Let The Goo Keep On Rolling

As any small business owner will tell you...bad things tend to happen in bunches so that when the goo hits the fan, there's a huge mess everywhere. Recently, we have found that owning a pet hospital can be a royal pain when the gooey mess comes calling.

Our goo started before the holidays when one of the water lines from our dental equipment cracked and ended up flooding our treatment area and surgery suite with several inches of water. But hey, after a $15,000-20,000 dollar repair and professional "restoration," things should be back to normal (if this was to be a holiday gift we would have gone with the rotten eggnog and stale fruitcake thank you very much).

Next came the groomer who has been theoretically renting space from us at our hospital. I say in theory because she owes us several thousand dollars in back rent. A few days ago, she dropped off the face of the earth after removing all her belongings in the dark of night. We've not heard from her since and I doubt we will.

But hey that's okay because the veterinary nurse we hired a few weeks ago just didn't show up for work one day. Not even the police know what happened to her but lucky for us she has a key to the pet hospital and we now must spend several hundred dollars changing all the locks and keys to the building.

Many of you have worked in or owned small businesses so these situations may sound familiar to you. My question to you is how do you get through it all until the bunches of goo stop coming?

--Dana

Comments

[Laurel]

Wow, we've not had "goo" quite that bad so close together. I had a friend who used to own a restaurant and his stories were very similar to yours...chefs who couldn't make the breakfast shift because they were in jail due to a bar fight the night before, etc.

I really feel for you, Dana. These set-backs would be really discouraging...wish I could help in some way...

Thank you for blogging about them, though, as most of us never think about what goes on behind the scenes at a veterinary clinic. At the same time that you may be trying to help my dog, you're also dealing with all these disruptions and that says even more about your dedication to pet health care. I know you and Steve never let these problems interfere with the high quality medicine you provide.

Here' to better weeks ahead.

[Ingrid King]

Oh Dana, I feel your pain. Back when I managed a vet clinic, those goo days sometimes came close to pushing me over the edge.

Some winners we dealt with:

The septic system backing up. Thankfully we noticed it before it actually backed up into the building - but until we could get the tank emptied, nobody could use the facilities. 25 mostly female staff, the nearest public toilet over a mile away. Not a happy day.

The new employee who simply didn't show up for work after a week. When I called her, whoever answered the phone said she was at work. Well, no. She wasn't. All of a sudden it hit me. I called her prior workplace. Yup - she decided to go back to work for them.

Better yet - the employee who went to lunch one day and never returned.

Just remember, you only need one extra letter to turn the goo days into good days - hang in there!

[Dana]

Hi Ingrid and Laurel, thanks for putting things into perspective. Ingrid, it would be quite interesting for you and I to share war stories! Who knew Vet Med could be so action packed! I'll work on putting that "d" at the end of my goo.

[turtlecookie]

Dana, I hope you are sliding towards those "good" days, even as we speak. It does seem like things seem to happen together, good or bad. Hang in there... this, too, shall pass.

turtlecookie

[Daniela Caride]

Oh, Dana

That sounds awful. Not being Polyanna,but trying to put things in perspective, it's great when you guys save pets and people thank you with tears, right? We pet owners need the hospitals. We need you!

The good days will come!

:-)

[Dana]

Hi Daniela and Turtlecookie,

Thanks for the encouragment. I appreciate what you said about us helping pet owners.