I work as a veterinary technician at a vet clinic with four other technicians and three veterinarians.

31 Comments

1. AnonymousMarch 23,2025 at 7:27PM UTC

   Honestly, how you come off to clients and coworkers is always relevant. It’s just how it is. Work on being less abrupt rather than teaching others to accept it. This will benefit you from now on.

2. AnonymousMarch 24,2025 at 4:03PM UTC

   Agreed with all comments above. Emotional intelligence is so important, no matter what line of work you are in today. Practicing these behaviors, even with your friends will help you improve and build on these skills. Perception is reality, so what your team mates and customers see is your brand. You got this!!

3. Shenel HughesMarch 23,2025 at 7:35PM UTC

   As a fellow introvert, I am also anno nonsense person. I enjoy completing tasks in order to make sure things are completed properly. This approach to working is no longer acceptable in the workforce by majority of people. Everyone's have had to learn a few things about people since covid happened and the first area was to increase my emotional intelligence skills in order to learn how to read others' behaviors and respond to those behaviors accordingly. This will take time to learn, but it's not impossible.

4. AnonymousMarch 23,2025 at 7:40PM UTC

   We've recently been taking our cat to the vet because he's not eating or drinking. We were told that next week we will have to make a difficult decision.

   I cannot imagine someone being abrupt or matter of fact about the fact that we will be losing a cherished friend.

   The reason we go to this vet is that all the associates are empathetic and truly care about the health of our pets.

   You are dealing with people who can't really know what is going on because our pets cannot tell us what is wrong.

   They are scared and worried. Sometimes they are lonely and coming to you for your help for their only companion.

   Perhaps you should consider a field where you are not customer facing.

5. LauraMarch 23,2025 at 8:17PM UTC

   Okay this might not be a popular opinion but I think this is the sentence that people may see differently "We are always busy and stopping to chat takes time away from the most important task of caring for the animals.".

   While yes, it is important to care for the animals, it's also important to take care of the owners because if they're at the vet it's usually at a vulnerable time for them. They may have the need to chat, feel cared for and otherwise "seen" by you and your co-workers.

   It's wonderful that you are there for the animals but it's also about being there for the people too!

6. Tami L CannizzaroMarch 24,2025 at 2:59PM UTC

   100%. Customer service - no matter what business - is key, as it's customers that keep the business running. Add to it that veterinary business/health business is emotional and personal to the pet owners. The pets are their babies and they need to be assured that not only are the staff competent, but also friendly and caring. I would walk away immediately if the staff were not friendly to me, because I would think they may not be friendly or kind to my pet. This is why, despite being an introvert, it's important to have excellent customer service skills in addition to being competent.

7. AnonymousMarch 23,2025 at 8:32PM UTC

   I don't think anyone thinks you're not competent. You just are not customer facing friendly. Being warm and inviting is part of a bedside manner that doesn't come to you naturally. Trying to convince the caregiver and staff of the style differece is not necessary. They recognize the difference. And so do the patients/owners.

   In the medical field (whether human or otherwise) a great bedside manner goes a long way to calming fears and making their visit more comfortable. I would consider working in the back away from the public.

8. AnonymousMarch 23,2025 at 9:11PM UTC

   I agree with all of the posts. As a former pet owner, if the vet was abrupt, because the work of putting my pet down was more important than the customer, I would never go back there or refer others as I've done. Take a moment and put yourself in the place of the customers. What if you heard the worst news about your loved one's health and they were more interested in giving you information or talking like you are not in the room than tending to your needs. Be very aware of how you come across to others and how you would want to be treated. Knowing their pet and loved one is in good hands, keeps your job safe. Coming from a highly customer driven person and who has been in only customer driven roles, it may be a good idea for to find work where you don't work with others and perhaps are not customer facing. Or maybe talk to the vet and see if there's a role where you could only be in the pet area and not with customers. Your behavior could cause loss of business for the person who owns the business. People buy from whom they like. Be very aware this could also hurt your ability to work there. Best to you.

