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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / June 2004Stupid, Stupid, Stupid People! (long)
It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got something in the mail yesterday which I didn't look at until today and it's set me off again. (sigh) For the most part vets and their tech's are really nice people (like our recently 'outed' tech, Mischief here!). But I swear, the animal hospital where I used to take my dog Sampson, can they be any more obtuse? Sampson went to the RB in November, 1999. He was nearly 18 years old. They had been treating him for years with daily medication for congestive heart failure. He was on special low sodium prescription canned food the last 5 years of his life. They were small 'half cans' of food at about $25/case for (IIRC) 10 cans. There was another pill he had to take daily as well, I can't recall now what it was for. He was also being treated for "doggie dementia" with a medication called Anipryl which cost about $80 a month. I couldn't afford any of this but somehow I did it anyway. On November 3, 1999, I took him for his final visit. Two weeks later I got something in the mail from the company that mfg's Anipryl. It was a certificate for a Free First Trial of this drug for "senior" dogs who exhibit symptoms of doggie altzheimers. I was about to write it off as coincidence until I noticed they had my vet's return address stamped inside the correspondence, suggesting I redeem it there. I was FURIOUS! They'd given my name and address to this drug company! I like to think I'm a fairly competent writer. I can be clear, concise and to the point. I can also most definitely let the reader know, in scathing terms, just how angry I am. I wrote to the drug company rep and did just that. I informed her my dog had died two weeks earlier. I let her know in no uncertain terms, no one offered a "freebie" of this expensive drug the entire two years he was on it even though I couldn't afford it. I demanded to be taken off their list immediately. I cc'd and mailed a copy to his vet. A week or so later I got a hand-written note of apology, not from the vet who had treated Sampson all those years, but from the owner of the clinic. He said yes, they did make my info available along with info on other "senior" pets who might benefit from this medication. He indicated they had no idea Sampson was so ill. Excuse ME? Ever think to pull his chart and see what you guys were treating him for, not to mention his extreme age? And that he was already ON this medication, so the certificate for a Free First Trial wouldn't have done me a damned bit of good anyway? (deep breath) I went through my mail from yesterday this morning. I got a letter from this same clinic about a new heartworm injectible for my dog. Hello. You put him to sleep in 1999. Why the hell am I on a mailing list for this in 2004?! Stuff like this just chaps my a.s. But unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on it. If, however, for some reason going forward they think I still need reminding about caring for my dog they'll be hearing from me. Jill >It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got something in the >mail yesterday which I didn't look at until today and it's set me off again. [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > >Jill Try to be philosophical -- probably new people who were not properly trained. Several years ago, a neighbor took in a stray yellow cat whom she dearly loved. The cat became ill and she asked me to drive her to my Vet (at that time), which I did. The cat was diagnosed with FIP and the Vet said he was near death. They treated him for a couple of days until he died. That cost my neughbor $500. In a couple of weeks, I got a letter from the Vet thanking me for sending business to them. Nothing was said about the poor, suffering cat that died. Ouch, ouch, and double ouch. That really sucks! As far as I know my clinic does no such thing, but it totally blows that people do that. Money is the reason why I quit my job working at a vaccination clinic. All the big people up top cared about was money money money. I'm really sorry for both of you that you've had to deal with stoopid people. Purrs to both of you. Kristi Same thing happened to my mother, but on a human scale. My father was being treated as an out-patient at a VA (Veteran's Administration) Hospital for heart ailments - to put it bluntly, he had a couple of bad valves, and his heart was not pumping blood properly. In 1988 they were going to do valve replacement surgery, but while staying in the hospital for bloodtests & such before the surgery, his kidneys started failing. They could not do kidney transplant because of the weakened condition of his heart, and couldn't do the heart surgery because of the major risk of infection (rejecting the transplants) with his kidneys shutting down. They had him on dialysis to try & give his kidneys a rest, and maybe they would start back up. This continued for a couple of weeks. The VA Hospital is about 1.5-2 hour drive from our home, so us kids didn't go see him that often, and when Mom went, she usually spent a night or two in a 'courtesy' bed they would set up for her. One morning, after about a few weeks of this going on, Mom got a call at home - dad had passed away during the night, in his sleep - all efforts at resuscitation failed. Not even six months later, Mom gets a phone call from the EXACT same VA Hospital, the VERY same department/wing where he was when he passed on, to remind my father to set up his bi-annual heart checkup. Mom let them have a piece of her mind ;) (it wasn't the pretty piece either) but on another note, when my brother graduated from High School, he joined the Air Force. This after being pestered by every branch of the military to sign on EXCEPT the Air Force. This was 1979, and computers were just beginning to get their grip on society - and my brother had taken computer classes from the local trade school (he got course credit applied to his High School diploma), and the military were trying to snatch up any of what we would now call computer