BHB Poor Communications

I agree with Mr. Anastasiou. I would consider it my duty to warn someone that they may have a problem with husbandry and dealing an possibly ill snakes.

I understand that this will probably caused by the shipping and stress about that, but if you don't know it happened you can not take possible steps from it spreading. I am kind of shock that they have not responded to this thread. I am going to try to send them an email see what I get back.

I talked to Mr. Barczyk at the Hillsboro reptile show last week. It was a quick hello goodbye, because I am kind of shy.

Ok. I went ahead and called BHB. Stephenie answered and when I told her who I was, she remembered me. I just let her know, as Nick suggested, about the animals health.....at which point, she said some things that actually ticked me off quite a bit:
Me: "I just wanted to let you know that the snake does have RI, so you will be aware of it for husbandry purposes."

Stephanie: "Lori is at the gym right now, but I will let her know when she gets back. They will probably offer to replace the snake for you."

Me: "Well, the snake isn't in good enough health to ship, and she has to have an injection every 3 days. I have spent enough on the vet at this point, exchanging her for another snake is just out of the question."

Stephenie: "Yeah, that's the thing, it costs them so much less to get a snake treatment. It's a shame you didn't wait and talk to Lori before going and incurring a big vet bill."

Me: "Lori never called me back after I told you the snake was sick. In fact, I left a LOT of messages both before I bought the snake and after I got it that were never returned."

Stephenie: "We have just been really busy and I have been the only person in the office lately, but Lori will want to call you back. They will want to make sure the snake gets the right medical treatment and that you get a healthy snake."

Me: "Pfft! O.K. Well, you have my phone number and email address, and Imstarted an Information Thread on the BOI. Lori has all the information she needs to get ahold of me, but I'm not holding my breath. Have a good day."

I don't expect to hear from them any more now than I did the first dozen times I called and left messages.

"It's a shame you didn't wait and talk to Lori before incurring a big vet bill..." REALLY TICKS ME OFF! I guess me calling and leaving messages wasn't enough?

No, the real shame is I didn't post this as a Bad Guy thread in the first place.

In any case, if they DO get in tou with me, I will post whatever comes of it here on the BOI, but like I said I'm not gonna hold my breath...

~Beau

Originally Posted by bcr229

I very much agree with this, but there's also the unfortunate reality that if a vet visit for an RI was $650 versus around $150, a lot of snakes would never see a vet for RI treatment, they would simply be replaced after they died - assuming their owners didn't try to sell them off quickly.

OP have you gotten in touch with BH to let them know the snake does have an RI?

I totally get it, a lot of folks either don't have the cash or don't want to part with it...however, antibiotics are not without risks...they can pose nephrotoxicity to your snake, they WILL kill good bacteria as well as bad guys (supposing there are any bad guys- see comment about culture)...Antibiotics don't discriminate...so you could potentially have an overgrowth of opportunistic pathogenic bacteria. Is it likely? Maybe not, but does it happen? Yep. Hospitals are full of people with C. difficile colitis from this. I have this conversation daily with my patients about antibiotics and why they may or may not need them. Animals are no different when it comes to medications.

And, OP...we do hope your snake recovers. Best wishes.

You did that right thing (in my opinion), Eyvonne. That is what matters.

Originally Posted by BeauBoi

I thought about sending them another message, but at this point I don't really see what good it would do. They have never replied to a message, and I am sick of calling and never getting a call back. I have no intention of returning the snake, and I have lost all patience with their lack of communication.
~Beau

Just an FYI, you can send them a certified letter (with return receipt) through the postal service. It costs around $6, but well worth it. Someone has to sign for it, and if they refuse, that says a lot about the company.

Also, for what it's worth, I've had poor communication issues from BHB as well. I live not too far from them, and have been to their facility to pick up rodents. I had a batch that smelled awful when thawed, and my calls and emails went un-returned.

I'm sorry that you're going through this, and I hope your girl recovers.

Kathy

Oops; I see that you did get in touch with them!

Kathy

I'm so sorry to hear that your snake is sick and that they responded that way to you on the phone. You probably don't want to, but I would send Brian or Lori a message on facebook and let them know the issues you had on the phone with their employee. They may read it or may not, but if it was me, I would want to be as thorough as possible. I hope your snake improves.

Ok. Stephenie just called to relay a message from Lori to me. The message was that, due to the snake passing a health check when it left their facility and the fact that I didn't not notify them of the snake having visible symptoms within 3 days of purchase, they are protected by their TOS and don't owe me anything.

To which, I informed her that I NEVER asked for anything! I am DONE with this, and these people! I don't know what is going on that they are too busy to deal with their customers, but I hope I never get to that point. If I do, I hope my customers find better sellers. I know that I won't order from them again.

~Beau

Originally Posted by BeauBoi

"It's a shame you didn't wait and talk to Lori before incurring a big vet bill..." REALLY TICKS ME OFF!

I would have felt the same way. They have seriously dropped the ball on communication.

Originally Posted by BeauBoi

Me: "Lori never called me back after I told you the snake was sick. In fact, I left a LOT of messages both before I bought the snake and after I got it that were never returned."

Stephenie: "We have just been really busy and I have been the only person in the office lately."

See my previous post in this thread. If they do not hire enough help so that the really important communications get taken care of then that's on them.
I get that breeding season is busy, but you can lose your good rep while getting the future snakes ready but not taking care of your customers who bought existing snakes.

LOL what a convenient way to get out of your TOS. We're not going to answer or return phone calls for a few days, that way when you do have an issue and try to complain, its past the time frame and our hands are tied!!