My wife is quite demanding of a vet: she insists on being able to be present at all surguries; likes to “go in the back” with the dogs, when they are taken out of the initial room; and does quite a bit of over-the-phone business. At our present vets, all the staff know our family by first name, and we have sold and given dogs to several of the staff. We also get a “breeder” discount, which is about 15% across the board, which is not something to sneeze at! Additionally, the vet’s son recently got hired as a weather person at one of the local TV stations, where my sister-in-law also works, who does Collies and rescues... Seems sort of incestuous at times....!
All harder to do when you only have one dog (or two). Hopefully I will not be in this situation forever, but for now, it is what it is.
My best situation was when I worked for my vet. Obviously she was my favorite. :)