Letter to dvm360: Inappropriate client interactions should be managed, not sugar-coated

I was amused to read Dr. Marc Rosenberg's column in March regarding crazy clients and snappy patients. It amazes me that our profession is still following such a sniveling, ingratiating attitude toward rude and impossible people who have idolatrous relationships with their pets!

Have we no self-respect? Sooner or later our profession needs to deal with pathology in the human-animal bond. Unhealthy, codependent relationships between people and their pets as they try to turn them into spouses or children are not good for the person or the animal. Half the time the animal looks at me like “Please, doc, get this nutcase away from me. She's totally tweaking my head.”

After being in practice for 37 years, I have adopted the following practices: Client records are marked with something to warn the staff when truly needed, and if we ever copy those records to give to a client or another veterinary clinic, a black magic marker works really well to remove the small warning symbol on the front of a record. Passing those symbols along to someone as ridiculous as Mrs. Potts is nothing short of stupid.

Secondly, we follow the “three strikes and you're out” rule. Unreasonable clients have a letter sent to them explaining the boundaries of appropriate behavior. They are told that we will do everything we can to take good care of them and bend over backward to treat their pet as if it were our own. However, we will not put up with shenanigans or tirades toward our doctors or staff. This warning goes out after the third time that their interactions with hospital staff have been inappropriate. They are told that we will refer them elsewhere if the behavior pattern manifests itself again. Appropriate boundaries such as this should be common sense to anyone who's ever raised children or trained animals. It's time to stop kissing butt and enabling bad behavior and start training these clients to act appropriately.

Dr. Rosenberg says, “Dr. Sims learned a lesson the hard way.” I do not agree. I think Dr. Sims was blessed by losing a person who would make the staff and the entire hospital miserable on a regular basis. I fire these bad clients just as soon as I see that they are not willing to learn appropriate behavior and stay within appropriate boundaries. It is well-known that 5 percent of your clientele will cause 95 percent of your problems.

It is not worth kowtowing to these people. Define what is appropriate, warn them if necessary and get rid of them if you have to. Your clinic will be happier, your staff will respect you for it and you will sleep much better at night. As veterinarians, we are supposed to know the basics of behavioral modification and training, right?

Gregg A. Townsley, DVM

Phoenix, Arizona