Some Managers Need More Training On Being Human

Bosses & Owners, Canada, Jerk, New Hires, Vet | Working | June 9, 2020


After graduating from college in the vet field, I am hired at a twenty-four-hour vet clinic as a receptionist in the next city over. Because I rely on public transportation, the travel is a nightmare, to say the least; I have to leave three hours before my shifts to make all my connections and as it’s almost winter at this time, the weather is miserable. I suck it up, as it’s a full-time position with a good wage and benefits.

I tell the managers who interview me that this will be my first clinic job and as such, I will need to be trained properly to make up for my lack of experience. They tell me this won’t be an issue and say, “You’re exactly what we’re looking for.”

Little did I know how wrong that was.

On my first day:

Manager #1 : “We’re going to start your training today. You have to go to [Website] and watch the videos that [Manager #2 ] sent you in an email. Here is all your login information. You also have to read our policies and procedures and sign off when you’re done.”

She leaves and I start reading. A little while later, [Manager #2 ] comes in and sits at the opposite desk. She’s looking over my shoulder a bit but I don’t say anything and just continue what I’m doing. It gets a bit awkward, as I don’t have headphones to watch the videos and she keeps commenting on things as I’m going through them. In the end, I do six hours of this and only finish half of the first module of training.

Me: “Do you want me to do more at home? I only got this much done.”

Manager #2 : *Waves me off* “Don’t worry about that; you’ll be able to finish the rest of it this week. See you tomorrow!”

I come in the next day to find out I’m not doing more training, but being placed on the front desk with [Manager #1 ]. I’m a little nervous, as I haven’t even touched the vet software before, but I decide I’ll do my best. Throughout the day, it’s clear that [Manager #1 ] wants me to get as familiar as possible to the front desk so I can work by myself or with another receptionist. I’m asked to answer phones, make appointments, and answer client questions: all things I haven’t been trained on yet.

Basically, the day goes like this:

Manager #1 : “Okay, this client wants to buy [Brand] food. Let’s ring them up.”

I search the food catalogue to find that there are twenty [Brand] items to pick from.

Me: “Okay, so that’s one [Brand] item, at [weight], correct?”

Manager #1 : “No, it’s under [Another Name that isn’t the brand], see? You have to search by the other name to find it.”

Me: “Can I ask why is it under a completely different name?”

Manager #1 : “That’s just how the system is; you have to search our products by term, not by name. So, if you need renal food, search ‘renal,’ or ‘kidney,’ and scroll until you find it.”

Me: “I understand, but that seems confusing to me. If I just search that, I’ll get results for other products that aren’t food, which makes me look through more things.”

Manager #1 : “Don’t worry; you’ll get used to it. Just remember to use terms, not names.”

I struggle with the system and I also have some issues with the other staff. Our veterinarians, vet techs, and vet assistants all stay in the back room to do their tasks; however, they seem very annoyed that I am asking questions. Every time I ask for clarification, they look at me like I have three heads and then very condescendingly give me an answer, like I’m a child. Or they just don’t help me at all and say, “Figure it out.”

I’m a rather shy person and I don’t like to just start talking to people without saying, “Excuse me,” and the like, which apparently makes it worse, resulting in me awkwardly waiting until people are finished their conversations. Example:

I’m patiently waiting until the technician is done speaking to another coworker.

The tech stops talking and notices me, then says abruptly:

Tech: “What is it?”

Me: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to butt in. I was wondering if I could ask you a question if you have a moment?”

Tech: *Sighs* “What do you need?”

I’m starting to feel embarrassed.

Me: “I’m on the phone with a client who wants to bring her dog in for a booster vaccine, and your schedule is getting pretty full. The next opening I have is right before you do rounds for the hospitalized patients, so I wanted to ask if I could—”

Tech: *Interrupting* “Yeah, put her in. You don’t have to ask me that.”

Me: *Taken aback* “Okay, I just wanted to clarify before scheduling her in—”

The tech goes back to talking to someone else.

Every. Time.

I do this a few more times with the same results, and then decide to not ask before changing it to see if they say anything. True enough, the next time I schedule a tech appointment, I get chastised for not confirming with them. Seeing as I can’t win either way, I continue to ask them whenever I make a schedule change.

This goes on for about a month and my motivation is quickly depleting. I never do get back to training. I get talked down to and yelled at for incredibly small things, such as not putting whiteboard markers back in the exact same place when someone needs them even if there are multiple available.

On top of this, my shifts are also changing from morning to night, which I initially didn’t have an issue with, but now I’ve been exclusively working 4:00 pm to 12:00 am and it’s wearing down on me. It’s made travel a lot harder; I live with my parents, so thankfully, my dad agrees to drive me home at twelve since no buses run that late, but he’s getting fed up with it. It’s worthy to note that I do have problems with anxiety and this job is making it skyrocket. When I’m approaching thirty days of employment, my managers ask to meet with me for an evaluation.

Manager #1 : “This is your thirty-day evaluation. We’re just going to talk about your performance and ask a couple of questions, okay?”

Manager #2 : “Can you tell us your thoughts on how you think you’re doing?”

Me: “Well… to be honest, I am struggling with a few things. I’m getting used to the system and routine of things, but I find the technicians and vets are not very nice to me. I admit that sounds childish, but it feels like I’m bothering them when asking questions. The only reason I talk to them so much is to make sure I’m doing things correctly and so I won’t have to ask next time. I know I’m supposed to help them as much as possible to make things easier for them, but I need to ask questions in order to do so. I am talked down to and chastised constantly and I can’t seem to do anything right for them.”