Sunday, August 8, 2010

Does anybody know

what the hell's up with Burda? For the last 2 months, I've had an item traced, sewn and worn from the issue before the month actually started. Now here we are, 8 days into August, and no magazine in sight. According to what someone posted on PR on Friday, it hasn't even left freaking Germany yet.

Maybe they should send it together with September, which will be due before you know it.

Mario thinks it's funny, watching me go through withdrawal. He's fully expecting me to develop the shakes or start hallucinating or something.

If that happens, I'll try to do it in the workroom, where not a whole heck of a lot else is going on. I am working on the recreation of my gray pinstripe skirt, a project I was really looking forward to, but I started it because I didn't have anything I wanted to do more. Not a good enough reason, as it turns out, because while I'm more than halfway along, I'm also only about halfway enthused.

There was also some more veterinary drama this week, which wore me out. Getting all worked up really takes it out of me. I wonder if it's because most of us - at least most of us of a certain age - were raised not to express anger and really let the deserving have it when they screw up. When I allow myself to let loose, it really takes it out of me.

This is Alice. Alice went to the vet (my normal one, not the ER) because she was she was having trouble eating and I suspected dental issues. I put down a deposit, got a little dizzy at the size of the estimate, and went to work. They called in the afternoon - she was awake and coming out of the sedative, she'd had 7 teeth removed and she could come home that night.

I picked her up that evening. They brought her out snoozing in her carrier, explained that she'd had IV sedation so her arm had been shaved, and gave me some pain meds. Once we got home, I let her out of the carrier, and she staggered across the floor like a drunken sailor, partly from the sedation, and partly because - deep breath here - they'd forgotten to take the IV out of her arm! She's sporting a big white bandage from paw to shoulder, with tubes sticking out of it.

I call the vet. They basically say, "Oops." Oops? I paid the equivalent of a mortgage payment to have Alice fixed up and no one looked at her closely enough on check out to notice that she was bandaged and dragging some plumbing behind her? And no, I can't bring her back in, it's close to a $20 cab ride at rush hour and Alice is skittish to begin with, so another car ride would make her tiny brain seize up. And no, I can't don't feel comfortable pulling an IV myself. Sorry. After the tech starts to cry, I suggest she send someone out to me, which eventually they do. One of their techs lives in the neighborhood and happened to be home ande came right over to help out.

The next day I called the doctor, whose response was, "Things happen." Really? She said she couldn't think of anything she could say or do that would make me feel better - really? - and I agreed she probably couldn't; I needed to have confidence in my vet, which I no longer did, and I'll be in to pick up the records for all 10 of my cats. Ka-ching!

I wasn't looking for a refund, or even a credit. I was, however, looking for a sincere apology that I didn't have to call and solicit and an admission that they screwed up and it wasn't somehow my fault for catching it and pointing it out to them. I've been a client there for 10+ years, and have taken 10+ cats there during that amount of time. Someone should have been on the phone to me first thing in the morning to apologize. It just seems like sucky customer service, in addition to carelessness on a really big scale.

I'm not one of these people who says my cats are my children - they are, but I do know the difference - but it's the same principle. I dropped off something small and helpless and trusted them to take proper care of her, and they didn't. Imagine if that was your pediatrician.

But Alice is fine now, at least. She no longer has death-breath, and after a few days of pain meds and soft food, is back out with the others crunching up a storm. She recovered from the whole experience much more quickly than I have. Plus I now need to find a new vet.


And none of this would probably have been as irritating if I'd had my Burda fix!

20 comments:

Maryissewfast said...

That totally sucks! I hope you can find a good vet soon...they are worth their weight in gold! My daughter works in a vet clinic in England and just had our beloved grandkitty Lola's teeth done...got the sad news today that her lab work shows the early signs of renal failure. She can be managed with special diet and medication for years the vet says, but we are all sad today for Ms. Lola. :(

Anonymous said...

I looked at the August Burda, and for the first time in a long time, decided not to buy it (previously that would have meant missing out on a must-buy issue- but of course that's hindsight speaking, but honestly, it was much less than inspiring, in fact a yawn!). I hope September is better! BTW I'm in Belgium.

Lisette M said...

I'm glad I wasn't the only one looking for my Burda! I actually was so confused that I went to check on the date of the last one to make sure I hadn't received it already.
When my clio was a pup and she needed "the" operation, I brought her home and she was fine but as the days went by I noticed her scar was opening up like a pucker, I quickly rushed her to the vet to be told that sometimes that happens and it would probably fix itself, no apologies this is the way it is. Well that was the last time I went there. The scar did eventually flatten out, but it was the ugliest thing ever for a long time. That was totally unprofessional and they were unapologetic, after all the years I had been going there.

meredithp said...

