Reasons Someone May Call a Vet Clinic

In today’s world and technology, clients have the skills and resources to do their research. What does this mean for a veterinary clinic? It means that it is important for your team to offer the best customer service and veterinary skills to ensure that your clients aren’t given reasons to research and take their pet (and their business) to another clinic. This is especially important for a veterinary receptionist. Being the voice, and the face if in person, of the veterinary clinic means it is your job to ensure the client receives proper information and gets the best service possible. In order to be best prepared, we started thinking about some common reasons someone may call a veterinary clinic. If we can be prepared for these types of calls, we can know the best way to take the necessary steps to resolve a caller’s inquiries and questions.

The Most Exciting Reason: A New Pet! 

One of the reasons a client may call the clinic is because they adopted a new fur baby! If they are a brand new pet owner, they may have a lot of questions and concerns. They may be uncertain about how to care for the pet, etc. If it is their first time calling your clinic, this phone call will determine if they choose to come to you or go to another clinic. This phone call could lead to either a lifelong client or just another phone call. It is your job, as the veterinary receptionist, to turn this inquiry into a scheduled client. From there, let your veterinary team do what they do best and help answer their questions and offer appropriate medical and care advice. 

Either New to Your Area or Doing Research

This may be an experienced pet owner and knows just the right questions to ask. They may be new to the area and looking for a veterinary clinic to take over their pets’ care, or they may be looking to change vet clinics for other reasons. These types of calls are just as important as a new pet owner call, but you may have less time to convince them that they have called the best clinic in town. This is because with their experience, they may have more specific questions that determine which clinic may fit their needs best. This is why it is extremely important to be knowledgeable about your specific clinic. It is your job to share your clinic’s accomplishments, specifically trained clinic staff, specialties or skills that set you apart, and any other conveniences you may offer such as a 24 hour emergency line or training classes for pets. All and any unique characteristics that can help you stand out should be included in this call. And, if all your caller is worried about is the price, remind them of the valuable experience and care their pet would receive if they choose to schedule with your clinic. This is an opportunity to turn a maybe into a definitely for the caller. Again, your job is to get them scheduled and in the door. Once that is done, it is up to your fabulous veterinary clinic team to make the rest happen! 

Possibly Calling for a Second Opinion

Every pet owner, as mentioned above, has the ability to do research. This is true not only for veterinary clinics in the area, but also any possible treatment and wellness options. These could include things from emergency care and procedures to the type of food or medicine they should get for their pet. When a pet parent does their research, while they may respect a veterinarian’s suggestions, they may want to ask around and get a second opinion. This is especially true if they believe there is a better suggestion, or if they just want to hear something else.When receiving a phone call about a second opinion, the most important thing to remember is to not undermine another clinic. If they call to say that “Scooby Doo Clinic” told them that their dog needed to be on a grain free diet, do not immediately jump in about the dangers of a grain free diet that could lead to future heart complications. Instead, offer to listen and be sure to let the client know that the veterinarians would need to discuss the pet’s history / gather previous records in order to offer a proper suggestion. Maybe their dog has a grain allergy that we are unaware of, and so perhaps this is in fact the best suggestion. Veterinarians and veterinary technicians are professionally trained and most, if not all, have a sound and specific reason for making any sort of suggestions and recommendations they may be offering their clients. Remember to represent your clinic well, without offering any medical advice or your opinions.

Emergency Calls

Lastly, there may be times when you receive a call about a pet emergency, whether that be for an existing patient or new. It is always important to remain calm and get appropriate information from the caller. Depending on the severity of the situation, the caller may be frantic or offering too much unnecessary information. It is your job, as the representative of the veterinary clinic, to steer the caller in the right direction by staying calm, asking the right questions to gather proper information, and letting the caller know we will help them as much as possible and reassuring their concerns. From here, based on your clinic’s protocols for emergencies, you can either get them scheduled for an emergency visit, refer them to an emergency animal hospital nearby if you do not have the capacity to see them right away, or have a veterinary technician or veterinarian take over the call to give the caller the best medical advice and next steps. This is where the phrase “better safe than sorry” is relevant. When receiving an emergency call, be sure to follow appropriate steps and procedures that your specific clinic has in place. This will provide the best care possible for the animal and prevent any sort of mistakes or miscommunications from taking place that could jeopardize the pet’s health and safety. 

While there may be other reasons a caller calls the veterinary clinic, these four seem to be common reasons for all clinics. If you are trained on how to handle and appropriately help these types of calls and callers, this will ensure the proper steps are being taken and will make your work and clinic the most efficient. If there are any odd calls or unique situations, that is when it is best to follow steps that align with your clinic protocols or ask for help! Again, it’s better to be safe than sorry.