Managing Difficult Clients

By Leanne Rios, CVT

One of the veterinarians I work with shared a story with me about a difficult client interaction that has affected how she handles cases now. The client had been verbally abusive to her and the staff. There was a lack of medical care compliance. She had told me that she should have put her foot down much sooner. The situation had been delicate due to the owner’s mental challenges and, of course, compassion for the animal. Eventually, she did end up firing the client. She has learned over the years and from this experience what she will tolerate and what she will no longer accept when it comes to client behavior.

While I like to think that we have many good clients that are compliant, listen to our suggestions, and do as we recommend for the wellbeing of their pets, there are a select few that make it more than difficult for us to do our jobs. This often makes me think of the unfortunate saying, ‘one bad apple spoils the bunch.’

We can understand to a certain point when clients may be upset and misdirect their anger toward us. Financial concerns are a common example of this, such as when a client says to ‘do whatever it takes,’ not understanding the cost of the care their pet receives. Another common situation is when a client acts on raw emotion from an upsetting development with their pet’s health. In both cases, veterinary team members must watch how we react so that the situation is not made worse.

I have heard and seen people who accuse veterinary teams of ‘playing with puppies and kittens all day,’ ‘being in it for the money,’ or in the extreme case, not caring about a client’s pet. To combat these thoughts and the distressing situations we can face in the clinic, I spoke to my co-workers to gain some perspective on how they would handle such difficult situations in the hopes their insight and wisdom would guide me in these trying times.

One common piece of advice I was given was that if an incorrigible client is causing a scene at your practice, try to take them into a room to offer privacy so other clients are not involved in the situation. Most of the time people just want to be heard. It is best to let them rant and listen to what they are saying without interrupting.

Once the client is finished, depending on the situation, remember to keep calm and prioritize empathy in your response. Statements such as, ‘I hear what you are saying’ and ‘I understand your frustration’ can help to demonstrate this. Offer to explain the facts of the case and try to explain why certain treatments are necessary for their pet. Of course, if the client is being verbally abusive, end the conversation for the time being to prevent further escalation. You could offer the client a chance to arrange a follow-up meeting either by phone or inperson for another day once tempers cool down. If you are a technician, receptionist, or assistant, this may involve getting a doctor or your practice manager involved in the situation.

If you are a practice manager or doctor, consider offering the client your work email so that they may contact you should they choose to discuss the situation further. Sometimes a situation works out—the client feels that they have been heard and their pet often gets the continued care they need. On the other hand, even if you do everything right, including breaking down the invoice and reviewing the necessary treatments and diagnostics, and the client really cannot be reasoned with, then the best outcome for the veterinary clinic may be to terminate the veterinary-client-patient relationship. This should be done by clinic leadership.

It is important to remember that if the situation did escalate to this point, it is not a reflection on anybody in the practice. It is a reflection on the client. We are in this profession to be advocates for our patients by being their voice and activist in their time of need. We should take strength from that knowledge to help us through these challenging times. I hope that one day, the stigma around veterinary medicine will change and more clients will truly see beyond the curtain that our worth is far greater for what we do, and all that we are able to accomplish with our knowledge and skills rather than just see dollar signs and us as playmates for their ‘puppy’ and/or ‘kitten.’