veterinary technician

veterinary assistant

customer service representative

emergency room technician

customer care coordinator

Pieper Veterinary

I know this is a long review, but there are many areas that need to be heard for anyone looking to apply for work in the Call Center department. If you're applying, or have been offered a job, you will want to read this first!

I feel as though the information I am writing about, should be known to any and all that could be affected by the facts I will share. I was happy to accept the offer of employment at Pieper. I had heard great things about the work 
they do, and the doctors and staff at the facility. That being said, I should have taken notice before I even started that something was missing. When you accept the offer you are instructed to submit to a background check and drug screen,
absolutely normal with most jobs in a professional setting. I submitted to both and was surprised to receive an email from, what would come to be my Call Center manager, that since I had not performed my urinalysis, my offer was being 
withdrawn. I followed up the email with a phone call to clear up the misunderstanding, that I had in fact given a urine, to which this manager replied that she had sent the email to soon, and that when she checked again she found that
I had given the sample and everything was all set. We will call this clue #1!
 I started my job on Monday 25th. The first week went as any new job would, minus a greeting from my manager, who come to find out had been sitting a few chairs away from me all week, but never bothered to introduce herself or
communicate with me at all. Never an offer of, welcome aboard, if you have any questions feel free to come talk to me. I don't believe she said 5 words to me! I only realized she was my manager when my trainer said she was, and honestly,
my next words were... REALLY? I never hear her speak at all unless she is on the phone. My feeling is that a manager is someone who takes the reins and communicates with her staff. Communication is seriously lacking, and this should have been clue
#2!
 At the end of week 1 you're supposed to have a check in, talk about what you're doing and what you need work on, where you feel comfortable and where you'd like to focus more on. This happened a few days late, since that Saturday
there was a snowstorm and they were short staffed. Let me state now, I did leave an hour due to the weather, but was 8 minutes late! Your work week is setup so you are exactly at 40 hours. Every job I have had, prefers you punch in as close to your
start time as possible, to ensure you don't go into overtime. Apparently, Pieper considers even 1 minute late to be tardy. Be very aware of this! Even though you are in the building, in your work space, you do have to access a computer to punch in. And if
you're working in the call center, you will probably have to start up and log on to be able to accomplish this. This means if it takes a few minutes, YOU ARE CONSIDERED LATE! The importance of this 1 to 3 minutes it takes to punch in
needs to be taken seriously, as it could cost you your job!
 That being said, this was explained to me in the second sit down, where my manager actually was present. My first week's check in went well. I was told I was very pleasant to work with and seemed eager to learn. At the second week's check in, the tune
had completely went in another direction. I was basically told that my trainers said I seemed as though I was a "know-it-all", to which I was completely taken back by! Week 1 my trainers said to not be so hard on myself, that there was 
a lot to learn about the computer system, the doctors and all their preference on ways of communication, which areas we could book appointments for and who books their own, etc. They also brought up my clock ins and that I seemed to be 
clocking in late often. This meeting was held on March 13th. Well the day before I had cracked a tooth and was in a lot of pain, but came to work that Wednesday. I did end up leaving 2 hours early, but made sure that I did what few things
I could accomplish to help finish the tasks of the night, which amounted to listening and handling all the voicemails that had been left. Forwarding or returning any calls I could. I did end up having to go in for an emergency dental 
appointment the next day and having a tooth extracted, which I got a doctor's note for, and I didn't end up going in that Thursday.
 Jump forward to Friday morning and still being in significant pain and unable to speak much, I proceeded to call in to the call center at around 8:30am. My shift started at noon. I called 3 times with no answer, and on the fourth
try I punched in the extension to the call out line and left a message explaining my situation and that I had tried to get ahold of my coworkers and manager, but there was no answer, could someone please make sure she knows I tried to reach her
but after 4 tries, thought that it would be alright to leave a message. At no point whatsoever did I pull a no-call, no-show! A couple hours later I got a call from a woman in HR. She proceeded to explain how I had only been at the job 
for 2 weeks, and apparently, had repeatedly been late 1 to 3 minutes and that on the 15th, which was that day, I had a no-call no-show! So I proceeded to explain to her that I had tried and obviously no one bothered to check the call out
line, because if they had, they would have known that I left a message. She said she would check into it. She then told me that at this time she was suspending me, and that I would hear from them the following Wednesday, when they would
let me know whether I still had a job or not. She also felt the need to state, that if I showed up for my shift the next day, I would be asked to leave. What the relevance of this statement was, I don't understand, why would someone take the
time to get ready and drive all the way to work if they weren't required to be there! So here is clue #3, that the lack of effective communication is a serious problem! I'm wrongly accused of blowing off work, and my manager is obviously
not taking the time to check on things before she makes serious accusations that affect my employment!
 As it stands right now, it is Tuesday March 19th, and at this point I honestly believe that since Wednesday is payday, and this is the day I would be hearing back from Pieper, this is the convenient way of firing me without having to issue my 
paycheck before said date, since by state law you have to give the employee their check within 24 hours of termination. I have had ample time to go over the events of the past couple weeks. I wish I had grabbed onto the clues that were
there the whole time. There is something very wrong with how this all went down, how it was handled, and how someone can be so lackadaisical about their job that it costs another person the opportunity to financially care for their own
family! I had absolutely no time to properly address the issues that were brought to my attention at my second sit down with my trainer and management. I was twice wrongly accused of not doing what was required of me. There has been no 
attempt to reach out to me to follow up on whether they bothered to correct my "no-call, no-show". I take my work seriously. Let's face it, we all need to work to be able to survive and it appears as though the people who hold my ability 
to care for my family in their hands, aren't too concerned with the seriousness of this issue! I would love to be proven wrong! 
 I would never recommend applying to this company if it's to work in this department. I believe they have a certain profile of person they are willing to accept and welcome into their group. I wish I knew then what I know now.
If you have a reliable job right now, DO NOT quit to take a position in the call center at Pieper Memorial! If you don't have a job and you have nothing to lose, give it a try. I hope this feedback is taken seriously. It truly is meant
to be an open and honest representation of what has been the last couple weeks of my life since starting here. I wouldn't wish this level of stress on anybody! I would rather be working right now.

