The client from hell

“Never work with children or animals,” advised WC Fields – I think I’d be inclined to add “the public” to that.

While, on the whole, my client interactions have been good, every now and then you do get the occasional nutter. I’ve had drunk clients, barely able to stand up, let alone comprehend their half-bald cat has fleas jumping off it in front of me.

I’ve had sick clients, including one poor bloke whose wife had evidently forced him to bring the cat in for its emergent flea allergy dermatitis (it always seems to be cats with fleas), who stood in the consulting room streaming from his eyes and nose, repeatedly telling me how he hadn’t gotten out of bed for days with flu – I tried not to breathe for the whole consult.

I have come across angry, frustrated clients and blunt farmers who aren’t particularly impressed to see a girl rock up, but accept it’s you or no-one. I have been on the receiving end of complaints, though usually not justified, and often with the root of the problem boiling down to cost. But never in my (relatively) short time since qualifying, have I experienced such awful behaviour as I did recently – and from a medical professional, no less.

Doctors make the worst clients

The client was on their telephone for most of the consult and refused to answer my questions when trying to take a history, no matter how I rephrased them (there was a language barrier, but I suspected it was complicated by selective hearing).

The client requested removal of a lump, which, in my opinion, was non-urgent, and I offered fine needle aspiration or the option to book in when we next had availability for removal (which would be two days). This did not go down well and, feeling pressured, I went to check with the ops vet if they would have room today, knowing there was a potential cancellation.

Unfortunately, it transpired the animal had just turned up late and there wouldn’t be room, so I returned to the consult room, explained this and asked the client to book in for the next available day at reception. Somewhat disgruntled, they went to reception and I took the next client in.

Not going away

On finishing the next consult, one of the receptionists appeared at my door and apologetically explained the client wasn’t taking no for an answer and was adamant I‘d agreed the dog could have the op today. She had called down the practice manager as the client had sat down, on the phone again, paying no attention to their dog – which was off the lead and wandering around the waiting room winding other dogs up.

She had taken the client into another consult room and I had other clients waiting, so thought that would be the end of it – but, after another consult, my practice manager came to my door and asked if I’d go with her to speak with them as they were refusing to leave until they saw me again.

Again, I calmly explained that ops was fully booked today and we could rebook for the next available slot, to which the client repeated I had said their dog could have the op today.

J’accuse

Before I could reply, I was interrupted with: “Look, I am an experienced doctor, you are a young doctor. This is very unprofessional. You do not have a good attitude.”

At this point, my practice manager stepped in and asked the client not to insult her staff. She apologised for any misunderstanding, but with the bottom line being we would book the surgery for as soon as possible. The reply was a shaking of the head and: “There was no misunderstanding, you told me the op would be today. Very unprofessional.”

This went back and forth for some time, with me ever-conscious of the full waiting room.

The client further accused me of being unprofessional, lying and being unprepared for the consult because I had asked whether the elderly dog had been spayed (it was unclear from the history, which dated back to before a practice software change). Incidentally, I am yet to see a doctor that has read my full (or pertinent) medical history even within different departments of the same hospital for the same injury.

Eventually, the client accepted their dog wasn’t getting the op today, despite throwing all the toys out of the pram, and wandered back to reception, dog still not on the lead.

The aftermath

I felt like I’d just been told off by a senior surgeon at uni – except that never actually happened, because none of the uni clinicians were so intimidating or rude. I was furious on so many levels and no matter how much I tried to not let it bother me, it has been playing on my mind ever since.

You would think someone who works in a medical environment – be that a GP surgery or a hospital – would realise it’s not usually possible to turn up for an appointment for a non-urgent problem and be operated on that day. Or that insulting the person offering you medical advice isn’t going to result in getting your own way.

You‘d also think they’ve probably been on the receiving end of verbal abuse and know how it feels – and you‘d hope they’d have at least some respect for other professionals, no matter how “young”.

Forcing a smile

One of the skills nobody teaches you at vet school is how to pick yourself up after being personally insulted and put a smile on your face for the next client.

All of my clients for the rest of the day were perfectly lovely, and I believe I successfully acted accordingly – but I was acting. Inside I was still stewing with rage; it’s awful how one client could make me feel so terrible, and the 10 nice ones that followed still couldn’t genuinely pick me up.

Zero tolerance

It’s easy to see why we have such a high prevalence of poor mental health and, ultimately, suicide in our profession – and it’s such a shame that a small percentage of bad clients can ruin it for us.

Luckily, I have a great practice manager and team who generally won’t tolerate such behaviour. The practice has signs similar to those seen in hospitals, stating that verbal abuse will not be tolerated. On occasion, when deemed necessary, the practice has sent out warning letters.

I would urge all practices to take the same stance, and not be afraid to “sack” abusive clients. Some worry about business, but, believe me, you do not need their business if they are going to cause staff undue stress – your staff are more important than one idiot client throwing their weight around.