9. AnonymousMarch 24,2025 at 3:06AM UTC

   Part of the job is customer service. You can’t excel at the job without excelling at customer service. If you can accept that truth, you can learn some behaviors that will sit well with your customers.

   The good news is that your encounters are brief and not repetitive so about a dozen stock phrases will serve you well. Try to come up with 4 praises about the animal. Then 4 praises for the customer bringing them to the vet. Then 4 more about their obvious bond with the animal. Work on eye contact and inflection. You’ll turn this around in no time.

   (I worked at a company that hired an neurodiverse person and a small part of their job was customer service. Their supervisor worked with them and the outcome was amazing. You had to know their story to be able to tell how scripted they were. )

10. AnonymousMarch 24,2025 at 12:02PM UTC

    I'm definitely an introvert and prefer to avoid conversations that have no value with most people. That said, I also understand there are times where a little smile talk (and friendliness) are appropriate and necessary. If you are concerned about frivolous conversations taking too much time in an already busy environment, then what you need to do is work on friendly part and ending conversations in a way that is not abrupt and rude. It can be done.

11. AnonymousMarch 24,2025 at 1:58PM UTC

    YOU are not willing to listen to the feedback YOU are receiving from coworkers and customers. YOU have decided that everyone else is wrong and YOU are right, and they all just need to adapt to YOU.

    Not sure if You see the theme here or not but the problem is YOU. Working in veterinary or any other healthcare field, it is not about YOU, it's about Them. The Pets AND the parents. If you just can't be bothered to do the empathy and compassion and it's all Everyone else's problem. Might be time for you to either find a back-room position or move to another clinic where you don't have to interact with anyone but animals.

12. AnonymousMarch 26,2025 at 2:33PM UTC

    I understand what you are saying but YOU could have been nicer about it! And instead of being rude to her, you could have offered some helpful suggestions rather than telling her she needs to move to another clinic or a back room position!

13. AnonymousMarch 26,2025 at 6:06PM UTC

    I don't think I was particularly mean here, I was blunt and honest. Not everything has to be or should be coated in sugar. Her coworkers have tried telling her, the customers have tried telling her. Maybe the hard, harsh truth from someone else who doesn't know the OP at all will get her past thinking all about herself. Maybe a little more hard honesty is what she and a lot of others need. But you do you.

14. AnonymousMarch 24,2025 at 2:06PM UTC

    As someone said, part of the job is customer service and like it or not, you have to be somewhat good at that. I stopped taking my dogs to a very convenient pet boarding place because every time I picked them up, no one on the staff said anything about them. They would just hand them over and say bye, even if they had been there over a week. Even at drop-off they weren't much better. The staff were just not friendly at all and I didn't feel good about leaving my dogs there.

15. AnonymousMarch 24,2025 at 4:18PM UTC

    Multiple customers voicing a concern can bring loss to the company. You need to fix this, it is never fun when an employee who has to interact with a customer and feels that they're being treated rudely to. Not the answer you were looking for, but to be honest, this is a you opportunity. You got this! Being around pets should bring joy and it should show.

