Vet now charging extra for more than one animal per visit

[debodun]

My 2 cats are due for their annual exam, so I called the vet I've been going to for years. The person that answered saw I had 2 pets and told me they have a new policy that if you bring more than one pet in at a time, there is a $50 surcharge for the visit, but if I wanted to make two separate appointments, they would waive the surcharge. Has anyone else encountered this with their veterinarian? It just seems so bogus to me - what does it matter to the vet whether I bring in one or two? I know it's an inconvenience to me to have to make two 10 mile trips. She may have lost a client with her avarice.

[debodun]

I called back the first vet (the one I've been going to for years). Tired of having the screws put to me, I did a little carpentry work myself. I reminded them that I am a long-established client, have never missed an appointment and always paid for the visit with a good check. They finally grudgingly relented and agreed to see my two cats with back-to-back appointments. But, my goodness, the hoops you have to jump through these days!

[debodun]

I call another vet, one that just sees cats. Whomever I spoke with said they now require "pre-payment" for an office visit and I would have to come in and schedule the appointment and pay for the appointment then with a credit card. When I asked why they did this, the person said that they have had a lot of no-shows for appointments lately. I guess you'll have to pay for your appointment whether you choose to show up or not. I told then I didn't have a credit card. All I heard was a click on the phone and then a dial tone.

[Piparskeggr]

That is beyond a Wow!  So very lucky in the vets we've found for the most part.

[Piparskeggr]

Our vet here in southern Maryland gives a 10% each additional animal  off the office visit charge, $50 for 1st kitty, $40 each for 2nd and 3rd.

Our vets in Nebraska and Illinois did the same.  All 3 are 'country" vets.

[Piparskeggr]

Gak, $10 off, not 10%

[debodun]

When I used to bring in the two cats, I was charged and expected to pay for 2 exams. The extra charge is added to this - e.g. $50 exam for 2 cats would be $100, now it would be $150 to see both in one appointment.

[AnnieBrooke]

I'm wondering if the person who said "$50 surcharge" was just saying something in an unusual way.  For example, if there is an exam charge of $50 per one cat and they would charge $100 if you brought in two, someone not so experienced might explain the second $50 as a "surcharge" because they didn't know how to say it otherwise.  (Or even if there were an exam charge of $60 for the first one and $50 for the second one.)  Call back and ask for the office manager, and clarify.  If it's an added amount that you would not be charged if you went two times, then it's something to discuss.

[AnnieBrooke]

*go* to, not "to to"

... and by "did not change over," I meant, I didn't change to a different vet.

[AnnieBrooke]

My vet used to give a discount if you brought in more than one at a time but now doesn't.  He says the cost is the same whether or not one or more cat is there, they still have the cost of the shots, the cost of recording the cat's history, the cost of examining each one, like if the appointments weren't all in a row, and it can take a little longer, since the vet has to stand around rather than to to the next patient waiting in another room when one cat is put in its carrier and the next one taken out.  The only cost saving for the vet is that it saves a small amount of money in terms of the workers not having to clean the room between patients when they are all related.  But it doesn't provide enough noticeable savings to pass them along to a client.  I think he was a hungry young vet when he instituted the policy, meaning it was more of a marketing thing than a genuine volume discount, and was a more successful vet when he removed it.  I got the benefit of it for several years but did not change over when he changed the policy; I like this vet.

[slaytheday]

Hello.

  I'm so sorry to hear of your trouble.

  I haven't heard of a surcharge and I've always taken 2 cats in for their annual exams for years now and not always with the same 2 furry friends.  I do always make 2 appointments back to back.  Each are charged for whatever their personal exam entails as well as separate basic exam charges, and separate hazardous waste disposal (like the needles) for example.

  Is it possible that you reached a receptionist who was a newbie?  Did you call at a particularly busy time such as on a Saturday?  Perhaps she was confused or had taken a lot of abuse over this new policy which isn't an excuse for bad customer service but it is a reflection of bad management.

  If you truly would like to stay with this vet perhaps you might leave a message for the vet to give you a call to tell them how you were treated so rudely and ask her/him if you have to pay this surcharge if you make back to back appointments.

  Please check back here in case other forum members have input on your situation and in case any have encountered this surcharge situation before.

I hope all goes well with your kitties.

Blessings,

  Melinda

  

[Piparskeggr]

WOW, our vets have always given a "volume discount" when we brought in more than 1 at a a time.