VCA Apache Animal Hospital

This place is efficient when providing accurate care for our four legged patients. they are pricey, if you are willing to pay it is worth the headache of not knowing what may be wrong with your pet. I unfortunately had the displeasure of bringing my dogs there this past month....I scheduled an appointment for my dogs almost 3 months in advance for an visit due to international travel. They called me to reschedule the week before, and I obliged. But then called again the day before to reschedule again because there vet tech handling my paperwork was on her day off. It is not my problem for the poor mismanagment of scheduling. And amongst the conversation, the (ladies @ the front desk) decided to let me know how "lucky" I was to have the vet tech that called out, to come in on her day off to service my dogs! Well I dont know what there definition of professionalism is but she was extremely rude, and distasteful in her attitude. Never bringing my dogs there again.

Only 4 stars because we have not been going here long enough, but they have been great so far! All the staff is polite and our dogs have been treated well. No treatment has been more expensive than similar treatments we have had in other locations, states.

In case VCA – or any vet or vet-related person – reads this, let me give you some tips from a very discerning consumer of veterinary services:

1. Don’t pretend you know things you don’t, and don’t assume that I don’t know some, or even a lot, of information about my pet’s condition. When you pretend, it destroys your credibility almost instantly. Instead, tell me that you have not dealt with this before but are going to consult with someone to make sure we get things right (and then do so!). It’s okay with me if the appointment takes a little extra time; I very much appreciate your concern and wanting to get things right. I will trust that you’re competent in other areas, and will suspect that you are about to make yourself so in this one, too. And – big plus – I will begin to trust you.

2. Learn how to deal with people calmly and compassionately. Most people who spend their hard-earned money on vet care love their pets, often like children. Thus, in this field, emotions can run quite high. I need someone who can help me sort through what’s going on and who actually cares about my pet and me. If you think I’m rude, that means you’re not getting it, and you need to cultivate more compassion and people training. Know this: Even if I respect the care you provide, if I don’t like you, I will never come back.

3. Don’t – DO NOT – hard sell medical procedures to me. (For that matter, don’t try to sell them to me at all!) Your attempts to manipulate me into paying for procedures evokes disgust and anger, and destroys any trust I might have in you. Worse, for you, it means I won’t come back and I won’t recommend you to my friends, and I am a vocal person with a community presence. Instead, provide information to me objectively, and don’t be afraid to tell me that I don’t need something that I can clearly do without. Show me that for you it’s at least as much about caring for my babies as it is about making money. If you earn my trust, I’ll be back, and I’ll tell others to come here, too.

4. Don’t – DO NOT – try to make me buy things my pet does not need. Let me say that again: DO NOT TRY TO SELL ME THINGS MY PET DOES NOT NEED. It not only evokes the emotions listed in #2, it makes me *so* completely disgusted with you that not only will I never come back, I will begin planning how to let others know that you are the absolute wrongest place to patronize. There is no alternative for this one, or any way to make this practice less unethical or wrong. It tells me – it screams to me – that you care only about money, and that my pet’s health and safety comes in second. Once I believe this, you will never see me again, and I will go way out of my way to tell everyone I know what I know about you. You will lose far more money than you would have earned had you not tried to sacrifice my pet’s safety on the altar of your greed, I promise.

I brought my diabetic dog in for treatment because he wasn't feeling well. They provided an estimate of $790 to $910 for hospitalization, testing, and care until the next morning. Having no other alternative on short notice, I consented to blood/urine testing and care just for the day.



The experience was horrible. I waited 30 minutes in line to pick him up. They are always short staffed and the customer pays for it. They charged me a few dollars short of $800 for roughly 7 hours of care. I'm not a vet, but I knew it was highly unlikely that they pumped 3 units of IV fluid into my dog in 7 short hours. I questioned this and the Apache staff reluctantly agreed that they only used 1 and offered to refund those expenses. There was medication I paid for that was never given to him. I had to point that out for them for to agree to a refund. After 30 minutes of debate, I was finally refunded $92.



I returned home only to find more discrepancies, so I returned the next morning. The office Manager MARY got downright nasty with me, telling me I disrespected her vet and the rest of the staff by not wanting to speak with the vet when I picked up my dog. That woman should never be employed in a position that requires customer contact. A person in that position should never raise their voice at a client or display hostility. This was unprovoked.



I had to call the corporate complaint department for further assistance. A short time later, I got a call from a contrite MARY apologizing and offering another refund of $100. Long story short, this place is a rip off. I identified nearly $200 in charges that I shouldn't have paid for in the first place. Those are only the ones I identified. Were there more overcharges? They charge too much to begin with. The total cost of services rendered should have been less than $400 (in another unnamed vet's opinion).



Lastly, the attitude displayed by the vet I met with was pretty much "pay the price or put him to sleep". That should tell any pet owner what they need to know about VCA Apache. In my opinion, they don't care about the animal, but only how much they can gouge the owner. My dog is doing well. That's only because I got decent care at another hospital thereafter.