16. EmpoweredGirl832429March 25,2025 at 1:36PM UTC

    This has been my work life for as long as I can remember! While I do agree with the comments here, I also know how it feels to receive this type of feedback - I have received it at every job I've ever had, and I've had a lot. It is about different communication styles and there are a lot of people (i would say most people) who just don't understand that. I have been working on softening my communication for 25+ years. I'm still working on it. I have taken all of the Emotional Intelligence classes and improving communication classes and anything else you can think of, and I can tell you that it is just something that you are going to have to keep in the front of your mind when at work. Make a habit of saying good morning to your co-workers (something I never did, but goes a long way. I agree it's not necessary, but it is friendly, and it helps). Make a habit of saying something nice to each pet parent at every interaction. That one is trickier because in your business, a simple "Hi, how are you today?" probably won't work. Their baby is at the vet which means something is wrong, which means they are stressed, worried, anxious, etc. They aren't having a good day. Acknowledge their feelings. Say something like "I know you are very worried about (pet's name). We are going to give him/her the best care possible". A simple google search of "what to say to someone who is worried about a loved one" gives some great ideas that you can use. Changing your communication style takes a long time and you have to chip away at it a little bit at a time. But you can do it. And let your boss and coworkers know that you took the feedback to heart and you are actively working to get better at it. Ask them what changes they would like to see. Find a couple free online Emotional Intelligence and Improving Communication classes. If you are like me, you will never be a bubbly, chatty, ray of sunshine, but you can soften your edges and not be "the crabby one".

17. Betty WarrickMarch 25,2025 at 2:05PM UTC

    I have an employee who when I first became her manager, I was given her (in the back office) because she didn't do well in sales, because of her abruptness. Now this is on the phone not in person, but I did have to work with her on how you can speak with authority without sounding short.

    She still works for me and is actually my right hand after 20 years.

    You can change. You don't have to become chatty Cathy. You don't have to "be fake" (which I know is how it feels when you're forcing yourself to chat with people and show outward niceness that you don't feel internally.)

    You just need to find a few short niceties that you can pull out and use when confronted with the situation.

    For instance. While handing back the pet, you might say, "Oh he was a trooper."" "We love having him." "Look how happy he is to see you!" Some little nicety. Then a quick, "I'm going to have to hand you off to Sandy here who's going to make your next appointment, because I"ve got to get back there." "Great to see you again."

    It really only takes a minute and isn't going to affect your productivity.

18. Maggie SoldanoMarch 25,2025 at 9:57PM UTC

    It sounds like you’re a dedicated, efficient technician who prioritizes animal care over small talk—which is a strength, not a flaw.

    The challenge is that pet owners often come in stressed, worried, or emotionally on edge, and their perception of warmth can shape their overall experience. Ask any nurse in a pediatrician's office — parents are as much the patients as the children are. They need to be told everything's going to be okay. Same for fur-baby parents.

    You don’t need to change who you are, but small adjustments—like a reassuring tone, a brief check-in (“How’s Bella doing today?”), or even a simple smile—can help ease their anxiety without adding much time.

    You might also ask for your co-workers support. Tell them your focus has always been on getting things done efficiently, and you're changing your approach. Ask them for their support on working in that reassurance into your interactions. Sometimes, just knowing you're putting in the effort turns down the criticism and turns up the patience.

    Over time, a balance between your no-nonsense approach and small gestures of reassurance — for your clients, your team, and yourself — can help shift how you're perceived.

19. Carlene NicholsMarch 26,2025 at 1:00PM UTC

    I worked as an RN for many years. I also, tended to “cut to the chase “ when calling pharmacy, etc. Once I realized a brief personal greeting was expected before getting to the business part, it made my interactions go much more smoothly .

20. Joan Marie VerbaMarch 26,2025 at 2:01PM UTC

    "How do I help my coworkers see that I am competent and capable but just have a different style of working with clients?"

    You can't. I am autistic. Before my autistic diagnosis, I spent decades thinking that others would adapt to my way of doing things (abrupt, no-nonsense, all business), and praise me for being competent and capable (AND praise me for being no-nonsense and all business). Never happened.

    I'm afraid you have to set your (very understandable) desire for others to evaluate you only on your competence and lean into the idle small talk. It takes an enormous amount of work, but it can produce favorable evaluations.

21. Misty CowlesMarch 26,2025 at 4:38PM UTC

    You need to change they are telling you this for your own good. They want you to change you seem to be the only one with this problem. That is what they think it is. Change your attitude. Or someday you will be out. They are just warning you now. You really cant see this?

