Asking Questions At Vet's Office (Long, sorry)

A short while ago, I (and the vet), thought that Nova was pregnant.
At 71 days, there were no kittens and Nova was acting strangely.
I called the vet's office to ask them when I should/could bring her in.
The person on the phone told me, "It's normal for her to be a little past due. Bring her in at the end of the week."
This would have made it 75-77 days of pregnancy!
Naturally, I was very upset and made an appointment with a different place.
The saw that Nova's records were being faxed over to a different vet, and asked why.
Since he took the time to call, and said that he would see Nova that day, I stayed with them.
He seemed upset that whoever answered my call just sort of blew me off.

On Thursday, Nova was spayed, and on Saturday I saw that she had developed a bruise near the incision.
One bruise became two bruises, which spread and darkened.
This morning, I called the vet to ask if this was normal as it was not mentioned on the aftercare sheet.
The first phone call got me an "It might be normal. Wait to see if it gets worse." End of phone call.
So I called again because I wanted to know under which circumstances it was normal, and was told, "I'm not a veterinarian. I don't know."
So I asked if I could talk to the veterinarian and the reply was, "No, we're very busy today."
This didn't satisfy me. I've recently dropped hundreds of dollars on Nova's healthcare, and I'm sure someone at the veterinary clinic could have an answer for me in about 2 minutes.
So I called again.
This time, the person told me that I should bring her in because it could be a hernia, and that the vet would also probably tell me to bring her in.

At that point, I started ranting at the poor woman about about the inconsistent advice I was getting from them...
and how easily they dismiss my concerns.
I do like the actual doctor, but I don't like his office staff.
They make me feel dumb for having questions.

I would change Vets.

I would one find a way to talk with the vet ( make an appt if needed)... tell the vet your experience and guage what to do from there... My current vet used to have a HORRIBLE receptionist and I would have started at the clinic a yr earlier if she wasnt there,..

I would make an appointment to talk to the vet and discuss my concerns. It's possible he isn't aware of how his staff are treating the paying customers. If, after your discussion, you feel that nothing has changed, then ask for your file so that you may take it to a different vet.

I can not believe how poor customer service has gotten lately. You'd think that people who are in the business of providing a service to someone else would realize that customer care is, essentially, all they have to sell!

It's a little like when we get home from a cruise. When we go out to eat, we sometimes feel like standing up and yelling, "What the problem here? This is a simple equation! You give us decent food and good service, and we'll voluntarily give you money. Even give you extra money! Don't you want money?"

So many people say they can't compete with the big stores, but that's not true. All they have to do is give excellent service.