Reprinted with permission from Smart Flow Sheet. We love our veterinary clients. They are the reason we have a job and work in the industry we love. We love their enthusiasm for their pets and their desire to keep them healthy. However, there are many ways that our clients easily make our jobs more difficult. Here are the top ways clients tick off veterinary technicians. 1. Stopping Meds Before the Prescription Is Over When we explain how to give meds, we always direct clients (especially with antibiotics), to give the total amount prescribed for the duration of the prescription. Yet, you’d be surprised how many people stop giving the medications just as soon as the pet seems better. It almost feels like common sense to us, but we see it happen so often. 2. Telling A Different Story to the Vet It never fails: You go into the room to take a history and get a very short and sweet synopsis. Once the vet goes in, the story is completely different and your mouth almost drops open because it is not even close to what they told you. 3. Not Letting Us Do Our Jobs Whether they think they know their pets better or think we don’t know what we’re doing; not letting us restrain, take their pet into the treatment area, etc. — it can be frustrating. It slows down our day and definitely ticks us off. 4. Taking Advice from all the Wrong People We’ve heard the recommendations for pet health from Dr. Google, breeders and “friends.” It can be mind blowing what uneducated individuals will suggest. What we’ll never understand is how a client can trust their breeder over us, but they do and they do it often. 5. Assuming We’re Going to Be Vets One Day It definitely feels like an insult when a client asks if we’re going to be a vet one day. My job as a veterinary technician is definitely fulfilling and very challenging. There’s no desire there to “one day become a vet.” 6. Using Cell Phones in the Exam Room It totally grinds my gears when a client is on their phone during an exam. No matter how many signs you have about using cell phones during exams, someone will blatantly ignore the request. I try my best to politely ask them to end the call or I’ll let them wait until they’re ready, but regardless, I am still ticked off. All in all, clients can be super frustrating. They get us to the point of anger, but they are also the reason we have a job. Love them or hate them, clients really can tick us off.
