Telehealth: Leading Customers and Veterinarians to Happiness

Customer support and happiness is always a very tricky thing to manage, whether you’re in a large company or a small business. “The customer is always right” is often preached in most industries. Is this the best way to approach customer satisfaction?

Veterinarians have one of the highest rates of suicide in the U.S. and it is a growing problem. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the first study to ever examine veterinarian mortality rates in the U.S. on January 1st, 2019. The grim results showed that between 1979 and 2015, male and female veterinarians committed suicide between 2 to 3.5 times more often than the national average. With the cost of education increasing and enrollment trends looking worse, it is unfortunately forecasted to not get better.

With stress, fatigue, and large amounts of debt being large contributors to this alarming problem, what can we do? 

Failing Our Veterinarians

Treat vets with kindness. There is relentless pressure from emotional (and, at times, misguided) pet owners. Veterinarians are far more likely to have their professional opinions second-guessed or even rejected by pet owners when compared to dentists or doctors working in human medicine.

This can sometimes even be funneled into online targeted attacks from unsatisfied customers. Online attacks have become so widely feared that the American Veterinary Medical Association introduced a Cyberbullying Response Assistance Hotline in 2016.

As a pet owner, it is important to remember there are many things you can do to assist in the ease of an appointment. Check out our blog here to learn more about how stress plays a role. Fear-free pets make for happier pets, happier pet owners, and happier veterinarians. If you disagree with a veterinarian’s opinion or plan, seek help from another vet for a second opinion and be respectful.

Instead of focusing on the customer being right at all costs, let’s look at ways to improve customer satisfaction in other ways.

The Customer Is Not Always Right - Now What?

Use Telehealth Tools and Technology

Telehealth practices can help make appointments easier for both veterinarians and pet owners. Whether it’s the use of text or email for prescription or appointment reminders or the use of e-appointments, Telehealth can go a long way in creating frictionless processes in many different ways. Telehealth creates more time for veterinarians and staff to focus on other important tasks and procedures.

Use Video

A study completed by Google found that 50% of smartphone users look for online videos on mobile when deciding whether to engage with a brand. With this many people looking towards video, why not increase the use of video for your practice?

The use of video is an easy and quick way to communicate with pet owners both for education and entertainment.

Create a Feedback Loop

Give the pet owners a place to give direct feedback, both positive and negative. Be sure to try to implement the changes that will help improve the practice. Automate the feedback loop via email or text to make it easy for everyone to use.

The Road to Satisfaction

Gone are the days of ‘the customer is always right.’ The use of Telehealth tools, technology, and automation allows veterinarians and staff to have more time, energy, and hopefully their own satisfaction. Through education and increased ease of service, Telehealth can help create satisfaction for pet owners and better work environments for vets.