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Client Satisfaction
Unhappy patients
only bite and scratch;
A dissatisfied client can hurt a lot more!
Tips for managing
client dissatisfaction at your practice
Dissatisfied clients can
certainly take their business elsewhere. They can also
exert a great deal more damage to your practice by filing
lawsuits and complaints, and by spreading ill will and
unflattering word-of-mouth. We have all heard the old
customer service line, “A happy customer tells so many
others, but an Unhappy customer tells however many more.”
Having a large number of unhappy
clients also demoralizes staff, making them unhappy, further
impacting client service, making for unhappier clients, and
so on.
On the positive side, an unhappy
client can also be your practice’s best window into what is
wrong and what you need to fix. Keep in mind that
clients evaluate their experience differently than
veterinary professionals. While technical skill and
competence are expected, clients are often influenced by
service factors that go beyond the treatment of their pet.
Clients voicing complaints offer
the practice an opportunity to uncover possible weaknesses
in service delivery. In today’s competitive
marketplace, addressing these issues may help provide the
type of completive edge you need.
Improve how your practice manages client complaints by following these three steps.
1) PREVENT
complaints in the first place.
Develop a proactive plan for
improving client satisfaction at every point of contact or
“moment of truth” with your practice:
-
Appointment
call
-
Receptionist
greeting
-
Wait in the
lobby
-
Wait in the
exam room
-
Discharge
-
Follow-up
Some of these represent greater
sources of client satisfaction / dissatisfaction than
others. All represent opportunities as well as areas
of vulnerability for the practice.
The kitten died and the owner
threatened to sue. While this particular practice has
a basically good reputation, the discharge instructions were
vague and failed to spell out the seriousness of follow-up
care. Due to the incomplete instructions, the owner
neglected adequate follow-up care and failed to read warning
signs of further distress.
More thorough information could
have prevented this tragedy. To me, discharge
instructions are one of the weakest links at many practices.
They are also an area over which the vet has a great deal of
control, at least in the information being dispensed.
Throughout your practice, you
have more control over some points of contact than others.
For those with which you have less control (wait time for
example) , look for ways in which the time being spent is of
at least some VALUE to the client. Fill empty time
with educational materials, DVDs, a place to nap, beverages
or light snacks.
At EVERY point of contact,
consider how your practice is being evaluated, what is
important to clients and what will make their visit more
pleasant. I travel two hours for dental care for
a pet rabbit. Our vet has a room ready when I walk in,
a place for me to set up my lap top if I need it and offers
to put on a fresh pot of coffee by the staff.
Eliminate the guess work by
ASKING clients what is important to them. Use client
focus groups to surface weaknesses as well as new ideas.
Conduct periodic client surveys to gauge client
satisfaction. Consider appointing a client advisory
panel to assist with continuous practice improvement.
2) Make
it EASY to complain.
If veterinary clients are like
other customers, in more than half of cases, they will leave
without complaining, at least not to YOU.
In most situations, clients will
voice their dissatisfaction to family, friends, the
veterinary community, perhaps to the local news media.
That is NOT how you want to find out that a client has a
problem with your practice!
Instead, make it easy for
clients to voice their concerns directly to your practice.
Some vets will say, “Of course, clients can always come to
me.” Remember – most will not. You have got to make it
easier than that.
A.
Start by adopting
the right CULTURE. A practice culture that views complaints
as a hassle, or only punishes the “perpetrator,” discourages
staff from acting constructively. Remind staff that
complaints are OPPORTUNITIES to strengthen client service
and are everyone’s job. Make it part of regular staff
meetings to go over complaints and how they were remedied.
Reward staff members who act quickly to achieve positive
outcomes.
B. Provide
clients with the necessary channels and make them obvious.
Let clients know where to go with feedback by posting
messages in the lobby, on the website, discharge
instructions and invoices. Be specific by providing a
form to fill out for the suggestion box or a special email
address. Let clients know that servicing them is a
priority.
C. Get
information to the top of the practice. Make sure that
complaints – or perhaps a weekly summary – are shared with
practice managers and owners. This not only
demonstrates the importance of this information to staff,
but shares vital information about how clients view the
practice.
D. Monitor
and track complaints. Maintain a database for
coding and tracking types of complaints and their frequency.
This is great way to determine if solutions are having an
impact. This also helps you with number 1 above.
3) Respond
to complaints QUICKLY.