Well, I'm glad Alice is doing well. I think to make myself feel better, I would *force* an apology. I would do this to help the vet's office avoid issues like this in the future. Perhaps write them a sincere letter, explaining how you felt.

I just happened to be at the GLP site a few minutes ago, renewing my subscription and they have a banner on the web site saying they expect Burda Mag to start mailing on 8/9/10. So it will come soon.

mitch1066 said...

OH im so sorry i would have been livid too!I agree that an apology seems to be a hard thing to get these days,they seem to think that an apology opens them up for charges or something.When in reality a sincere apology is usually all we looking for.
Im glad kitties fine though:)

SEWN said...

So sorry to hear about kitty! That is the most abominable treatment. I'm so glad you're going to a different vet now. Good riddance.

Hope she's recovering ok.

*hugs*

judi.0044 said...

Oh poor cat and you for having to deal with it. I just put a 12-year old former stray down I'd saved from the street - total cost after tests, etc. 1/3 of a large house payment. She had renal failure - stage 4 - that came on so suddenly. She was always afraid which I attribute to prior mis-treatment (like being thrown out on a rural road starving). At least she had good care and constant love from us for a few years. Miss her.

Amy said...

Wow, that's horrible. Poor kitty and poor you. What's so hard about saying "sorry?"

JustGail said...

I'd be looking for a new vet too! Totally crappy way that you and Alice were treated. I'm happy that Alice is OK, 7 teeth out at once is quite a job to get used to.

Nancy K said...

You're right, they might as well send out September with August at this rate. What is their problem lately?
I'd be angry too. I'm glad the cat is doing better.

Linda said...

I saw your comment about taking a cab, so I don't know if you have a car available, but I've been using the Cat Clinic of Cherry Hill (very close to the mall) for the past 10 years for my 3 feline children. I've always been pleased with the care they received.

Rose said...

I'm glad to hear that Alice is better. You must be climbing the walls: no Burda, a sick kitty, and an incompetent vet. I know that the health care profession is overwhelmed, but really! I must remember to tell my vet that I love him. Well, maybe not, but I do appreciate him.

Sheila said...

OmyGoodness I would have totally freaked out over their blunder and of course followed with a slew of expletives. I'm glad she is feeling better.

Elaray said...

How awful! I would have totally lost my mind if that had happened to one of my cats! The very least you should have gotten was an unsolicited and sincere apology. "Things happen" my a$$! I'm glad Alice is feeling better in spite of the questionable care she received.

Annette said...

And I thought pet care was far superior to healthcare for humans, both in the quality of care and the customer experience. I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Glad to hear she's better thought.
Annette

LC said...

Your Vet`s office got off easy with you, I would likely have gone postal (apologies to any Postal employees), there is absolutely no excuse for that. Things happen, is an appropriate comment for being kept waiting for an appointment, but not for an IV still being in place. I can't believe someone would say something like that in this situation. I am sitting here just steaming on your behalf. Good luck on finding another Vet, it can be challenging, I have finally found a great one, after trying 4 vets in 5 years. I hope you are successful sooner than I was.

Get well soon to Alice.

Valerie said...

So sorry about your cat. No excuse. The same thing happened to my GRANDMOTHER-she was sent home with an IV needle still in her arm and the hospital expected my aunt to remove it!

Rose said...

The vets owe an apology to you and your cat. That's terrible.

Noile said...

You're spot on right regarding the vet issues. "Things happen"? Well, yeah, and the next freaking "thing" is that I and my entire family of cats are going elsewhere!

YOU shouldn't have had to call the next day at all -- all that was wanted was a sincere recognition of the mistake and a genuine apology. That's all I would have needed, too. But to brush off you, your concerns, and Alice, so callously is unconscionable.

You said "I dropped off something small and helpless and trusted them to take proper care of her, and they didn't." That's the whole thing, in a nutshell, and it goes way, way beyond "customer service", even though it's also bad customer service, not to mention sucky business practice.

RedHeadShannon said...

I had a similar thing happen with my cat. The cat had spent a week in nurse boarding- meaning I boarded him and he had an abscess and they were applying medicine. I picked him up and on the way home he was moaning and lethargic. An hour later I found him moaning laying on his side half dead- literally. I rushed him back and they said- oh, kidney failure. Funny, his kidneys were not failing this morning when you handed him to me and said- he did great! have a nice day, here's your bill. He was dead by the next morning and I was devastated. They do this thing there where all the nurses and doctors send you a condolence card if you pet dies. I was furious and raging at this point. The owner and head vet did call me several times but I basically told him they would no longer get my business if they can't see that an animal is in pain, moaning and basically dying while in their care for over a week. HELLO! yeah, let me send my dog to you too so you can kill her. Go somewhere else. sorry that i'm so fired up. I just read this and it brought all the memories back of that terrible terrible thing. I'm sorry it happened to you and I'm glad the kitty is ok. I miss mine.