On 6/30/11, I had an appointment with South County Veterinary Hospital to have a cherry-eye removed from my dog's eye. After having a few scheduling issues and needing to reschedule on three seperate occasions, the Vet's office informed me that the best time to show up was 8am on 6/30/11. Keep in mind that I live in Hanford, CA, which is roughly a thirty minute drive, and work, so I had to arrange to take time off of work in order to meet the desired Vet's time of surgery. After driving 30 minutes, and waiting in the lobby for another 15 minutes, Georgia (one of the office managers I presume) asked me why they could not find my name in thier system. This was the first red flag, since I have been a regular customer for over two and a half years (I own 6 dogs, and all have been to this vet, so it wasn't as if I was a stranger). After instructing me to enter the back room, it appeared as if we were about to do my pet's weigh-in before they brought her to the back for surgery. Once we entered the back room, Georgia asked me for my name, and after giving her my first name, she informed me that I had to leave; moreover, she said the last time I was there they told me to not come back. This is a bald-faced lie, since the last time I was there, I paid another vet bill (in full like I always did) and they wished me well. At no point during the rescheduling process did they inform me to stay away. They allowed me to take half of my day to reject me in their office, which was full of customers mind you, they could not have done this in private or over the phone? After placing my dog in my truck, I went back inside to demand to speak with the doctor. His employees said he was busy in surgery, which was another lie, since I was the first name on the list that morning for a surgery (the hospital opened at 8am & at this point it's roughly 8:15). After telling the employees that this was not proper business, that I paid in full every single time after a pet visit and was never told to not come back. Otherwise I would not have wasted half of my day to be rejected in front of a waiting room full of people. After trying to voice my opinion for barely a few minutes, the vet's office called the Selma Police Deptarment without any type of warning. As I left the building in disgust and started my truck to leave, four Selma police cars encircled my truck and told me to exit the vehicle. After exiting and explaining to the group of cops questioning me, one officer went inside to get their story. They explained to the officer I was told to never come back, which of course is a lie, since I would not have wasted my time driving so far and rescheduling my work schedule for a ""gamble at the Vet's office."" I felt entirely disrespected, upset, and harrassed. As I have noted above, I have six dogs, so I was a frequent customer; the vet's office should not have been surprised. And when I rescheduled the surgery, they should have told me over the phone they had a problem with me (again, they kept to their lie that I was not in their system, when in fact I have been there close to a dozen times). And once I got there, they should have given me the time of day to at least allow me to speak with the doctor in charge of the hospital, since it was his call to not accept my business, to figure out what the problem is, and hopefully eradicate it. And finally, after embarrassing me in front of their customers as if I was a nuisance and not the regular whose money was always gladly accepted, they called the police as if I was a threat--all I wanted to know was why they told me to drive so far to turn me away at the door. Totally improper business no matter which way you look at it. My name was in their system. I was a repeated customer for years. They gladly accepted my money the last time I was at the hospital. Something needs to be done about this; this is not right or fair for someone who has supported that business for close to three years.
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