Once a complaint surfaces,
handle it quickly. Once you have invited client to share the
information, it will make the situation worse by failing to
act in a timely manner.
For this purpose, have a
complaint protocol in place that includes:
-
Types of (anticipated)
complaints
-
Identification of who
handles the complaint
-
Protocol for handling each
type of complaint
-
Agreed upon remedies / what
staff is empowered to do
-
Exceptions to the above
-
Complaint /
outcome documentation
-
Client follow-up
Follow some basic rules for handling any
complaint.
DO
-
Provide the client with a private setting where he/she can
be comfortable discussing the complaint.
-
Allow the client to
communicate his/her concerns to an empathetic listener even if the
client becomes emotional. Show interest and concern while
documenting the information.
-
Double check
information on both sides. Obtain as accurate a picture of
what has happened as you can.
-
Ask the client what you can do
to remedy the situation; what he or she thinks would be fair.
-
Determine what is
possible. You may ask for a compromise.
-
Look for ways to
keep the client connected to the practice. For example, if a
client was dissatisfied with a nail trim, instead of refunding their
money, offer a certificate for a free service on the house.
-
Thank the client
for bringing the situation to your attention. Remind him/her
that the practice is always looking for ways to strengthen its
services and client satisfaction.
-
Look for ways to
prevent this type of complaint from happening in the future.
NEVER
-
Make excuses.
(“The staff must have been tired that day.”)
-
Put the practice on
a pedestal. (“We are still the largest and best vet hospital
in the county.”)
-
Offer blank
apologies. (“Gee, sorry about that; that must have been the
new person.”)
-
Trivialize the complaint. ("Gee that happens all the time and no one
else has complained.")
-
Brush them off.
(“Give me a number and I’ll have someone call you.”)
-
Based on the
seriousness of the situation, a client’s complaint may still
progress to a point at which it draws negative attention to the
practice. Always be prepared for damage control.
-
Should the problem
spread to other clients or to the local news media, seek
professional guidance in crisis management. While such counsel
cannot make the situation disappear, it can provide strategies for
managing – and possibly minimizing – its impact.
Client satisfaction
How
one Michigan Veterinary Hospital
is Getting Emotional with Clients
Animal Neurology & MRI Center in
Commerce, Michigan, with three board-certified neurologists and
state-of-the art diagnostics including MRI and CT scan, treats dogs,
cats and exotics with serious brain, nervous system and spine
problems. Clients come from around the Midwest and Canada.
But what is earning high marks for this Center goes way
beyond veterinary skill and the latest technology. Clients like to
go there because the Center makes them feel good.
Says Practice Manager Angie Heighton, “Our veterinary
professionals can display their plaques on the wall and we can talk
about all the latest and greatest technology. But foremost, clients
need to feel good about the people caring for their pet. We need to
understand their feelings, make them comfortable and build their
trust.”
Animal Neurology & MRI Center, which also operates the
Animal ER Center and Animal Rehab & Fitness Center, enforces these
protocols among veterinarians and staff.
-
Get to know the clients personally.
Where do they live? What do they do?
-
Follow the 12-minute rule. No client
goes without human contact every 12 minutes. A timer signals
when.
-
When the pet goes to the back of the
Center for treatment, so does the client, if they wish.
-
Better yet, offer the client a tour
so they can see the whole Center.
-
Call the pet by name and know its
gender (files are colored coded: pink for girls, blue for boys).
First-time clients get maps, directions and hospitality packages
with information on area hotels, restaurants and shopping. Or
clients can spend the night at the Center in a comfortable lounge
along with their pets.
For shorter stays, clients relaxing in the spacious lobby
are treated to fluffy blankets; hot coffee, bottled water, granola
bars and other snacks; internet access and use of TV / DVD’s.
Clients who have lost a pet get a clay paw print and a
sympathy card. Long-time clients get flowers. Through an arrangement
with a local crematorium, deceased pets are picked up one at a time,
24 hours a day and the remains brought back to the client the
following day. Clients only pay the crematorium and can even hold an
on-site service for their pet.
Client protocols and services are constantly revisited to
see how they can be improved.
As one Center vet summed it up, “I have one hour to get to
know my client and get him or her to trust me. Our client needs to
see that I am a real person, not just someone with a bunch of
letters behind my name. At the end of the consultation, we should
not only know a great deal about the patient, we should also know a
lot about the client.”
For more information on Animal Neurology & MRI Center, go to
www.animalneurology.com.
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