At one point, i had enjoyed working at this company. Large/beautiful hospital,  Flexible schedules, Gold-standard medical practices, Cubex, lab in basement, well-marketed holidays, and well-staffed departments. MOST of the people who work here are kind, hardworking, intelligent, & friendly.

The company sells itself by maintaining a “Teaching Hospital” reputation and a “family-like” work environment. Both are its biggest strengths & downfalls. I worked well here, but I attribute that to my years of previous experience, as I did not learn any new skills. Protocols have been introduced to better train staff, but even still people are often overlooked. There are senior staff willing to teach… but only if they like you. This family-like environment has led to quite a toxic - ‘high school’ workplace. If you’re a part of the IN crowd then promotions, raises, growth come easy. Once you no longer belong (or have never belonged), it feels like being picked on, bullied. Simple mistakes are blown out of proportion, gossip runs amok, nothing is kept in confidence.

The administrators are laser-focused on expanding as a corporation; a plan in place long before the Covid shutdowns and the effort has been renewed once again. However, they do not value their current employees. New hires are starting with higher wages, which is good for them, but let’s not ignore the years of work given by loyal & hardworking employees. It’s a trend to leave, be trained at another hospital, and return for a higher wage. Staff discount is non-existent, taxed amount taken from paycheck, it is up to the kindness of most doctors to get affordable pet care. Management is the root of the problem: toxicity trickles down from higher management.

Overall Pieper-Olson is a great place to work for those interested in the veterinary field. Throughout a typical day there are a variety of medical cases that come through the door making no two days the same. Opportunities to learn about treatments and patient care occur at a rapid pace and allows one to gain knowledge of patient care quickly. While the majority of you time is spent caring for in-hospital patients, assistants tend to branch out in to other departments based on person skill set. These departments include: out-patient care, laboratory attendant and surgical. As Pieper-Olson expands its facilities to accommodate the ever advancing methods of identifying disease and related treatments so also does the staff volume increase. Besides the animals we work with on a daily basis, the co-workers of Pieper-Olson are one of the hospitals greatest highlights. There is definitely a sense of team and comradely in the work place. The hardest part of the job is the inconsistency each day ranging for painful slow to nearly overwhelming task load and late hours. As a whole an veterinary assistant position at Pieper-Olson Veterinary Hospital is a good place to start gaining experience into the veterinary field as long as you keep in mind that it is a job not a career which means there is no room for promotion within the company and your pay grade is relatively low for the work required of you.

I worked here as a veterinary intern. All the interns are stressed all of the time and do not get anywhere close to enough sleep. Sometimes interns have to sleep in the "intern room," which means sleeping on cots in the basement in an unfinished room. Interns are expected to do quite a lot of menial work (i.e. typing up doctor notes, watching a patient get an MRI because the doctor doesn't want to get up at 3am - literally, staying at the office twiddling our thumbs until the overnight doctor has time to round on our patients). ER shifts are ridiculous because they are understaffed. You end up euthanizing a lot of patients on ER because of lack of funds or the seriousness of the health issue, which has a large emotional toll that no one helps interns with. Vet techs and assistants are also stressed and overworked. This contributes to a very uncomfortable environment - everyone stepping over each other and becoming angry. You do learn, but it is hard to process what you are learning because there is no time absorb. The intern coordinator is fairly condescending (at least to me), though others seem to like her. She knows interns work over 80 hours a week (usually 100 or so) with only one day off per week for less than $3/hour total, and she does nothing. Interns shouldn't have to spend their off hours asleep or in tears in order to learn. All in all, everyone who is not a specialist in this hospital is taken advantage of.

