Are you fed up with disrespectful and abusive client behavior?
Do you own your own practice or have the power to make policy changes?
Are you an associate veterinarian or a relief veterinarian interested in changing our professional culture?
JOIN US IN SAYING …
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
As a veterinary practice owner, I am well aware that my MOST VALUABLE practice asset is my staff. When I started my practice, I dreamt of creating a beautiful hospital, filled with smiling faces, devoid of drama, offering a “best medicine” approach with an excellent standard of care. And while I was successful in creating that very environment, what I didn’t plan on was a worldwide pandemic that turned our entire nation into a panic stricken, stress-filled, frustrated society of emotional maniacs! All of the historically bad elements associated with the time honored “customer is always right” mentality that veterinary medicine had been built upon got even WORSE! And something HAD to change.
JOIN US IN SAYING …
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
What caused the uptick in difficult clientele?
While the COVID pandemic definitely exacerbated societal tensions and personal frustrations, I think we all know that there has long been an unspoken culture of “tolerance” (maybe even acceptance) that has revolved around inappropriate behavior from clients, not just across this nation, but around the world. Not so many years ago, veterinarians were desperate for business, and made any and every attempt at fostering relationships with clients (good or bad) to maintain some semblance of financial stability within their practices…all at the expense of their staff. It was not uncommon to have someone walk into a practice, throw a tantrum, yell at staff members, and cause a scene over a demand for free service, immediate assistance, or insist to speak with the doctor. Staff members were often admonished for not placating these clients and giving them what they demanded. Employees were even instructed to apologize to the angry clients for the “misunderstanding”, and were told to “suck it up” or “get over it”. Unfortunately, there are still a number of private practices that participate in these inappropriate attempts to rationalize emotional abuse. Mine is not one of those.
Our profession is in desperate need of a cultural shift! About 3 years ago now, I took additional steps as a practice owner to protect my most valuable asset…and staff morale has improved tremendously! My employees actually ENJOY coming to work, and are no longer fearful that difficult clients will gain the upper hand, and they know (without a shadow of a doubt) that I will have their backs! I know I am not alone! Many of you out there have also had the courage to step forward publicly and say “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” It’s high time we all got together to compare notes!
BE KIND!
What is the actual purpose of this initiative?
The main objective of this social media initiative is to connect those of us who have already taken the ZERO TOLERANCE stance, with those of us who are on the fence. Whether you need to vent, to share stories of unacceptable client interactions, or just to commiserate, this page is designed to be a safe space for all of us. My hope is that we can encourage other independent practice owners across the nation to join our movement, in order to truly effect change! While our numbers are dwindling, with large corporate temptation around every corner, I honestly believe that if enough of us “lone wolves” band together, this historically toxic culture of emotional abuse and blatant disrespect will eventually improve. And just maybe, if we can get the corporations on board, it may even one day disappear! Pardon the cliché, but, “We teach people how to treat us!” Boundaries are not only acceptable…they are necessary…and your staff, just like mine, is WORTH IT!
What exactly is a ZERO TOLERANCE policy?
The short answer is…it’s up to you!
Here is my own version of our condensed practice statement (posted at our reception desk):
“ATTENTION CLIENTS:
We have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy regarding profanity and verbal abuse of any kind directed at our staff. Our employees are doing their best to provide you with EXCELLENT service and should be able to do their jobs without verbal abuse. Thank you for respecting their right to an abuse-free workplace.”
Everyone will have their own “line in the sand” when it comes to defining verbal abuse. Mine is profanity. Once that line is crossed, clients are immediately informed that they will need to seek veterinary medical attention elsewhere.
