My local vet closing on Saturdays

[Rafter S]

I got the email below from my local vet last week. It caught me by surprise. They've been open on Saturday mornings forever. That came in handy for those of us who have cattle, but also have full time jobs. It was especially nice when I wanted to get cows palpated, since the sale barn is 1/4 mile from the vet clinic, and has the sale on Saturday. I could just take open cows straight to the auction.

Now I guess I'll have to take off work any time I need anything done. I've already been seriously considering moving away from a cow/calf operation, and this just reinforces that decision.

Dear Valued Client, Due to the overwhelming demand along with staffing shortages, beginning March 11th we will no longer be open on Saturdays. We're so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We will continue serving our clients Monday-Friday from 8A-5P by appointment. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your patience during this transition.​

 

[faster horses]

No one wants to work.

 

[greybeard]

I wonder how much of that 'overwhelming demand' is little Fluffy dog and Waffles the cat?

 

[callmefence]

I got the email below from my local vet last week. It caught me by surprise. They've been open on Saturday mornings forever. That came in handy for those of us who have cattle, but also have full time jobs. It was especially nice when I wanted to get cows palpated, since the sale barn is 1/4 mile from the vet clinic, and has the sale on Saturday. I could just take open cows straight to the auction.

Now I guess I'll have to take off work any time I need anything done. I've already been seriously considering moving away from a cow/calf operation, and this just reinforces that decision.

Dear Valued Client, Due to the overwhelming demand along with staffing shortages, beginning March 11th we will no longer be open on Saturdays. We're so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We will continue serving our clients Monday-Friday from 8A-5P by appointment. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your patience during this transition.​

Your sale barn doesn't have anyone palpating on sale day?

 

[MurraysMutts]

My vet did the same a while back. The ol man can't do much any more and the son has taken over pretty much. I was real worried for a bit.

They are real easy to work with tho. I can call ahead and drop animals off if I need to and pick em up after work.

I won't take my animals to the sale barn on Saturday anymore. Local sale don't have a vet worth using in my opinion.

 

[Travlr]

I got the email below from my local vet last week. It caught me by surprise. They've been open on Saturday mornings forever. That came in handy for those of us who have cattle, but also have full time jobs. It was especially nice when I wanted to get cows palpated, since the sale barn is 1/4 mile from the vet clinic, and has the sale on Saturday. I could just take open cows straight to the auction.

Now I guess I'll have to take off work any time I need anything done. I've already been seriously considering moving away from a cow/calf operation, and this just reinforces that decision.

Dear Valued Client, Due to the overwhelming demand along with staffing shortages, beginning March 11th we will no longer be open on Saturdays. We're so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We will continue serving our clients Monday-Friday from 8A-5P by appointment. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your patience during this transition.​

Gotta wonder if they even considered closing on Monday instead. A lot of people can't think outside of the box.

 

[Son of Butch]

Gotta wonder if they even considered closing on Monday instead. A lot of people can't think outside of the box.

A lot of people work 4 day weeks.

 

[Travlr]

A lot of people work 4 day weeks.

Sure... a four day work week has become a more popular idea recently.

But my point is that Saturday hours would serve the community better and they can take their time off on a weekday instead. And I was questioning if they had even considered that as a solution or what the consequences of a traditional work week would be to those they serve.

 

[Rafter S]

I wonder how much of that 'overwhelming demand' is little Fluffy dog and Waffles the cat?

I suspect quite a bit.

Your sale barn doesn't have anyone palpating on sale day?

They do. I can see why you misunderstood. In the past I have taken cows to the vet to be palpated to see if they were bred. If they were, they went back home with me. If they weren't they went the 1/4 mile down the road to the auction. The vet would hold the ones I wanted to keep while I dropped off the open ones.

Gotta wonder if they even considered closing on Monday instead. A lot of people can't think outside of the box.

I don't know if they considered that or not.

 

[Hpacres440p]

Off Monday, open Saturday works if you have enough staff that are ok with likely missing that extra "family day". Out of sync schedules cause even more burnout than being too busy, sometimes.

 

[Travlr]

Off Monday, open Saturday works if you have enough staff that are ok with likely missing that extra "family day". Out of sync schedules cause even more burnout than being too busy, sometimes.

Yup, that would be a consideration. There are also advantages to having a weekday off. Just wondering if anyone thought about it and if a community need might be expressed and considered.

Not advocating for anything except thinking of ways to fill a need.

