# ugh. all of you that work in vets' offices...help



## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

A bit of background:

I recently started a job at an animal hospital here to get a bit more experience before going to school for my vet tech degree next year. It's an awesome place to be... always busy and bustling. I work up front... "client services" aka reception and also do a lot of grunt work. With that said though, clients always ask us for food recommendations. I have seen the other girls leap to the shelves of Science Diet and Royal Canin and sing its praises. We are also told to HEAVILY push vaccinations, heartguard, frontline, etc (the clinic gets big bucks for that). 

How do those of you in vet settings handle this? I can't simply say, "Oh well, I think there are better alternatives out there..." because I am sort of (really) concerned it could impact my job. I am never at the desk alone... there are at least 1-2 other girls at the front with me (it is an extremely busy place). I couldn't say it discretely and just based on the general attitude, I know that any mention of anything other than Science Diet, let alone raw, would get me a flogging!

With that said, it is an AWESOME place to work otherwise. Everyone is very kind and the clients are great. I just feel SO bad...like they are being duped big time. 80 bucks for a 17 pound bag of food? Oh yeah, that's totally fine because it's prescription Science Diet. It will work wonders for your pet! Nevermind that it's not even made in this country - big deal. 

Thoughts?


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## monkeys23 (Dec 8, 2010)

Smile and let the other girls handle it? I dunno, I'd have a real hard time peddling that crap. But on the other hand job = $, so yeah. Ugh I'm sorry, that blows.


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## cprcheetah (Jul 14, 2010)

I am the same "Job=Money" luckily my vet will also recommend things like TOTW and Blue Buffalo, but I about gag when I have to sell Royal Canin or Purina Vet Diets. It is very very hard for me, but I also don't want to 'rock the boat' as it's also my paycheck that I depend on....so I know it's tough but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I am working on 'slowly' educating everyone on proper nutrition, and my vet knows Corn is an inferior ingredient....so that's a start.


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

Have they said you have to recommend the food that you sell? My vet was the one who recommended a kibble only diet to me when I got duke (thanks for that, mr vet...) but the one he said to get wasn't even one he sold (which was probably why I listened - I didn't think he was pushing me to something just to make him more money). Perhaps they will let you recommend other, higher quality, kibbles? Perhaps just talk to the boss about it, tell them you want to know what you can and can't say to clients, because you dont want to overstep the mark. They shouldn't punish you for NOT believing that Science Diet is a good food, but in a way, they can tell you what to say to customers, so they should be grateful you are asking them before recommending some other alternatives

Either that, or you get Jon to send you a big batch of PMR business cards when they are made up, and you work out a way to slip them to clients on the sly :thumb: or just post them to your entire client database in your own time hahaha


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I didn't realize they also made money off the vaccinations and heartworm meds.

My vet is a peon in her clinic and doesn't share in the profits; she gets a straight salary. Maybe that's why she doesn't push crap food and vaccines on us.


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

Could you mention that they should check out a dog food review website and find something within their means?


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

KittyKat said:


> Could you mention that they should check out a dog food review website and find something within their means?


That's a good idea... I have thought about that one a lot! It would definitely have to be discretely, but I think it could be doable. 

I guess the thing that irks me is that these aren't bad people who are knowingly feeding their dog sh*t. They think it's great stuff because their vet said so and that should be all the word they need, right?

Just makes me feel a little bad I guess....

Otherwise it's great! haha :biggrin:


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## DeekenDog (Aug 29, 2011)

I'm not much help- I quit my job at a bustling, busy, prescription diet peddling clinic and moved to a new clinic that, not only supports, but promotes raw feeding. The vet who does most of our nutrition consults is a BARF feeder but she's open to my way of feeding. We basically don't carry any commercial food (except for clients who have us special order it), we don't push vaccines beyond the initial puppy series, and the clinic is generally much more "animal-focused" if that makes sense. When I was working in that totally traditional environment, I just kept my head down.


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

DeekenDog said:


> I'm not much help- I quit my job at a bustling, busy, prescription diet peddling clinic and moved to a new clinic that, not only supports, but promotes raw feeding. The vet who does most of our nutrition consults is a BARF feeder but she's open to my way of feeding. We basically don't carry any commercial food (except for clients who have us special order it), we don't push vaccines beyond the initial puppy series, and the clinic is generally much more "animal-focused" if that makes sense. When I was working in that totally traditional environment, I just kept my head down.


I think that's how it's going to be for me too....but since I'm just a peon right now, I don't think I can afford to be picky. ;-) Beggars can't be choosers, right? I'm just glad to be in a veterinary setting! It'll be good for me...and maybe I'll save the poor


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

It depends on if you want to keep your job peaceful, to be honest. I dealt with this for four years at my previous clinic. She was against raw adamantly, leery of any "high quality" foods because there wasn't the "research" to back their claims up like SD, etc. I just grinned and agreed most of the time. IF the client asked for other alternatives or better foods, then I would send them to a dog food ratings website like the one on dog food chat main page or dogfoodanalysis.com. 

Maybe ask your boss/vet about it. Sweetly act naive about the subject and see how they feel about it. If they seem open to grain free diets, etc then give all the good advice that you have to offer. If they aren't open to those kinds of things then just go with the general consensus of the clinic. 

Trust me, its not worth the headache to get on the "bad side" of the place. I've been there and it caused me much stress. If I could go back and change things I wouldn't have told my boss that I feed raw.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

DeekenDog said:


> I'm not much help- I quit my job at a bustling, busy, prescription diet peddling clinic and moved to a new clinic that, not only supports, but promotes raw feeding. The vet who does most of our nutrition consults is a BARF feeder but she's open to my way of feeding. We basically don't carry any commercial food (except for clients who have us special order it), we don't push vaccines beyond the initial puppy series, and the clinic is generally much more "animal-focused" if that makes sense. When I was working in that totally traditional environment, I just kept my head down.


I want to take my dogs to your vet!


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## nupe (Apr 26, 2011)

minnieme said:


> A bit of background:
> 
> I recently started a job at an animal hospital here to get a bit more experience before going to school for my vet tech degree next year. It's an awesome place to be... always busy and bustling. I work up front... "client services" aka reception and also do a lot of grunt work. With that said though, clients always ask us for food recommendations. I have seen the other girls leap to the shelves of Science Diet and Royal Canin and sing its praises. We are also told to HEAVILY push vaccinations, heartguard, frontline, etc (the clinic gets big bucks for that).
> 
> ...



[email protected] Prescription Science Diet....damn vets should be ashamed of themselves!!!


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## DeekenDog (Aug 29, 2011)

shellbell said:


> I want to take my dogs to your vet!


The vets (and all the staff if I do say so myself) are fabulous. I'm so, so happy that I took the initiative and moved jobs. Not only am I happier, but I feel like Deeken gets better veterinary care that is tailored more to his individual needs


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