To make a formal complaint to the vet surgery?

[Undies1990]

Today, after taking my cat to the vet, he was given back to me in the car park by the vet. The vet put the cat box on the tarmac behind my car and to my absolute horror, my cat escaped because the door of the cat box hadn't been closed/locked properly by the staff inside the vet surgery.

Covid means customers cannot go inside the vets and have to hand over their animals in the car park.

I am relieved that I did eventually manage to get hold of my cat and put him back into the box after a very stressful time in the car park which is right next to a very busy main road. The vet was extremely apologetic but I didn't complain at the time because I was stressed, shaking and just wanted to get my cat home.

AIBU to make a formal complaint or should I just let it go? Mistakes happen and all that ...

You got your cat back. It was a mistake and the vet is unlikely to make that mistake again.

Oh goodness that must’ve been very stressful. I don’t think I’d complain personally as the vet was so apologetic and made a mistake and the cat was thankfully OK - I might think differently if there was no acknowledgment or apology or god forbid the cat got hurt. I’m sure the vet felt awful.

Hope your cat recovers!

I second @Joopy

Yabu to formally complain. At most phone the manager and ask them to share the near miss incident with staff.

What do you think a formal complaint will do that won't be done from a c9nversation with the practice manager?

It was an accident that can be learned from. Please think how you would want to be treated if you made an equivalent error at work or when looking after your children- you'd be grateful if others flagged it and handled it with grace and be grateful no harm actually occurred and be more careful next time.

Being vengeful won't change the situation, at best you'll feel a few minutes relief from your vent and make a lot of fuss which only solves to make you feel better.

All a complaint will achieve is either the staff member in question, or all staff, will be given a reminder to ensure all carriers are closed properly.

The fact it happened will achieve that anyway as the vet will have walked straight back into the practice and told whoever was there what happened. So they’ll all be extra cautious. So no need for complaint.

You already made them aware and were apologised to. I don’t see what the point of a “formal” complaint would be.

Cat’s safe and vet apologised. What would you gain from a formal complaint?

Yabu. Did 6ou never watch All Creatures great and small. They were always losing pets.

How awful!
Given you’ve said the vet was extremely apologetic, I wouldn’t necessarily complain. If they hadn’t seemed to be particularly bothered, I would be raising merry hell.
Depending on how well you know the vet practice or if they are large/small, if maybe have a chat with the practice manager or senior partner to let them know what happened (not a complaint as such) so that they are aware and need to have some kind of double check in place prior to leaving the building. If I was a vet, I’d be cable tying the flap/door closed once I was done and point it out to clients so they could cut it open at home. (But someone will probably be along shortly to say what a terrible idea that is)

It was an accident. Handing you a grip

I agree with PP , it was a mistake and must of been very scary for you and your cat but all has ended well .
I very much doubt that particular vet will make that mistake again and I an sure her will of told all his colleagues about the incident to so I am sure they will double check too so I would not make a formal complaint .
If you do want to say something perhaps a email to them asking them to put a notice up to remind all vets / reception staff to double check the (cat, rabbit , hamster, etc ) carriers are secure before they rake them outside .

@Waveysnail

It was an accident. Handing you a grip

Don't ne so rude. It's their pet. I'm sure the vet has made his/her view known to their staff, but I don't think a follow up phone call would hurt

No I wouldn't make a complaint. It was an accident. The vet no doubt feels dreadful and won't make that mistake again. Obviously not the same thing but I work with young children and unfortunately have accidentally injured them on a few occasions (think bumped head on door frame while carrying them in or caught fingers while closing the door- this one I actually cried over as I felt horrendous) thankfully the parents and my manager understood that accidents happen. I'd be devastated if a complaint had have been put in. Please think about how this could affect the poor vet who meant no harm.

Nothing you can say in a complaint will have any more effect than the vet beating themselves up about it tonight. They're going to be feeling awful and running the "What ifs" through their mind over and over again.

Adding to that won't achieve anything.

I would actually, they should have a staff chat about making extra sure the carriers are closed. Less of a complaint and more of a feedback thing, you don’t know if that vet went back and reminded everyone because of this near miss. Vets are having to change how they do things, they must be under a lot of stress, BUT, when things go wrong it’s important that they change policies or go over things again to ensure the safety of the animals. You were lucky yours wasn’t killed. Maybe there is a different place to put the carriers to reduce the risk of this happening again. Our old vet did something they shouldn’t of, because of these new measures and being rushed and our cat suffered enormous pain unnecessarily ( he just died ).

I would also recommend a carrier that has a zip rather than the plastic ones with locks. Zips are far safer as you can’t accidentally think you’ve closed it.

God you lot are so rude. I wouldn’t personally complain but I can’t say I wouldn’t be livid! I did a similar thing myself when visiting my parents and I was shaking the whole drive home

Less of a complaint and more of a feedback thing agree with this!

Get a grip. All is well but vengeance never ends well.

Get a grip. All is well but vengeance never ends well.

Complaints don’t equal vengeance. In this case it’s a chance to remind all staff to be extra careful around new rules, as this one puts the animals lives in danger if they aren’t incredibly careful. No need to be so rude.

What is it with people saying get a grip. So fucking rude. I wouldn’t want to come across you in real life

@yolio

Get a grip. All is well but vengeance never ends well.

Making a complaint about something that shouldn't have happened and could have turned out very differently is hardly "vengeance".

Thanks to those handing me a grip

To everyone else, thanks for your feedback - I won't be making a formal complaint as I am sure the incident was raised with the staff on duty at the time.

No problem Undies.

What do you want to achieve from a formal complaint. You have kitty back uninjured that is great.

Things can happen without any malice aforethought.

But complain away, you really don't need our approval. It is your choice.

This is a forum where people ask for advice. If all you’ve got is rudeness, find something else to do.

Actually feedback reinforces what happened was a significant mistake and staff will be told to make sure they’re all really careful. An animal could have lost its life unnecessarily, it was luck it did not. No harm in asking them if they had a staff chat about it. I was thanked for my feedback. Don’t hesitate.

This happened to me once, dodgy cat box and someones cat got out as I was leaving the door. Luckily I managed to grab it but I nearly had a heart attack on the spot.

Accidents happen, I’m sure your vet felt stressed enough.

I know it must have been horribly scary (and I totally understand your anger) but what is there to be gained by making a complaint?

I'm glad your kitty is okay