patients on time, I have little tolerance for M.D.'s who can’t do the same. And I see my own daytime emergencies, no punting to urgent car. Pretty pissed when I showed up for a first of the day appointment with my GP and found five people already in the waiting room. Waited 40 minutes go go in an exam room and then was shortchanged on my needs as I had an appointment with my husband I had to get to. My gynecologist is never late

[MontanaDun]

I really like my vet, but time management in the office is rather poor. I have waited over an hour several times. Last time it was two hours - they were working with a new pet owner and then an emergency came in. If it happens again, we will need to have a talk. I would hate to switch b/c otherwise, it’s a wonderful practice.

[candyappy]

We always wait at the doctors office, why should the vet be any different. If you are the first appointment of the day then I would be aggravated , but if an emergency comes in, or you have a case that takes longer or is more involved than anticipated, it is going to push everyone back.

As someone who has had to rush a dog in for an emergency a time or two, I am thankful I didn’t have to wait for an " opening" and make an appointment.

[SquishTheBunny]

Sometimes you have to consider situations - for example, what if the client before you booked a appointment because their dog was lethargic. Vet has to get xrays, ultrasound, bloodwork etc…vet comes back to owners with bad news - looks like cancer. Owners decide to euthanize and need some “time” to talk to the vet about this, if its the right thing, other treatment options, decisions… sometimes the 30-40 minute appointment that doesnt go totally as planned can really push the day behind.

Often times, the vet also has to read up on old records, to check what your dog is coming in for, what tests have already been run, or vaccines administered. Unfortunatley that sometimes delays the start time for exams.

We have had clients wait 40 minutes to see a specialist - they were ANGRY - but… records were sent 10 minutes before their appointment, and there was 80 pages. Took the vet forever to read through before seeing the client. Client afterwards was happy the vet was thorough and although late, gave them the full appt time needed.

Think of it that way - would you rather a vet who may cut an appt short, but run on time, or run late but give you the time of day. That client he was chatting to before could have been you, and could have actually been a meaningful discussion.

[gaitedincali]

Anything under 30mins is an unexpected treat. I usually end up waiting about 30-45min.

[16_Hands]

I heard the conversation, they were talking about boyfriends not anything meaningful. The thing with the o b e where I waited an hour and a half, was after the emergency was over, they were taking other scheduled patients ahead of me while I sat and waited. I think they forgot I was there.