Pethotel Quarantine service- Pay UPFRONT!!!! or ...

[Maxine]

I was told off by the Pet hotel person yersterday that I had a "singaporean attitude" because i refused to pay the fees upfront. I said i would pay half of it and then the remaining half when i picked up my pet when her quarantine ended. I said it was just principal, and that if anything happened to my pet, they surely didnt expect me to pay for the time my pet is not there?

I said hypothetically, what if my pet died mid month? Then I am supposed to pay for the stay of my pet's spirit for the rest of the time its to be there? He said, well, if WE were to blame for the PET's death, then of course we will reimburse you AFTER you write in..

So you are saying you want the money upfront, and if anything happens to my pet and its not your company's fault, i still have to pay for 'room and board' for a pet which isnt there? He said yes, you do and "only singaporeans have this attitude, the expats never complain, they just pay up!

So, this being an expat page, would the expats please share your thoughts on the above?

[babycin]

i aint no expat...but dun think i got "singaporean" attitude as well..haha..when i sent my doggies back to sg...they asked for upfront payment as well...which i did pay..in case they did something bad to my dogs!!!!.....(u'll never know will u?)...

anyway..the thing that pissed me off is that my dogs arrived at 3pm a changi airport..and they were left at the airport till the next day!!!! (imagine having to stay at the airport after a 24h airport to airport to airport dayout)...and pethotel explained that they only do ONE pick up a day and before 12noon!!!...to think that I supplied my flight details way before and they didnt even had the courtesy to inform me about this...which meant my dogs had to stay an extra day at quarantine..(actually clever way to make extra money out of me isnt it?)

[common]

It seems a lot more common to pay up front for many things here than I was used to in my home country. I have ordered furniture on 3 different occasions now and paid in full up front and the furniture was delivered as promised. We also paid for a full year of air-con service up front after the first service & so far no problems. It seems to be just the way it works.

The thing about the quarantine situation is you don't really have much choice since your pet has to go directly to quarantine. The Pet Hotel does a really great job running the quarantine station (and they are the only game in town, so no choice on it) and I am sure that if something unforseen were to happen to your pet and it died halfway through you would be refunded the appropriate amount of money.

[Maxine]

It seems a lot more common to pay up front for many things here than I was used to in my home country. I have ordered furniture on 3 different occasions now and paid in full up front and the furniture was delivered as promised. We also paid for a full year of air-con service up front after the first service & so far no problems. It seems to be just the way it works.

The thing about the quarantine situation is you don't really have much choice since your pet has to go directly to quarantine. The Pet Hotel does a really great job running the quarantine station (and they are the only game in town, so no choice on it) and I am sure that if something unforseen were to happen to your pet and it died halfway through you would be refunded the appropriate amount of money.

Choice- well thats just it, isnt it?.. why should we be held hostage in this way? Is this Fair Trade? Its the principle of it. If my pet died, and they were not responsible in anyway, he said I could "write to them" , why go thru all that crap, and if they DONT return the money, then what, go thru a lawyer?

So, if you have a system back in your home countries where you pay after a service has been rendered or item has been taken, but its the opposite here, why do you all agree? Why do you all put up with it?

[common]

Yes, choice is nice, but in the case of animal quarantine here in Singapore you don't have it. Why are you so hung up on the possiblility that your pet might die? A bit morbid, isn't it? The manager of the quarantine station is a nice, professional guy - I'm sure he would do the right thing and refund what you are entitled to should your pet die. Of course, your other option is not to bring your pet with you at all - it's up to you entirely. Good luck.

[Maxine]

Yes, choice is nice, but in the case of animal quarantine here in Singapore you don't have it. Why are you so hung up on the possiblility that your pet might die? A bit morbid, isn't it? The manager of the quarantine station is a nice, professional guy - I'm sure he would do the right thing and refund what you are entitled to should your pet die. Of course, your other option is not to bring your pet with you at all - it's up to you entirely. Good luck.

I resent your tone! I am not "hung up" on the fact that my pet might die, i am cross with being forced to pay for a service not completely rendered! We dont know if they would do the "right thing"! Not bring my pet? "Why are you so rude and personal?

[common]

Wasn't trying to be rude at all - sorry if you were offended. I was trying to point out the facts of the situation. Clearly the system does not work the way you would like, and that makes for an unfortunate situation for you to be in. I guess I just didn't see how it was productive for you to be so upset about it since you cannot change it. If leaving your pet behind isn't an option, then your best choice is to work within the system that exists and try not to let it bother you too much. We didn't want to put our dog in quarantine at all - but given the alternative of not having her with us was a worse option, so to quarantine she went. She did just fine, no problems at all, we visited as much as we could and the staff there are great and take good care of all the pets.

[Maxine]

Wasn't trying to be rude at all - sorry if you were offended. I was trying to point out the facts of the situation. Clearly the system does not work the way you would like, and that makes for an unfortunate situation for you to be in. I guess I just didn't see how it was productive for you to be so upset about it since you cannot change it. If leaving your pet behind isn't an option, then your best choice is to work within the system that exists and try not to let it bother you too much. We didn't want to put our dog in quarantine at all - but given the alternative of not having her with us was a worse option, so to quarantine she went. She did just fine, no problems at all, we visited as much as we could and the staff there are great and take good care of all the pets.

Its about principle. When my pet was here before in singapore, and if i left her at the pet shop when i went on holiday, they didnt ask me to pay ahead. I paid when i picked her up.

By the same token, i expect the Pet Hotel to do what they need to do and they will get paid at the end. Where am i going to do, run? I WILL pickup my pet so they are not going to release her until i pay for it right?

I am not complaining about the service, i am complaining about the attitude and the comment that i have a "Singaporean Attitude", that expats pay upfront and singaporeans dont.

I have just spoken to the head of the Quarantine division voicing my thoughts about the visiting hours and the comment. He agreed that the comment was uncalled for and that one had a right not to pay for something which was not yet 'complete' and that i should not have to live in fear that my pet may not be cared for just because i had not paid the money upfront.

Whether its $5 or $500 its the principle. Maybe the Pethotel has a cashflow problem, too bad. They dont need to insult the customers. And as i mentioned to the Quarantine head, yep,thanks to AVA we DONT have a choice.