Park run or Olympic Park?
Chatting with friends recently, we were reminded of a brilliant statistic that totally encapsulates the very British mismatch between reality and belief:
A quarter of Brits believe that they could qualify for the 2028 Olympics.
That’s 27% of ordinary Brits, people with no existing skills or talent in any particular sporting discipline, who honestly think that they have enough time and determination to train and qualify to represent their country at the highest level in under four years. The figure rises to a staggering 39% amongst 18–24-year-olds, which if nothing else should give us hope that the next generation retain plenty of optimism and self-belief.
We got to thinking, as we often do, about how this desire to be the very best applies in the veterinary sector. For quite some time now our profession has talked about achieving ‘gold-standard’ care, having ‘world-leading skills’ and ‘cutting edge equipment’. And for quite some time, Team Onswitch has avoided using such hyperbolic terminology. Aside from the fact that it’s just not possible for every brand or practice who claims to be gold standard, to all actually be of the very highest, Olympic-level standard, using such language makes excellence become uneventful. And whilst great clinical care and a terrific customer experience should absolutely be the norm, they should never become ordinary.
Small things, done consistently well
It’s time to stop delighting small numbers of your client base and instead start meeting the expectations of them all. Exceptional moments are amazing when they happen, but trying too hard to achieve them often means the everyday lovely stuff gets missed. We’re talking here about the little things that make a big difference to how we all feel when we interact with service providers, with people. Things that are really easy to do well:
- Making eye contact and smiling at clients as they arrive. You can do this even if you’re on the phone
- Welcoming people and pets by name, offering treats, recognising and remembering regular visitors to the practice
- Having a natter whilst you weigh the dog, wait for the card machine, carry the cat carrier into the consult room for an elderly client
- Answering the phone brightly and listening to what the caller says, as opposed to what you assume she’s saying because you might be distracted / tired / cross
- Not standing with your back to the client, typing into a computer at the back of the room whilst they talk about how worried they are about Bert
- Offering a live chat facility (and then responding quickly and with warmth to messages)
- Building self-serve functionality into your website so that clients can book appointments, order prescriptions and join a health plan in their own time
- Smiling. It makes everyone happier
Pragmatism beats perfection
Most people don’t expect the best service ever, every time they visit their vet. But they do expect (quite rightly) to be treated with respect, care and warmth. Just as you do when you interact with other businesses, brands and services in every aspect of life. Setting realistic customer service Key Performance Indicators, and measuring progress against them regularly, is the way to go here:
- Train the team in Telephone Skills to help them manage telephone calls efficiently but without compromising on empathy
- Sign up to Call Coaching, to help the team see where further improvements can be made
- Take a Consultation Skills course and learn the 7 Steps for clarity and consistency when you speak with owners
- Use Consult Coach to structure consults better and communicate clearly with clients
Slow and steady wins the race
Success in any field is more likely when we make incremental and sustainable steps forward, rather than pushing for huge leaps. Target the everyday things that when done well make a big difference to the customer experience and start with those. And if anybody reading this is still convinced you could be steaming down the final 100m in Los Angeles in 2028, wearing Team GB kit, may we respectfully suggest starting here.
