Have you been threatened by clients?

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Selena Carnell — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 17:06:35 GMT

We have a client that we have to warn new staff about, she is a lady in her 90's with the biggest chip on her shoulder! she can be so rude. She's had our receptionists in tears. Also owes a shed load of money but no one confronts her about the bill. Ive had verbal abuse on the phone from a drunk client, who had obvisouly kicked the crap out of their small dog, but claimed it had been attacked by their other yorkies...(there were NO bite marks on this dog) I reported her to the RSPCA and apparently she was well known. We billed her for emergency treatment, we spent over 2 hours on her dog trying to save the poor thing. And she was phoning every few hours being abusive. we had to resort to just putting the phone down on her. eventually we threatened with the police and she left us alone.

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

jojofruits — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 16:48:39 GMT

I had one client once who was being SO abusive that this ( may I add absolutely GORGEOUS) big black fella who was waiting to be seen stood up inbetween us put his phone in his pocket and kind of shoved her out of the door without actually touching her..

I would have married him right there and then, she was kicking off in a waiting room absolutely full ( standing room only) in the middle of a cat vac clinic! and I had already asked her to leave 3 times! lol!

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Alison Clare Hickman — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 15:26:04 GMT

Go Ben! Want you on my team please. #cooldude

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Ben Ogden — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 15:16:34 GMT

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]If somebody is hell bent on taking out their anger / frustration on the person standing in front of them then they will do just that - a camera isnt a deterrent[/quote]

I'm not so sure. I mean, of course it won't deter everyone. But I bet it would deter some. It certainly deters a lot of criminal activity.

[quote user="Ben Ogden"]but I have had plenty of rude words said to me and the phone hangs up.[/quote]

For clarity, you mean you hang up the phone, presumably. Then call straight back, and

[quote user="Ben Ogden"]90% of the time it sweeps the carpet from under them and they start behaving like civilised human beings again and can even be reasoned with![/quote]

What a clever way to deal with it. Brilliant. Anyone else doing it, important to make sure call back is enabled and that you can see they haven't hidden their number, as I could imagine this could go wrong if they managed to call you back first!

[/quote]

Usually Arlo Guthrie (Editor)| its a torrent of abuse and then they hang up. So I call them back, there is no way you can verbally abuse me without rebuttal. The few instances it hasn't worked are when its a real piece of work on the end of the phone and you get a second round

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 08:47:31 GMT

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]If somebody is hell bent on taking out their anger / frustration on the person standing in front of them then they will do just that - a camera isnt a deterrent[/quote]

I'm not so sure. I mean, of course it won't deter everyone. But I bet it would deter some. It certainly deters a lot of criminal activity.

[quote user="Ben Ogden"]but I have had plenty of rude words said to me and the phone hangs up.[/quote]

For clarity, you mean you hang up the phone, presumably. Then call straight back, and

[quote user="Ben Ogden"]90% of the time it sweeps the carpet from under them and they start behaving like civilised human beings again and can even be reasoned with![/quote]

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Ben Ogden — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 08:04:47 GMT

I've been fortunate enough not to have been threatened but I have had plenty of rude words said to me and the phone hangs up. Thankfully though our phone has call back, so I just phone them right back, "sorry, I think our phones got cut off", 90% of the time it sweeps the carpet from under them and they start behaving like civilised human beings again and can even be reasoned with!

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Sal the 1st — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 21:07:28 GMT

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]

As I say, CCTV is SO cheap these days, I think if I was facing any of this kind of stuff, I'd ask for it to be installed (perhaps with a little notice beneath saying: "Smile, you're on candid camera"), and the next time a client was being difficult, I'd just point at it and smile sweetly.

[/quote]

we didn't have cctv but we did have panic alarms - the thing is the sort of people carrying out the actions mentioned they aren't going to care if they are on camera or not, for some of them it would even add to their street cred. If somebody is hell bent on taking out their anger / frustration on the person standing in front of them then they will do just that - a camera isnt a deterrent, it aint going to save you unless you pull it off the wall and use it to defend yourself. Thankfully these occurrences are very rare where I have worked since and I have learnt a lot of negotiation skills over the years so I am now better prepared to talk my way out of trouble.

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Sal the 1st — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 20:51:22 GMT

[quote user="Alison Clare Hickman"]

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]YOU obviously slipped through the net."[/quote]

Hahahahahah! you slippery fish Arlo Guthrie

Talking about, erm, 'awkward' clients (as opposed to the downright dangerous)... after this event I really started to question my 'sales techniques'...

When I worked in a travel agency - one chap said at the end of our consultation, "Hmmmm - mmmmh, I *shall* buy this holiday but ONLY if you, you delicious creature, come with me". ERK!