One of the important things to remember when embarking on this endeavor is to make sure you properly prepare your clients, so you don’t set them up for failure, especially if you have allowed this behavior in the past. You simply need to (politely) inform them that the rules have CHANGED. Cultural transformation takes time, and we have more than 100 years of toxic behavior to reform. At our practice, we inform clients of our ZERO TOLERANCE policy on our website as well as with signs on the outside and on the inside of our hospital, so there should never be any confusion. If a client’s behavior is skirting one of our boundaries, our receptionists just simply point to our sign, and don’t have to say a word. It really is that easy.
We have also strategically posted our motto for this initiative, “Be kind.” on the front door of our hospital, above the door handle, as a gentle reminder for our clients to breathe and choose kindness before they enter our building!
We have another sign posted near our door that was suggested by our local police department after a violent incident occurred at our practice 2 years ago. We were informed by local law enforcement that as long as we have potential violations clearly posted, legal action (including arrest) can be initiated, if necessary. This sign reads as follows:
What about trying de-escalation first?
My practice in particular is an emergency hospital, so de-escalation is ALWAYS attempted when clients arrive for the sake of the animal that likely needs immediate medical assistance (and for the simple fact that time is of the essence)! Certainly, with emotions running high, stress levels at their peak, and pet owners that are desperate to receive help for their injured pets, our staff springs into action in an attempt to calm owners down first, remind them to breathe, encourage them to listen, and to follow our directions. We assure them that they are in the right place and that we are here to help! Listen, we’ve all had bad days, and not been our “best selves” publicly (myself included), but as a RATIONAL human being, especially in a situation where I need someone else’s help, my instinct will always be to choose kindness first (even through my tears) and not to attack the very people who are trying to provide assistance. Only irrational individuals would choose the counter-productive approach of attacking the people who have come to their rescue!
Rational people will most often respond appropriately, will remain reasonably cooperative (even appreciative), and will often apologize for any offensive behavior.
Irrational people will escalate toward abusive behavior, and will deliberately cross the boundaries you have in place, despite your warnings.
“When people show you who they are, believe them!”
What about community backlash?
Let’s be honest. We are never going to please everyone. But realistically, the people my policies offend are ultimately the very people that my staff and I hope to never encounter again. We are no longer living in a world where there is a shortage of pet owners…quite the opposite! Not only are our practices overwhelmed with the demand for veterinary care, but many of our exhausted colleagues have left the private practice sector in search of a less stressful road to retirement! We finally, for once in our lives, are afforded the luxury of being selective when it comes to our clients! I call that a win-win situation.
“When people show you who they are, believe them!”
(…then hand them their records and show them the door!)
What if we get negative reviews online?
That is certainly a concern, and you are not alone. Statistically, the type of client that is going to leave you a bad review…is going to do it whether you provide them a service or not! Think about it. The difference is going to be in what that individual identifies in their complaint. Here is an example:
Mr. G pulls into your parking lot on two wheels with his aggressive 110 lb. intact male Rottweiler tied in the bed of his pick-up truck. He yells that his dog just got hit by a car and begins untying the dog with his two heavily intoxicated buddies attempting to help without being bitten by the dog who is barking and lunging at anyone that comes close. Your receptionist rushes out and attempts to explain intake procedures to the owner, but is berated, scoffed at, and ignored. She pleads with him not to move the dog from the back of the truck yet, but Mr. G yells at her to “Shut-up, bitch! Get out of the way and get the doctor!” His drunk companions egg him on with “Yea, what the f*** lady???” and “You’re just going to let his dog die???”
(I’m sure you can identify a million red flags in this scenario, but let’s remember that there was definitely an obvious policy violation within this initially brief interaction. PROFANITY.)
If your policy is posted, and he has already violated it, then all that is left to be said to this individual is:
“Verbal abuse WILL NOT be tolerated. You will have to go somewhere else.”
His negative review will go something like this:
“These people refused to help my dog that was hit by a car. They don’t care about animals at all!”
You don’t have to respond to his review, but if you choose to respond, your response is simple:
[COPY AND PASTE YOUR HOSPITAL’S ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY]
Now let’s flip the script…and imagine if you had actually agreed to help this client, against your better judgment, even after he repeatedly treated your receptionist with disrespect and used profanity.