geeks that they could. After his basic training, he was stationed in Germany (Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt). A few weeks after he went over there, an Army recruiter called the house, and asked for him. I had answered the phone, and I just said that "he can't come to the phone, he's in Germany", Army recruiter asked what he was doing in Germany (I guess he though an after high school jaunt through Europe), and I replied "He joined the Air Force 3 days after he graduated." There was a noticeably embarrassed silence on the other end of the line :)  SignatureThe ONE and ONLY lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)? email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep > It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got something in the > mail yesterday which I didn't look at until today and it's set me off again. [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > > Jill Magic Mood Jeep© wrote: > Same thing happened to my mother, but on a human scale. My father was being > treated as an out-patient at a VA (Veteran's Administration) Hospital for [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Mom let them have a piece of her mind ;) (it wasn't the pretty piece > either) TWO YEARS after my Mom died, my sister-in-law (who had handled her finanacial affairs, since she lived in the same city and I didn't) started receiving increasingly rude "past due" notices addressed to Mom from an HMO (who had only gotten into the act because the senior facility where Mom lived hadn't bothered to send her to her own doctor). Being a conscientious person, Charleene kept phoning and writing them, with no result except more notices. She finally took my advice, and the next time one arrived simply marked the envelope "Deceased" (it was addressed to my mother, after all, not to her) and "return to sender". After that she never heard another word. (But imagine waiting until two years after the patient's death to start dunning them!) > Not even six months later, Mom gets a phone call from the EXACT same VA > Hospital, the VERY same department/wing where he was when he passed on, to > remind my father to set up his bi-annual heart checkup. Most of the "reminder calls" I get from the VAMCs are computer-originated and use computer-generated synthetic voices. Perhaps that's what happened. SignatureThe One-and-only Holy Moses? Not likely - being 1988 and all. SignatureThe ONE and ONLY lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)? email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep > > Not even six months later, Mom gets a phone call from the EXACT same VA > > Hospital, the VERY same department/wing where he was when he passed on, to > > remind my father to set up his bi-annual heart checkup. > > Most of the "reminder calls" I get from the VAMCs are computer-originated > and use computer-generated synthetic voices. Perhaps that's what happened. > after about a few weeks of this going on, Mom got a call at home - > dad had passed away during the night, in his sleep - all efforts at [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Mom let them have a piece of her mind ;) (it wasn't the pretty > piece either) As others have pointed out, it's poor record keeping/mailing list maintenance, pure and simple. It's still enough to drive you up a tree. I'm sorry your mom had to deal with that. Jill >> It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got >> something in the mail yesterday which I didn't look at until today [quoted text clipped - 53 lines] >> >> Jill Had a friend whose father passed away. The family started sorting ot the paperwork, ando ne was to get another medicare card without his name on it. Sure enough, the new medicare card turned up, with his name was absent. But who do you think they addressed the envelope to, informing him he had been removed from the card and therefore had to apply for his own, seperate one. I would not have wanted to be the person who took *that* complaint call. Yowie >(deep breath) I went through my mail from yesterday this morning. I got a >letter from this same clinic about a new heartworm injectible for my dog. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >for some reason going forward they think I still need reminding about caring >for my dog they'll be hearing from me. Sampson must have been a wonderful dog for you to have cared for and about him so much. It might help to think of it as what they call an "integration", or "data cleanliness" problem. Nobody maintains mailing lists well. They should make a special effort with sensitive stuff like this though. One of the worst examples of poor, insensitive recordkeeping I've heard of was when they kept calling Cheryl to ask to speak to her late son Eric about his student loans. > Sampson must have been a wonderful dog for you to have cared for and > about him so much. > > It might help to think of it as what they call an "integration", or > "data cleanliness" problem. Nobody maintains mailing lists well. You've got that right! Everytime I buy something from Lane Bryant's catalog, they must add me to their list again! (Lately I've been getting at least one a day.) > It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got [snip] > unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on And there is some good reason to keep on trusting your beloved pets to this place which has demonstrated both stupidity and ignorance? SignatureThe One-and-only Holy Moses? >> It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got [snip] >> unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on > > And there is some good reason to keep on trusting your beloved pets > to this place which has demonstrated both stupidity and ignorance? Oh, I don't take my pets there. I haven't been there since that day in November, 1999. That's why I don't understand why, after all this time, I suddenly got this letter from them. Jill >>> It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got [snip] >>> unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >Jill Probably an outdated mailing list and nobody bothered to check it out. There are "detail people" and those who are not. Years ago my boss brought me a mailing list a friend had passed on to him and asked me how long it would take to prepare envelopes for a mailing. I said "a week". He was aghast and said why? for that many envelopes. I asked him if he had really looked at the list? Names of prominent people long deceased. Downtown businesses no longer there. I explained that since the list was 10 years oild, every address would have to be checked out. It was a tedious job. Any newcomer would not have known this. >>>> It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got >>>> [snip] unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >checked out. It was a tedious job. Any newcomer would not have >known this. My parents lived in the same house here in Nashville for 25 years. For the first 15 years of that time, they received a thick, glossy gift catalog every year from a company in Ireland, addressed to the previous occupants of the house. The combined cost of printing the catalog and mailing it across the Atlantic must have been $8 or $9. My parents never ordered anything from the catalog; the goods were beautiful but very expensive. After 15 years, the company either got around to purging their mailing list, or (I suspect) went bankrupt from sending out thousands of catalogs to out-of-date addresses. SignatureJohn F. Eldredge -- john@jfeldredge.com PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria > >> It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got [snip] > >> unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > November, 1999. That's why I don't understand why, after all this time, I > suddenly got this letter from them. *1999*??? Now THAT is not only strange, it's weird! Perhaps they use an index-cards system and yours was caught in the box... or something... SignatureThe One-and-only Holy Moses? >>>> It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got [snip] >>>> unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Perhaps they use an index-cards system and yours was caught in the > box... or something... I know they had a computer for billing purposes so I can't imagine a manual mailing list, but you never know. I too thought it was extremely odd that 5 years passed before I suddenly got correspondence from them again. Jill >>It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got [snip] >>unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on > > And there is some good reason to keep on trusting your beloved pets to this > place which has demonstrated both stupidity and ignorance? If you'd read more carefully - she DOESN'T! (She SAID it was her prior vet, not the present one.) > >>It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got [snip] > >>unless I get another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > If you'd read more carefully - she DOESN'T! (She SAID it was her prior > vet, not the present one.) Okay, okay, no fair making fun of me when my vision blurs and I misread something... SignatureThe One-and-only Holy MosesT ......Stuff like this just chaps my a.s. But unless I get > another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on it. If, however, > for some reason going forward they think I still need reminding about caring > for my dog they'll be hearing from me. > > Jill Jill, It's hard enough to lose a loved one the first time, but to continue to be reminded of it in such a way nearly five years later would make me upset, too. I hope it doesn't happen again. Annie Hate to tell you, but it's plain and simple poor record keeping on your vet's part. After five years, records should have been purged from the system, or at very least a code that showed pet was deceased. I would suggest calling them and politely asking them to purge you from their system, before you become impolite! :) And the human - had happen to me. A few months after my mom died, got a bill from hospital $180 to pronounce her dead - I hit the roof. Can I get a job to do that, sounds like it pays good money, how hard is it to take a listen to see if heart is still beating? Anyway, said insurance company wouldn't pay - turns out hospital coded it wrong, insurance company didn't know what it was for. The next is kind of ironic. My mother remarried when I was under a year - her married name became "Joan Crawford" - yes like the movie star (no I did not get beat for using wire hangers!). Turns out there was ANOTHER Joan Crawford, also in Pittsburgh w/the same health insurance my mother had had. We got a bill for a mastectomy and something else - pretty good considering my mother had been cremated so there was nothing left to remove. This woman also went to the same doctor as my mother. The doctor's office fixed that in a jiffy. But it's always the insurance companies that royally ticked me off for one reason or another. If it were up to them they'd let us all die painful deaths from something that could be so simply cured. (sorry, my own rant now) The downside, my mother never did get any "royalty" checks from the "real" late Joan Crawford! (Please forgive me if I offended anyone - I have a very sarcastic sense of humor, which can be taken the wrong way!). > It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got something in the > mail yesterday which I didn't look at until today and it's set me off again. [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > > Jill > (deep breath) I went through my mail from yesterday this morning. I got a > letter from this same clinic about a new heartworm injectible for my dog. