Indianapolis Veterinary Emergency Clinic Refuses Contact after receiving $2300 in payment, will not give pathology report Ripoff Indianapolis Indiana

This is a copy of the email that I sent to "customer service" at this veterinary clinic. After receiving it, the vet called me at 7:30 this morning to berate me for "yelling" at his receptionist. I made a point to not yell when I spoke to her and this phone call that he made just made the situation even worse. I was told that their "policy" was to not make a phone call until test results were available, regardless of the time frame given to the patient. My cat has severe anemia and is not regenerating red blood cells. This test supposedly "had" to be done when it was so they could have the results back early and my cat could be treated appropriately. I realize that things do get lost and want to stay on top of the situation. It seems as once the payment is made, this place wants nothing to do with their customers and actually berate them. This is a sensitive situation that is not made any easier by lazy, rude office staff.

As I seem to be getting nowhere when making phone calls to your clinic, I hope to God that someone with some authority reads this email. Last Saturday night I brought my cat into your clinic at the referral of a local vet. He was near death and I understood that. I did not receive any follow-up phone calls while he was in the hospital. The only phone call I received that I did not initiate was to authorize an additional $800 in charges. Other than that I had to call and wait a few hours for a return call.

I brought him in on Thursday for a follow-up blood check. I was told that he was getting worse and needed to have a bone marrow test. I was told that it was possible that this was an easily treatable condition, but the only way to find out was through this test. They wanted to do the test that night so that they could possibly have the results back on Friday. I called at Friday afternoon around 3 and was told that they would check on it. I called again around 4 because I did not want the run around all night like I got when he was in your facility. At 6:46 a lady called and told me that these results would be available either Saturday or first thing Sunday morning.

After, unsurprisingly, not getting a call today I called around 8:40PM to see if the results were even available as my cat is slowly deteriorating. I was told that someone would call me back. I tried again around 11 and was told that they were busy and it would be tomorrow morning before we heard anything. There was no file checking or anything, just a curt youll have to wait. As I was quite upset with this lack of customer service, my husband decided to call back. The lady finally checked the chart and had the physician look to see if anything had been sent electronically. When she said it hadnt, I said that was okay and explained the situation. She became very rude and told me if my cat was dying that I needed to bring it in there. For what, so there can be more charges? I told her there was no way my cat was coming back to your facility and that we would rather take care of the situation at home. My disdain isnt for the care, but for the rudeness and lack of customer service exhibited after the animal has left.

While we are actually in your facility, the care and customer service we receive is wonderful; but I cant help but wonder if its because you know that we will be whipping out that charge card at the end of our visit. We are in this for $2300 already and I realize that my cat may not have long to live. I realize that this is something that your facility deals with everyday. However, it seems as if our heartstrings are pulled a little more every time we have to call to find out what is happening. As if our situation isnt bad enough, I have to dread it every time I dial your phone number wondering how long it will be before I actually get an answer as to what is going on. A customer should not have to go through this. I know that things have been busy, but it is like that for all of us. I need to know if I need to take off work tomorrow to go to the vet. I need to know if I should plan a vacation day later in the week to have my cat put down. I work in the medical field and know that things dont always go as planned, whether its for the patient, or trying to get another physician to do whats necessary for you to do your job. All it would have taken to avoid this e-mail was someone checking the chart to see if it contained that one piece of paper. I know that clerical people cannot explain what the paper says. I just needed to know if it was back and whether I should wait a little longer for that phone call. Thanks to your companys lack of disregard for its customers, Id like to say that I never plan on coming there again. I do already have a large amount of money invested in this cat and I would hope that it isnt spent in vain. I will, however, let my friends and family know how customers are treated when they bring their pet to IVEC.

Sara
Columbus, Indiana
U.S.A.