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Complaint to my Vet... Draft Two Post 9!

Nicola1

Wise Old Thumper
Following on from my treatment at the vets when I took Jasmine and Daphne there, I'm sending a complaint in. Names and places have been removed to protect the not so innocent...

I have used your [x] branch for several months now for my rabbits and guinea pigs, and have spent hundreds of pounds there on treatment. I first attended with my rabbits Harvey and Zero after ringing several other surgeries, and I was incredibly impressed by how rabbit-savvy the vets were. I used the emergency service for Harvey and was made to feel at ease there.

I am writing to express my upset about my recent treatment here. I rang the [y] branch and made an appointment for my rabbit Cass to be neutered at the [x] branch, and was assured that it was no problem. However when I arrived I was asked not to make appointments in this way as [y] cannot see the Wallsend records on the system. Although I understand that this could be a problem, I feel it is a breakdown in communication between the two branches, and not the fault of me as the client; if [y] had told me of this I would happily have rang [x] in the morning instead. I am informed of my shifts at work at the last minute, and on occasion I have had to contact the [y] surgery to make or change appointments, but I have always been told by [y] that they are able to do this and it is not a problem.

The nurse, [:censored:], was incredibly rude to me and my partner, making comments such as ‘You would think one rabbit is enough’, and making her dislike clear. This was distressing as I was leaving my well-loved rabbit in her care. The nurses could then not syringe-feed Cass, and he stopped eating and passing faeces, which of course is an emergency situation in rabbits. Because of the comments made by the nurse, I could not help thinking that the nurses had not tried, as we syringe fed him relatively easily.

The follow-up appointment for Cass was booked by us at [x], but the receptionist did not book it, and we ended up seeing a nurse when we were meant to see the vet. I feel I upset the nurse by asking to see the vet, which was never my intention, as the nurse was knowledgeable, but given the situation I wanted to see a vet. However, I felt uncomfortable that I had to ask and upset the nurse we saw. After the hostility we faced from [y], and the various mix-ups, we made the difficult decision to use a different vets, although we have always been impressed with how rabbit-savvy your vets are.

We took our female rabbits to be spayed at a different vets, and late on the evening of Saturday 5th June they needed emergency treatment. We rushed them to your [y] surgery as it is the closest rabbit-savvy emergency vets to us. We only saw the nurse, not the vet, and the nurse told us our pet insurance would not cover the costs. We were required to leave a 50% deposit, although we explained that as it was a Saturday night and our money is in savings we would struggle to pay it. We then learned that the pet insurance would in fact cover the payment, so we felt we had been given further unnecessary stress. When we picked up the rabbits, we were not even given a consultation, they were handed over the counter by the nurse. Although the nurse was lovely and explained the medicine we had been given, I felt that after paying almost £600 for treatment I should be able to see the vet and discuss the treatment they had received. I asked to see the vet, and eventually she spoke briefly to me over the counter. This did not alleviate the stress and upset of having an ill pet, and although we were told to bring them back the next day, we were not told what signs to look out for to know if their condition was improving or deteriorating.

I will not be returning to your practice after my rabbits’ post-operative checks, as I am only made to feel uncomfortable and even more stressed and upset.


Opinions, improvements etc all welcome :wave: remember this has been written after two sleepless nights! And does it just sound like I'm making a big fuss over nothing?? Also, should I mention the lack of painkillers they are always given?
 
If this is a vets beginning with a 'B' I would never taken my rabbits there. Sorry, knowing you are in the North East I should have advised this prior to you using them.

I think it's absolutely disgusting that they don't administer pain relief.

You have a brilliant rabbit vet up your way in Forest Hall, Judith Brown. It might be a little out of your way but the prices are cheaper than the likes of the large chain you have used, and you will have expert care. Hope your bunnies have a swift recovery :wave:
 
How did you guess? :lol: I go to Metrovets now, I took them there this morning for some metacam before visiting 'B', he didn't even need to be asked to give them it :roll: I do go past vets4pets on my way there though!

'B' are rabbit-savvy, but I have to ask a thousand questions to glean any information, they never tell you anything, and obvously if you don't know what questiions to ask, you aren't getting the right information. And yes... the pain relief! If the vets themselves had an operation like what our rabbits have had, they would be on painkillers for weeks. Thanks hun :wave:
 
It is a bit confusing, have all the problems been with Y branch?

I think I would put the main points as bullets and leave out some unnecisary information like why they said it was a problem and why you had to change your appointment and such...it reads more like a conversation than a letter, so pull out the main points and make them more concise perhaps?
 
How did you guess? :lol: I go to Metrovets now, I took them there this morning for some metacam before visiting 'B', he didn't even need to be asked to give them it :roll: I do go past vets4pets on my way there though!