To be honest, I'd rather him have insulted me!! *shudder* ( emesis followed shortly afterwards, lol). And - I maintain I am definitely NOT delicious...though I could be described as a *creature* Heeeeeeheeee!!

Ali h

[/quote]

you have just reminded me of a regular caller to a place I used to work at - the phone number was very close to that of the local knocking shop and dungeon just down the road. Several times we had a call from a very well spoken gentleman - to cut a long story short what he wanted to get up to with Yvette college had never trained us for (if it was even possible)

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Alison Clare Hickman — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 10:12:14 GMT

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]YOU obviously slipped through the net."[/quote]

Hahahahahah! you slippery fish Arlo Guthrie

Talking about, erm, 'awkward' clients (as opposed to the downright dangerous)... after this event I really started to question my 'sales techniques'...

When I worked in a travel agency - one chap said at the end of our consultation, "Hmmmm - mmmmh, I *shall* buy this holiday but ONLY if you, you delicious creature, come with me". ERK!

Ali h

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 09:25:01 GMT

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]I had a fire extinguisher thrown at me once by an angry client[/quote]

Oh my god ...

[quote user="jojofruits"]I have had clients trying to bash the windows in with scaffold poles[/quote]

Hell's teeth ...

[quote user="Sal the 1st"]yep the meat cleaver[/quote]

Jeez ...

My god, it puts my experience of a tricky customer into some sort of perspective ... I've only had two 'customer-facing' jobs. One was as a pilot, and let's face it, you don't go flinging fire extinguishers at the pilot if you know what's good for you! The other was on the checkout at Peter Jones in Sloane Square. The worst I had there was some completely up-herself woman come and look down her nose at me and say: "I thought they trained the staff at Peter Jones really rather well ... YOU obviously slipped through the net."

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Sal the 1st — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 20:26:37 GMT

yep the meat cleaver and fire extinguisher were both while I was working for a charity - I think sometimes (by no means always) its a particular type of person that many of the charity places attract. I completely understand that anybody with a sick pet is going to be anxious about them and want the best for them but somehow some of the charity clients can take anxiety and frustration to a whole new level. One of the receptionists summed it up She used to work for DHSS- don't take it personally when they have finished fighting with the job centre and then again in the benefits office we are the next in line. By the time they get to us they know how to get what they want.- Definitely made the job interesting. TBH had a bit of difficulty not taking it personally when somebody is trying to total you with a fire extinguisher

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

jojofruits — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 16:26:01 GMT

Oh God , I used to manage a big London charity clinic.. the abuse on a daily basis was absolutely outrageous and in some circumstances even got physcial

I have had clients trying to bash the windows in with scaffold poles, screaming in my face, using vile and abusive language...

I usually just picked them up and chucked them out! Police were not interested and by then its too late anyway!

good old inner city charity practice! doing a great job but under very difficult conditions indeed

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

BengalcatRVN — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 16:43:09 GMT

Once had a client screaming at me on the phone, and then threaten to come in and kill me. I don't know how I stayed calm, (several phone calls as she kept hanging up) then with the threatening one I was so shocked I had to get her to repeat what she said, and then calmly said "I do not like how you are speaking to me, I am going to hang up and ask you not to call again" she did (of course) and this time I added "I am going to call the police, you call again and I will hang up" I had to divert the calls to our out of hours sevice, and she did call them a couple of times but I told them just to hang up each time. I called my partner to come to the clinic and take me home as I was closing up and on my own.

The next day the police came, I gave a statement, they asked what I wanted to happen and I asked them to go around and tell her never to contact the clinic again, and she was barred from the clinic. I had the ok from my boss to say that. She did try calling again a few days later, I reminded her that she was not welcome to call the clinic and if she called again I would call the police. Never heard from her again. Well, we had a few issues which after a long time I think were dropped but she never called the clinic direct again.

Anther time had nasty letters and someone sitting outside the clinic, but it was a difficult loss case, they denied it was them sending the letter, but the case was sorted using the police and alerting other family members to the situation.

Who says veterinary life is all kittens and puppies eh?

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Sal the 1st — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 22:51:34 GMT

I have been at practices that have fired clients because of their behaviour, one even threatened to report us to RCVS if his dog suffered as a result of him not being able to access emergency treatment - I will never forget my bosses reply to that one because I got to type it up - (typewriter and carbon paper so that dates it a bit) 'whilst I am obliged to treat your dog in an emergency I am not obliged to see you, in cases of emergency please arrange to have your dog brought in by somebody else.

I had a fire extinguisher thrown at me once by an angry client and can remember very vividly the client who went on an all expenses HMP holiday for a few months after threatening clinic staff with a meat cleaver.