22. AnonymousMarch 26,2025 at 4:45PM UTC

    You have to make some small changes. While being true to yourself and your communication style is very important so is real feedback from those around you who are on the receiving end of your work. It's fabulous that you want to focus on the animals more than the people, perhaps a shift in duties for that will make you more aligned with how you work? Leave the customer interactions to others? Or perhaps a button on your jacket while working that says my focus is on your pet so please forgive my being short and direct. I too communicate like you but it has harmed me often more than my clients and customers because of similar feedback. I took it and made some changes that include a work personality and an at home one where I can be as point blank and direct as I choose. People will see your competency much differently if you wrap it with a tiny bit of sunshine, smiles, and chatter.

23. Manda Marie SmithMarch 27,2025 at 3:57PM UTC

    I have ADHD and autism and I've come to learn that small talkis mainly a mask for me And it expends my energy a lot quicker than focusing on my work. I suppose learning some small talk techniques could help if this is your issue. But honestly I'm not sure how to not mask + keep some energy for myself.

24. AnonymousMarch 28,2025 at 3:55PM UTC

    Respectfully, perhaps educating those around you who are clueless and don't know what ADHD and autism is and how to deal with those who have it. You cannot expect those who don't get it to get it if they don't know how. Show them or teach them and then you can save the energy for yourself.

25. Jen MooreMarch 27,2025 at 12:23PM UTC

    You need to watch the series Doc you are the employee I would most trust Good luck

26. AnonymousMarch 27,2025 at 2:27PM UTC

    Doc Martin, too! He’s a fabulous clinician but bedside manner is not there because he’s serious and focused. My thoughts for the OP are to add a smile and a friendly comment- “ Fido is such a cute/sweet/friendly/ dog/cat/ferrett”. Start there and see how it goes. I am like you in some ways and I often ask an open ended question . People love to talk about themselves or pets. Takes the burden off me of having to talk. I smile and say things like, “ That’s great”, etc with some enthusiasm. It may not take much to make the impression your employer is seeking. You seem valued but a bit misunderstood.

27. AnonymousMarch 27,2025 at 12:26PM UTC

    I am also an introvert and small talk doesn't come naturally to me. However, in my organization (nonprofit), most people like to talk about things that matter to them. I've found that just by taking the time to add small pleasantries or to ask how someone (or their pet) is doing, can make all the difference. It doesn't mean you have to be bubbly and chatty but you can interact with intention and be sure to consider the clients' needs, as well as your own.

28. Sommer M WoodmanMarch 27,2025 at 12:36PM UTC

    This sounds like me, people always think I’m in a bad mood because I’m matter of fact and stick to tasks. I don’t like being interrupted when I’m doing something important so I try to deal with it quickly and apparently that comes off as rude.

29. Amanda BrownMarch 27,2025 at 1:07PM UTC

    It sounds to me like a professional development opportunity. You don't need to change your whole personality, but maybe look for some books on bedside manner and patient experience? I bet if you took a moment to fuss over each pet and let the owner acclimate briefly (or inquire about the pet if they're not there - meds pickups etc), your reputation would improve. And who doesn't want to fuss over an animal?

30. AnonymousMarch 27,2025 at 1:39PM UTC

    Yes, I agree. The whole office would benefit from taking on how to handle neurodivergence instead of calling her "the grumpy one." Being direct and not making small talk is not the same as grumpiness and that company is just being ableist.

31. rgstaffing@bellsouth.netMarch 30,2025 at 1:02PM UTC

    Being competent and capable is only half of your job. As a dog parent, i interact mainly with the front office staff who are wonderful but when i see the tech, they are equally wonderful. I would never take Ralphie anywhere that did not have warm, compassionate and reassuring staff. I also take him to Doggie Day Care every day and those staff members are like family to all of the dogs and pet parents and trust me, they are busy. If you are going to do this job, a warm and engaging personality is a must. Pet parents are hoping for a good result with their visit and cold, stoic and no-nonsense delivery is not the way to go. Please try to develop this so that you do not get let go.