'B' are rabbit-savvy, but I have to ask a thousand questions to glean any information, they never tell you anything, and obvously if you don't know what questiions to ask, you aren't getting the right information. And yes... the pain relief! If the vets themselves had an operation like what our rabbits have had, they would be on painkillers for weeks. Thanks hun :wave:

That's ok, I have a vet friend who used to work there so got some info from her ;)
 
It is a bit confusing, have all the problems been with Y branch?

I think I would put the main points as bullets and leave out some unnecisary information like why they said it was a problem and why you had to change your appointment and such...it reads more like a conversation than a letter, so pull out the main points and make them more concise perhaps?

I know what you mean, I don't think I've really made my point, just had a bit of a ramble! Do you think I can send them a letter with bullets in?
 
Not real ones ;)

Ok I would do something like this..

I have used your [x] branch for several months now for my rabbits and guinea pigs, and have been incredibly impressed by how rabbit-savvy the vets were.

However I recently used your [y] branch and am my upset by the treatment I received here, my main issues are

- I rang the [y] branch and made an appointment at the [x] branch, and was assured that it was no problem. However when I arrived I was asked not to make appointments in this way

- on occasion I have had to contact the [y] surgery to make or change appointments, but I have always been told by [y] that they are able to do this and it is not a problem. (not quite sure of the details here did you ring to change an appointment?)

- The nurse we saw at [y] was incredibly rude to me, making comments such as ‘You would think one rabbit is enough’, This was distressing as I was leaving my well-loved rabbit in her care and felt she did not take the responsibility seriously

- The nurses could not syringe-feed Cass, and he stopped eating and passing faeces, which of course is an emergency situation in rabbits. Because of the comments made by the nurse, I could not help thinking that the nurses had not tried, as we syringe fed him relatively easily.

- We booked a follow up appointment at [x], but the receptionist did not book it, and we saw a nurse rather the vet. I asked to see the vet, and felt this upset the nurse we saw.

After the hostility we faced from [y], and the various mix-ups, we made the difficult decision to use a different vets, although we have always been impressed with how rabbit-savvy your vets are.

We took our female rabbits to be spayed at a different vets, and late on the evening of Saturday 5th June they needed emergency treatment. We rushed them to your [y] surgery as it is the closest rabbit-savvy emergency vets to us. We only saw the nurse, not the vet, and the nurse told us our pet insurance would not cover the costs. We were required to leave a 50% deposit, we then learned that the pet insurance would in fact cover the payment, so we felt we had been given further unnecessary stress.

When we picked up the rabbits, we were not even given a consultation, they were handed over the counter by the nurse. Although the nurse was lovely and explained the medicine we had been given, I felt that after paying almost £600 for treatment I should be able to see the vet and discuss the treatment they had received. I asked to see the vet, and eventually she spoke briefly to me over the counter. This did not alleviate the stress and upset of having an ill pet, and although we were told to bring them back the next day, we were not told what signs to look out for to know if their condition was improving or deteriorating.

I will not be returning to your practice after my rabbits’ post-operative checks, as I am only made to feel uncomfortable and even more stressed and upset.
 
Draft 2

I have used your W branch for several months now for my rabbits and guinea pigs, and have been incredibly impressed by how rabbit-savvy the vets were.

However I am writing to express my upset about the treatment I have received here and at the G branch. My main issues are

- I occasionally have to ring the G branch to make or change appointments, and have been assured this is no problem. However, the W branch have asked me not to make appointments in this way.

-The nurse at W, [name], was incredibly rude to me, making comments such as ‘You would think one rabbit is enough’. This was distressing as I was leaving my well-loved rabbit in her care and felt she did not take the responsibility seriously.

-The nurses could not syringe-feed Cass, and he stopped eating and passing faeces, which of course is an emergency situation in rabbits. Because of the comments made by the nurse, I could not help thinking that the nurses had not tried, as we syringe fed him relatively easily.

-We booked a follow-up appointment at W, but the receptionist did not book it, and we saw a nurse rather than a vet. I asked to see the vet, and felt this upset the nurse we saw.

We took our female rabbits to be spayed at a different vets, and late on the evening of Saturday 5th June they needed emergency treatment. We rushed them to your G surgery as it is the closest rabbit-savvy emergency vets to us. We only saw the nurse, not the vet, and the nurse told us our pet insurance would not cover the costs. We were required to leave a 50% deposit, we then learned that the pet insurance would in fact cover the payment, so we felt we had been given further unnecessary stress.

When we picked up the rabbits, we were not even given a consultation, they were handed over the counter by the nurse. Although the nurse was lovely and explained the medicine we had been given, I felt that after paying almost £600 for treatment I should be able to see the vet and discuss the treatment they had received. I asked to see the vet, and eventually she spoke briefly to me over the counter. This did not alleviate the stress and upset of having an ill pet, and although we were told to bring them back the next day, we were not told what signs to look out for to know if their condition was improving or deteriorating.

I will not be returning to your practice after my rabbits’ post-operative checks, as I am only made to feel uncomfortable and even more stressed and upset.
 
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