ComplaintsforPicture Hills Pet Hospital , PC

• Initial Complaint

  06/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have attached a letter stating all issues with picture hills pet hospital. I have also started a formal complaint with the Veterinary Board.

  see attached for full details

  summary:

  that I was also charged $95 for an urgent care appointment but they had many openings and I didn't demand same day. She said they changed prices recently and that any appointment that is same day is considered an urgent care exam and sorry that it wasn’t conveyed to me. I said I've paid for these services more than once and they should have told to me. There were no signs anywhere stating price changes or that same day appointments are considered an urgent care visit. I said I have never been told that ever before in 3 years. I mentioned that since I bought lots of ** ** food I thought that's why my bill was higher. She said she would talk to doctor about my dog not improving but it wouldn't be until the next day as there wasn't a doctor in that day and that she would pass the charges issue on to **** the office manager. Then Wednesday May 4th I was told I could pick up some meds to increase his appetite and metronidazole to help with stool. I picked it up no question. My dog got better. 
  Then may 20 I realized no one has called me regarding charges, so I used their text system to reach out on May 20th. 

  Business response

  07/13/2022

  Tell us why here...To whom it may concern – 
  Thank you for reaching out to us regarding the complaint from ****** and **** *******. We appreciate your willingness to understand the complexity of these events from our perspective as well.  
  ****** and **** and their dog ****** were clients of ours from July 2019 to May 2022. The events referred to in this report are from March 2022 through June of 2022. The series of events are in relation to the slow decline of the family’s beloved 14-year-old dog.  
  At the core of the problem is this: Here at Picture Hills Pet Hospital, we do not tolerate poor treatment of our veterinary team. Every member of our team from our Client Service Representatives to our managers, to our doctors deserve to be treated with respect. When a client consistently does not follow this expectation, we are forced into a situation where we terminate them as a client.  
  I hope through the delivery of this timeline, we can help you to understand how we did our best to assist these clients during this difficult time, and why the owners eventually needed to be terminated as a client. 
  March 15th – ******* stopped in to drop of a urine sample, which was tested for a UTI. In an attempt to see as many pets as possible, we do offer the flexibility for clients to stop in and get testing done, if a doctor is not required.  
  After this was confirmed clear, ******* wanted to speak with Dr. ******** regarding the next step in ******** care. Unfortunately, Dr. ******** has a completely full schedule with appointments, and was currently with a family who had a gravely ill pet. Our Client Service Representatives (CSRs) are trained to take notes and information about clients’ conditions so that they can later relay details to the doctors. Our CSR, ****, was attempting to do this so that Dr.******** could continue to give his undivided attention to the family who was currently there with the appointment. After some back and forth between **** and ******, **** was becoming visibly upset by the escalation in tone and language being used by ******. When she finally hit her breaking point, she asked ****, our practice manager, to take on the conversation.  
  **** came in to an already escalated conversation and did her best to help ****** to understand that Dr. ******** did not have spare time to speak with her today but would call her later. After some escalated back and forth, ****** decided to leave and await a call from Dr. ********.  
  Dr ******** called ****** back on the same day to talk through ******** symptoms, but the conversation was unfortunately focused on the team members who she worked with on that day. While it was an unfortunate event, We decided to make a note in her file that anytime ****** comes it, to confirm it is in fact an appointment to avoid this situation from happening again.  
  March 16th – ****** called again to talk through some of her questions regarding the Kidney Disease in her dog. In this call, ****** again complained and questioned the decisions we had made so far regarding treatment for ******. Dr. ******** did their best to explain the why, and how this is a different procedure than what is done in humans. This seemed to resolve the questions 
  March 18th – ******* and ****** came in for their appointment to recheck ******** bloodwork and progression.  
  March 21st – Dr. **** did some research, and emailed food recommendations to ****** in an attempt to help improve ******** symptoms 
  April 6th – We left a voicemail to check in on ******** progress. Call was not returned. 
  May 2nd - ******* and ****** came in for their appointment to recheck ******** bloodwork and progression again. As he continued to decline at home. 
  May 4 – 19th – Check ins on ******** progression with ******. 
  May 20th – ******* reached out questioning pricing at the hospital. She was upset that our prices had increased. And wanted to be refunded for the difference. She also again, brought up her treatment back in March and specifically mentioned that she did not feel like a valued customer. She again asked to speak with Dr. ****, who was unfortunately with patients and unable to speak with her then. 
  May 24th - Dr. **** made the decision to terminate ****** as a client. After many attempts to work with her and ******, she continued to treat the supporting team as unvaluable team members. 
  May 25th – **** spoke with ****** to let her know about the termination. **** let her know she would check with Dr. **** about refunding. 
  May 26th – ****** and **** spoke again about how the refund would not happen, and ****** threatened to “take us down.” calling **** a liar about talking to Dr. **** about refunds. Both ****** and **** were on the phone as it escalated into yelling at ****, and demanding money back. After this, multiple defamatory remarks were left on ******** and ******.  
  May 31st – Records were emailed to the client.  
  Between May 31 and June 4th, ****** called or emailed the clinic multiple times a day threatening the team and demanding her records. The records were attempted to be emailed three different times before ultimately, we mailed them to her on June 4th.  
  We at Picture Hills Pet Hospital do our best to build a bond of trust with every pet and owner we see, and the best way to do that is through mutual respect. We feel that by the time we had to make the unfortunate decision to terminate ****** and **** both the expectation of respect and trust had been broken.  
  Please let us know if you have any questions on this as I know there are a lot of details to review. We are saddened that this has come to this and hope we can come to a place where we can all move forward.  
  
  Thank you, 
  The veterinary team at Picture Hills 

  Customer response

  07/13/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The response from the "Veterinary team" is not accurate as to what happened. If my letter of complaint was read prior to their response,you can see where my discrepancies are.I never treated anyone rude at any time with the vet team or doctors. The business like to paint the client as the bad one and never own up to their mistakes. I only brought concerns to their attention and without a blink of an eye, i was terminated for this. I have found reviews that are similar to my situation. This vet needs to reprimanded for what they are doing to clients.
  

  Also, they did not mention that they hired a mediator who told them to send my records after I informed them that I had made a complaint with the BBB and the veterinary board. Then they took me somewhat seriously, at least the mediator did.
  

  I still want to pursue getting my money refunded to me. They increased their cost and did not post anything in the office stating that happened nor did any employee voice these changes either. The services that increased,which are one I paid for in the recent weeks and was familiar with the cost, are ones I was familiar with, so someone at their office should have said something and didn't.The difference is price is $175 which was documented in my complaint letter and referenced bills from the vet.
  

   

  Please continue to help resolve this matter.

   

  ****** *******
  

  My dog as passed away since all of this started. He passed from a unexpected seizure, which was nothing this vet was treating him for.
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** *******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