(Which, incidentally, she will not forget and is now left feeling victimized by both the client and by your indifference to the verbal abuse she was just subjected to.)
So you stop what you are doing, enlist the help of your entire staff, allow this irrational individual into your hospital…his unacceptable behavior continues inside your building, and he demands to be with his dog in the treatment area while you are working on him. He pushes his way past your reception staff, and toward your technician who is likely about to be bitten by this aggressive patient that is extremely painful. He promptly accuses your staff of hurting his dog, when he sees the dog resisting the muzzle. He lies down on the floor with his dog, while your staff steps over him in an attempt to get a blood sample, and a FAST scan. He is continually yelling “Y’all, save my boy! Don’t let him die!”
(Now PAUSE…how do you think this is going to play out?)
If you end up stabilizing his animal, he will inevitably have forgotten his wallet at home, will end up disputing the charges in a day or two, or will take issue with whatever little thing he thinks your staff did wrong during the triage – which is what irrational people do! Heaven forbid his dog’s injuries end up being so severe that he dies, despite your efforts, or you have to convince Mr. G that euthanasia is the best option based on the extent of his injuries. Good luck with that one!
Now his review will read:
“I rushed my dog to this so-called vet hospital after he was hit by a car, and these idiots manhandled my dog who was screaming in pain, had no idea what they were doing, ran some ridiculous tests, took x-rays and my dog died anyway! These folks then had the balls to ask me for money for the tests and for attempting CPR on my dog and expect me to pay, when my dog is dead! They don’t care about animals, they only care about money!!!”
A simple response to this review is no longer on the table. As a practice owner, you will likely lie awake, tossing and turning all night, writing and rewriting a response in your head, and trying to figure out how to apologize to your entire staff that has not only lost respect for you for not adhering to your policy, but no longer feels safe or protected, and will dread coming to work from this point forward.
My point is…that whether you had agreed to see him or not, he was going to write a bad review. Period. The client was IRRATIONAL and that wasn’t going to change. What has now changed is your practice morale. I had to learn the hard way, trust me, but adopting and adhering to our ZERO TOLERANCE policy has been the best decision I have ever made, for everyone on my team!
Won’t his equally irrational CYBERBULLY friends attack my practice online as well?
They might. We all know that people with 10% of the information and only one side of the story make the most noise! But this would most likely only occur because you did not enforce your ZERO TOLERANCE policy in the beginning and instead invited this irrational client into your practice. Typically, the shorter the interaction you have with irrational individuals, the slimmer the chances of fallout. In other words…yes they’re upset, but hopefully their immediate focus will be on finding help elsewhere and adjusting their approach when they arrive at the next facility. The more time you waste dealing with an irrational person, the more ammunition they will collect to use against you in their attack!
ARE YOU READY FOR THE REVOLUTION?
To say I am passionate about this issue would be an understatement. It all basically boils down to this:
- We’re all EXHAUSTED and are desperate for the quality of our lives to improve.
- There is no longer a shortage of pets or pet owners seeking veterinary attention.
- You FINALLY get to be selective in the clients you provide services to. Choose wisely!
- Boundaries are no longer “taboo”, and are even necessary in these uncertain times!
- Staff retention, burn out, and toxic workplace culture are real issues, and as a practice owner, you have the unique opportunity to create a safe, abuse-free work space that your current employees will appreciate and potential employees will long to be a part of! What a great selling point for new hires!
- Change is uncomfortable and requires COURAGE. Be prepared for your staff morale to SOAR!
- YOU. ARE. NOT. ALONE.
I invite you to join me and become a crusader for our veterinary medical profession. Help us change the culture!!! Set some boundaries! I know there are already hundreds of us out there (I see you guys and can’t wait to connect with you)…lets band together for change. It’s time…and we’re WORTH IT!