The Pieper community has potential to be an amazing place to work with its exceptionally smart employees, state of the art equipment/facility and ability to practice wonderful veterinary medicine but it is poorly managed and causes many employees great stress and eventually cause them to leave. The turn over rate is massively high, pay scale is grossly inaccurate and unfair. Many employees do not get raises or reviews for years. Management is often "out of the loop" and oblivious to the issues staff face daily. Staff to patient ratios are always unbalanced. Many days you are forced to do the job of 2 people for the price of 1. Employee pet discounts are great. Most doctors are great to work with (but not all...some can be very rude and demeaning to staff). Double standards are often noticed by staff and special treatment to "favorite" staff members is very obvious. Staff meetings are slim to none and it is difficult to bring up issues to management without being trivialized or justified and then swept under the rug never to be dealt with. It is very unfortunate and many employees leave for other jobs to escape the constant stress, long hours, lack of proper compensation/acknowledgement for your hard work and the "back in my day..." attitude of management.

When I began working at Pieper in 2017, the company's CEO was beginning a transition from a small-town, mom-and-pop vet hospital to a corporate chain. In the last few years upper management has cared more about opening new hospitals and tacking the "Pieper" name all over New England, instead of making basic improvements to the offices they already own. Medical equipment goes unmaintained. There are large, half-demolished portions of buildings that go unused and wasted. Staff concerns are swept under the rug. The hospital "image" has become more important than it's staff. 

However - the medical care and treatment provided by the doctors, techs, assistants, and receptionists are inarguably phenomenal. The people who work on the ground floor are dedicated, skilled and caring. It's unfortunate that upper management doesn't compensate them as they should. 

I would recommend applicants for positions at Pieper be weary of how long they'd like to work with this company. This hospital has amazing medical resources and offers great patient care. It's an excellent place to gain experience for 1-2 years. Beyond that, you may find yourself burnt out and feeling undervalued. 

This is not your typical veterinary practice, we are a large hospital with multiple locations and different departments. Everyday you learn something new and you have to step up to the challenge of constant change. I personally love the continuous search for improvement that characterizes the company, but as a manager I have seen how a lot of people see this as negative. There are many micro cultures in the hospital, but once you fit in you have the perk of working with people that love what they do and will do everything they can to help you. If you work hard and have a desire to grow you will find many opportunities in all areas from administrative to patient care. I love working at Pieper, since the beginning I was treated with respect and my ideas have always been listened to and considered. I have received many great opportunities that have helped me develop myself as a professional. I would recommend this company to anyone that enjoys a challenging, fast paced, constantly changing, but rewarding work place.

I enjoyed my time working at Pieper Memorial, which is the specialty part of a very large Veterinary Hospital. It is a great Veterinary and Specialty Hospital for animals, providing a much needed service in the area. The owners are wonderful, kind people and were always very good to me.
A typical work day involved checking in patients for surgery in early AM, dealing with emergencies, euthanasia, grieving clients/owners, checking in and out for daily appointments, answering phones & fielding questions from frantic owners, handling calls from referring veterianians all over the state. The job is extremely busy and very stressful. I learned a lot about veterinary medicine during my time there.
The hardest part of the job is seeing animals who are suffering and trying to gently deal with their owners. But as sad as it can be, it is also rewarding when animals are better and are leaving the hospital - a happy day for all involved.

Management at this job is absolutely awful. There is favoritism up, and reports/concerns are not taken seriously. We have staff who have hurt patients and not cared for them properly, and management says they will handle it, but never do. Supporting staff is treated like garbage and go unappreciated on a daily basis. The yearly raises are rapidly going down, some people not even getting a raise. The staff that care the most about the patients are treated like nuisances, and the staff that care more about being catty are praised and given higher job titles. This hospital is dirty, and looks like it’s breaking at the seams. We are too small to take as many patients as we do, and it makes it very hard to care for each patient accordingly, and thoroughly. They spend millions buying new properties and making them look fancy, but allow the main, original hospital to look out of date and dirty. Clients are continuously allowed to abuse the staff and no one bats an eye. Dont recommend working here. 

I worked at Pieper Memorial for a few years until 2018. During that time I was always a good employee. Always on time, rarely called out and always gave my work 100% effort. I was a “valued” employee according to management. Yet I was not compensated fairly. The “overhead” staff is clueless to what the floor staff needs to be successful, and they don’t seem to care in trying to change that. They never take any concerns seriously when approached with them, nor put any effort into resolving  said issues. Management definitely helped out their friends rather then take care of everyone on there staff, and it showed. The staff to patient ratio varies but it is usually not great, and varies vastly per shift. Staff members were rarely held accountable for not doing their jobs, poor work ethic or effort, which strained many other staff members who valued their work and had to pickup the slack on a daily basis. I don’t recommend working here if you have other opportunities at facilities that value their staff.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Veterinary technician 202 salaries reported	$23.05 per hour
Veterinary assistant 81 salaries reported	$19.32 per hour
Customer service representative 28 salaries reported	$20.25 per hour
Emergency room technician 8 salaries reported	$26.81 per hour
Customer care coordinator 8 salaries reported	$21.91 per hour

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