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Jill That sort of thing is inexcusable, especially given the time frame involved. Jeanette >But unless I get >another stupid correspondence from them, I won't act on it. If, however, >for some reason going forward they think I still need reminding about caring >for my dog they'll be hearing from me. They give our names and addresses to a service that sends out yearly reminders for shots and visits. I guess they also give it out to drug and food companies. I get lots of stuff addressed to my cats Boots who's been dead 1.5 years. I also get it for all the many fosters I've had. With the new mandatory privacy policy they must tell you ahead of time what htey will do with your information. If you don't want them to give it out, you just check a box or call a number and they take it off. That's the law, at least here in California, USA. I am not that fond of being reminded of Boots passing every time I get a notice but at least it's not as bad as it used to be. I really balled my head off when the vet who put him to sleep sent me a card and all the vet techs signed it. mmmaryinla@aol.comspam (Mary) had some very interesting things to say about Re: Stupid, Stupid, Stupid People! (long): >I really balled my head off when the vet who put him to sleep sent me a card and all the >vet techs signed it. Now I think that's a very nice thing for them to do. Signature"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing (or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL > It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got something in the > mail yesterday which I didn't look at until today and it's set me off again. [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > for some reason going forward they think I still need reminding about caring > for my dog they'll be hearing from me. I feel your frustration! Thankfully I don't tend to get personally addressed junk mail (Reader's Digest stuff notwithstanding, but they're *obviously* Reader's Digest stuff) and the rest of the stuff that comes through the mail box goes in the recycling *at my leisure* but telemarketing drives me nuts, *expecially* the "begging money for charity" ones. I know the people on the other end of the phone are just poorly paid, poorly treated call centre drudges, and its not their fault they're trying to earn a living, but it still drives me nuts *especailly* when they seem to all call in the mad two hours between 5:30pm and 7:30pm when we're in the middle of cooking, eating dinner, feeding Cary, bathing Cary, and Trying to Get Cary To Sleep. Argh! Hisspit to all companies that use impersonal, irresponsible and heartless marketing techniques. Yowie (snip)> >Hisspit to all companies that use impersonal, irresponsible and heartless >marketing techniques. > >Yowie That would be most of them, wouldn't it? Theresa My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com alt.tv.frasier FAQ: http://www.im-listening.net/FAQ/ In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", Kreisleriana <kreisleriana2@yahoo.com> artfully composed this message within <news:9t7rc05443je0b2i24pg0u7tsmt7cde7j7@4ax.com> on 14 Jun 2004: >>Hisspit to all companies that use impersonal, irresponsible and >>heartless marketing techniques. >> >>Yowie > > That would be most of them, wouldn't it? Spam is the worst. You get unsolicited email from companies spoofing the ?from? address, to recipients that they glean from some list somewhere. I used to get a lot of spam for my son, both before and after he passed away, but after he passed was the worst. Subject lines saying "Eric, your time is almost up to refinance" and all sorts of other ironic subject lines. I just changed ISPs and those SPAMs are gone now. At least those can be stopped, but the volume was worse than snailmail. SignatureCheryl > > It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got something in > the [quoted text clipped - 76 lines] > > Yowie Amen to that! We now have a law here in the United States that allows you to call and put yourself on a list not to be called. There are lots of loopholes. If you've done business with a company, or if you've contacted them, they can still call you. Charities are exempt. Still, I get a lot fewer of those annoying calls than I used to. As for junk mail, I still get advertisements addressed to my husband, who died over 18 years ago. Recently I got a letter from the Republican party, addressed to him, and asking for a donation. He was a registered Republican, but I am not. Somehow, their not keeping up with details about whether their constituents are still alive, doesn't make me want to change my registration. I used to just throw away stuff addressed to Jim. Now I write "deceased" on the envelope and send it back. I think they have to pay for return postage, so maybe that will make them update their lists. Joy >> > It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got >something in [quoted text clipped - 139 lines] > >Joy Unless it is first class mail, it is a wasted effort. I believe the PO just junks it. MLB > As for junk mail, I still get advertisements addressed to my husband, > who died over 18 years ago. Recently I got a letter from the Republican > party, addressed to him, and asking for a donation. *snip* Your post about junk mail reminded me of something. Here's a possible way to annoy those junk mailers you get where they give you envelopes to respond - respond w/other junk mail you have received and mail to them. My dad gets stuff for the democrats - want me to send it to you so you can send to the republicans? How's that for a donation? <smile "Yowie" <yowie9644.DIESPAMDIE@yahoo.com.au> had some very interesting things to say about Re: Stupid, Stupid, Stupid People! (long): >Thankfully I don't tend to get personally addressed junk mail (Reader's >Digest stuff notwithstanding, but they're *obviously* Reader's Digest stuff) [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >and 7:30pm when we're in the middle of cooking, eating dinner, feeding Cary, >bathing Cary, and Trying to Get Cary To Sleep. Argh! Australia *needs* the Do Not Call registry that the US just got in. Signature"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing (or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL >It's a RANT. Pardon me if I've told this before, but I got something in the >mail yesterday which I didn't look at until today and it's set me off again. [quoted text clipped - 48 lines] > >Jill Jill, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Just a few weeks after Mojo died, I got a card in the mail reminding me his rabies shot was due :-( Upset me for days. Ginger-lyn |
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