The mop attack in the waiting room at one place I have to admit we all had to smile afterwards - the client was upset with the vet, I was busy with the mop cleaning up his dog's vomit, client grabbed mop off me (I think he was intending to whack either vet , me or both) and ended up tripping over the mop, his own dog then had a go at his leg before he dragged it out of the building swearing like a trooper never to be seen again - he never paid his bill but then nobody went after him either

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Steph Worsley — Thu, 12 Oct 2017 22:36:53 GMT

I've had abuse hurled at me to my face and on the phone, and yes generally it's been about money. Best thing is to try and stay calm (this actually often frustrates them as you are not rising to their threats) offer to sit down and talk through their issues, and simply inform them that aggressive behaviour (including raising of their voice) will not be tolerated and they will be asked to leave the premises and if they carry on the police will be called. This usually diffuses the situation enough to talk rationally.
I've been in practices where we have then "sacked" the client due to continued aggressive behaviour and informed them only immediate first aid would be given as per code of conduct.

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Katie Anakin — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 08:25:13 GMT

I think we did have CCTV as we were inside a pet shop. The stupid thing was he stood there for nearly an hour screaming abuse and complaining how we didn't take care of his dog, while his dog was laying on the floor next to him, instead of just taking the poor thing to the cardio specialist.

Horrible man but it was really nice how lovely all our other clients were at defending us. :) So some nice things came out of it.

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 09:51:05 GMT

[quote user="Katie Anakin"]Threatened to climb over the counter and batter the receptionist, threatened to hit me and said he would kill the vet if anything happened to his dog. He was a angry as we weren't treating his dog and were sending him elsewhere.[/quote]

Oh my god, that sounds absolutely awful.

Hard to think what you can do in a situation like that, except call security / police.

But what about cctv? It's so cheap and easy to install a discrete camera these days. Then, if things get out of hand like that, you can tell the aggressor that they are being recorded and if they threaten you, the recording will be passed to the police.

Things like Nest (https://nest.com/uk/) are really very cheap now. There are other alternatives which allow you to store the recordings locally (rather than with Nest), and which you can hard-wire, rather than using wifi ... I've done quite a bit of research into these things because we need them at home to monitor my sick daughter.

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Alison Clare Hickman — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 09:22:41 GMT

Awful. Though I did pull an ironic smile on my fizzog when I saw your 'behaviour' qualification as I wondered if you would offer some manners training for that human?! Er, that'd be a NO, would it?!

#preferanimals #betterbehaved #muzzlerequiredforhomosapien #mannersplease

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Katie Anakin — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 08:39:13 GMT

Hello,

I was a VNA in a practice over a weekend shift, with a locum vet and locum receptionist. We had an emergency in where a large breed dog had collapsed we admitted quick as we were busy and the vet checked it over after the owner had left. Discovered really bad heart sounds and advised we immediately send to a vets with cardio equipment. Phoned the owner and explained and he came in all guns blazing. Threatened to climb over the counter and batter the receptionist, threatened to hit me and said he would kill the vet if anything happened to his dog. He was a angry as we weren't treating his dog and were sending him elsewhere. He didn't understand that we had no Cardio stuff as a small first opinion.

In the end security had to remove him for the building and clients were standing protectively over the receptionist who was in tears. He was sent a formal letter informing him he was no longer welcome at the practice. It was truly horrific and he tried to take us to court over it. Gratefully every client who witnessed it wrote a statement letter and all of them were lovely in consults after it. But that was probably the worst threatening situation I've been in with a client, and I was the only actual member of staff there at the time.

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Sal the 1st — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 21:03:22 GMT

I think one of the most important actions after any event like this is to have a 'debrief' and establish how the event happened in the first place and learn from it so that next time it doesn't happen or at least if it does its more likely to be handled in a way that is better for everybody concerned.

we had a rule at one place I worked where if a client was likely to become a challenge that there were always two people (vet and nurse or vet and vet) in the room - we also had panic strips in each room (and yes we had need of them). In saying that a lot of the time it is possible to diffuse a potentially nasty situation by being mindful of not only what you say but how you say it and for both parties to part on good terms and with dignity intact

RE: Have you been threatened by clients?

Alison Clare Hickman — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 20:03:49 GMT

Yes, I have and yes so have colleagues...

Of particular use is a well rehearsed action plan in such circumstances. So the team knows when and how to respond / support each other appropriately. For example, a "I need help now" safe word, that is a call for assistance... Easy to remember but not veterinary related terminology... E.g. Banana.

In use: Problem identified in consult room. Pop head out of door and say "banana" to colleague. Colleague is primed by this "safe word" and provides support as practiced/agreed (action

Think whatever the plan is, at least have one and make sure everyone knows about it!!!!