Business ProfileforHelping Hands Veterinary Surgery

We had a 7:30am surgery appointment today and they had us waiting outside for 1 hr in 80 degree weather expecting people to keep their car running wasting gas for the *** And they still don't know how much longer. I asked for the dog to go inside where it's cooler and a young man said some staff's kid is sleeping in the lobby so it's not safe. WTF! So unprofessional. If you bring your kid to work they shouldn't imped the business/customers. Move the kid somewhere else instead of making customers wait outside. Then if a dog get heat stroke they'll have you to pay them to treat the dog. They should pay for the gas.A manager just came out a bit over the 1hour **** and had an attitude that I questioned the wait time and was sarcastic about the potential of heat stroke telling me I should take the dog elsewhere if I feel the dog isn't doing well in a AC car. She stated irritation that she had to talk to me right after a holiday break. Not my problem or business. I stated i only asked if the dog could go in and stated I was told no due to someones daughter sleeping in the lobby. She stated there was someones daughter sleeping then proceeded with saying she doesn't think we have a good working relationship and we cant move forward. She got more upset at the mention of the child in the lobby sleeping blocking people from being in there and told us they won't do the surgery. Totally unprofessional. And claimed they sent a remind message before that the wait can be 90mins and we looked and they looked and no proof. This woman has no business being a manager she is hotheaded and emotional. She's putting pets at risk. The owner of the business needs to evaluate that manager and their procedures. I have called the attorney general for VA and will file a official complaint. Outrageous to deny an animal care because of a concerned owner who didn't use foul language or raised their voice or behaved aggressively. There was no valid reason to deny

Dear ***********************,Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention regarding your appointment at Helping Hands on July 8, 2024.Appointment and Intake Process:As outlined in our intake procedures, appointments begin promptly at 7:30 AM, and for safety reasons, initial intake procedures are conducted in vehicles to maintain a controlled environment for all pets. This policy is communicated to all clients beforehand to manage the high volume of appointments efficiently. This was acknowledged and sent electronically when you scheduled. Safety and Pet Comfort:During your arrival, you expressed concerns about your pet's well-being and cited heat stroke due to the weather after a significant car journey. In response, we recommended immediate care at a nearby critical care facility, as we do not have the resources for emergent situations and could not proceed with the intake process for a surgical procedure if there were concerns about heat stroke. After being offered this, you insisted we should be more concerned about your pet and you don't think it has heat stroke, you wanted to know why you couldn't fill paperwork out inside. We explained the intake process to you and weren't really able to get much further than this.Professionalism and Client Interaction We regret any misunderstanding regarding comments made about our client lounge. While there was a brief discussion, this did not influence our decision-making process. All pets enter our hospital for the intake process only after the intake process and payment are completed, adhering to our standard procedures. Decision Not to Proceed with Procedure Based on the interaction during your visit, including disrespectful behavior towards multiple staff members, including eye-rolling and verbal disrespect, we made the difficult decision not to proceed with the scheduled procedure. Performing surgery on a client's pet after being told we don't care about them or their pet isn't something we are comfortable with. Our priority is the safety and well-being of all animals entrusted to our care, and we maintain high standards of professionalism and respect towards our staff. Client Care and Feedback We value your feedback and continuously strive to improve our services. As a business, we reserve the right to refuse service to individuals who do not adhere to our policies or display disrespectful behavior towards our staff.Conclusion We appreciate your understanding of our procedures and policies. Should you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us directly at ************.