 

[callmefence]

I suspect quite a bit.



They do. I can see why you misunderstood. In the past I have taken cows to the vet to be palpated to see if they were bred. If they were, they went back home with me. If they weren't they went the 1/4 mile down the road to the auction. The vet would hold the ones I wanted to keep while I dropped off the open ones.



I don't know if they considered that or not.

Now I'm confused... what did I misunderstand??
I've always taken mine to the sale on sale day. Had them checked there and took the breds home, left the opens. Less steps.

 

[Rafter S]

Yup, that would be a consideration. There are also advantages to having a weekday off. Just wondering if anyone thought about it and if a community need might be expressed and considered.

Not advocating for anything except thinking of ways to fill a need.

Yup. At a former job I'd have to work alternating Saturdays in the summer, so I was off on alternating Mondays. I didn't mind that a bit.

Now I'm confused... what did I misunderstand??
I've always taken mine to the sale on sale day. Had them checked there and took the breds home, left the opens. Less steps.

I didn't know that was an option.

 

[callmefence]

Yup. At a former job I'd have to work alternating Saturdays in the summer, so I was off on alternating Mondays. I didn't mind that a bit.



I didn't know that was an option.

Ask I can almost guarantee you it is.

 

[Lee VanRoss]

I got the email below from my local vet last week. It caught me by surprise. They've been open on Saturday mornings forever. That came in handy for those of us who have cattle, but also have full time jobs. It was especially nice when I wanted to get cows palpated, since the sale barn is 1/4 mile from the vet clinic, and has the sale on Saturday. I could just take open cows straight to the auction.

Now I guess I'll have to take off work any time I need anything done. I've already been seriously considering moving away from a cow/calf operation, and this just reinforces that decision.

Dear Valued Client, Due to the overwhelming demand along with staffing shortages, beginning March 11th we will no longer be open on Saturdays. We're so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We will continue serving our clients Monday-Friday from 8A-5P by appointment. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your patience during this transition.​

Just for the record, how many times in the past 3 years have you actually used (or needed) this particular vet in the past 3 years?
As they stated 'Due to overwhelming demand and staffing shortages' Think of the contribution you could make instead of just
ringing for room service? Having cattle and working full time is a choice and not a sentence , unless you make it one.
If you want someone to work around your schedule go into politics or banking or work in a vet clinic on Saturday. You're Welcome!

 

[Brute 23]

Good for him. Hope he enjoys his time off.

It's hard for me to fault some one for wanting time to enjoy life.

 

[Travlr]

Just for the record, how many times in the past 3 years have you actually used (or needed) this particular vet in the past 3 years?
As they stated 'Due to overwhelming demand and staffing shortages' Think of the contribution you could make instead of just
ringing for room service? Having cattle and working full time is a choice and not a sentence , unless you make it one.
If you want someone to work around your schedule go into politics or banking or work in a vet clinic on Saturday. You're Welcome!

Might want to also ask how many of your neighbors work Monday through Friday and used the Saturday services... now having to figure out something different. It may not just be his own inconvenience.

 

[Hpacres440p]

Might want to also ask how many of your neighbors work Monday through Friday and used the Saturday services... now having to figure out something different. It may not just be his own inconvenience.

So his schedule should be determined by customer convenience? If that is a single vet practice, he likely already is working 100 hours a week, not all for pay. That's like telling a small-town MD that "because people have to work M-F, you need to have Saturday hours. Not by choice, but because of community necessity ". Lived that life for a long time and my dad missed many big events in our lives because of it. We all make choices. To say that community need dictates business hours is not a place I want to live. Maybe the community should recruit extra help for that particular vet?

 

[coachg]

Been dealing with that for several years now and not coming to the farm , unless it's a schedule appointment to work the herd . Hard to load one up to get a difficult calf pull done .

 

[BC]

Just for the record, how many times in the past 3 years have you actually used (or needed) this particular vet in the past 3 years?
As they stated 'Due to overwhelming demand and staffing shortages' Think of the contribution you could make instead of just
ringing for room service? Having cattle and working full time is a choice and not a sentence , unless you make it one.
If you want someone to work around your schedule go into politics or banking or work in a vet clinic on Saturday. You're Welcome!

I used to live in that town and the vet clinic was busy on Saturday. Others did just as Rafter S on getting cows pregnancy checked. The sale barn was way too busy to preg check cattle and try to reload the ones that needed to go back home.