4 strategies to handle demanding equine clients

"Hello, Mrs. Smith? This is Ryan from On the Go Equine Services. I'm just calling to let you know that Dr. Duidal is running about 90 minutes behind schedule right now."

Sound familiar? If you run an ambulatory practice, chances are it does. Staying on schedule is a constant challenge when you're facing uncontrollable variables such as traffic and weather. On top of that, you often encounter clients who are unprepared or who have discovered the need for more services since scheduling the appointment—and failed to mention them to the practice.

Dr. Jeff Hall at Equus Veterinary Service in Oregon City, Ore., estimates that 40 percent of his ambulatory appointments require more services than were originally scheduled. Dr. Hall's practice schedules calls in two-hour blocks, leaving him some flexibility for addressing extras. "I work hard to stay on schedule," he says. "But I'll at least discuss the issue or begin an exam that may have to be completed at a later date."

However, many practices use exact times and a point system to decide how much time to dedicate for a specific appointment, and unforeseen work can only mean one thing—the staff will be making a "sorry, the doctor's late" call to Mrs. Smith.

Most equine practices fall into one of two camps when it comes to clients' requests for additional services. The first group usually says no, and the second group usually says yes. Whichever type you are, having a clear strategy for staying on time and dealing with the unexpected can help minimize any impact to the day's schedule.

Option 1: Be on time all the time

Some practices schedule appointments for one or more specific services, and that's the service they provide during the appointment. Additional needs are scheduled for another visit in the future. The advantage to this approach is that the problem tends to be short-lived—clients will get the message and be more thorough when scheduling their appointments.

On the other hand, many horse owners "retain" the use of more than one veterinarian, and if you fail to meet all of Mrs. Smith's needs, you could be sending her into the arms of your competitor. So this strategy may be great if you're a busy practitioner who enjoys a strong reputation or if you don't face a great deal of competition. It might upset some horse owners, but it will create goodwill with the rest of your clients who value their time as well as yours. They'll come to appreciate seeing their veterinarian at the approximate time they had planned to.

Option 2: Never pass on an opportunity

Other equine veterinarians, however, believe they can't afford to pass up an opportunity to generate additional revenue. This approach is more popular with practitioners who have fewer clients, who are located in areas of high competition, or who are well into their careers. Many senior practitioners remember their efforts to build the practice and feel that the benefits of delivering those additional services outweigh the downside of being chronically behind schedule.

And then there's the economy. Fewer and fewer practitioners have full schedules right now, which allows for more flexibility. And even those who have a busy day today are eyeing tomorrow with concern. These veterinarians live by the adage "make hay when the sun shines," because these days, no one knows when the sun will shine next.

Whatever your approach, there's no downside to doing everything possible to avoid unexpected requests or other delays in the first place. Like almost every issue in this profession, success begins and ends with good communication.

4 ways to stay on track

It's easy to be run off schedule by clients. Employ this quartet of tips to stay in the race:

1. Pick one person each day to handle telephone calls. If you have a mixed practice, keep in mind that scheduling for horses is different than scheduling for smaller animals. Team members assigned to this task must have additional knowledge to be successful. They must understand the coverage area, the logistics of highways and back roads, and the reality of travel time. Failing to plan a circuitous day (unless you own a helicopter) and failing to plan for travel time is the quickest way to get off track, making it even harder to accommodate extra requests.

Even in equine-only practices, it's not a bad idea to assign one person to this task each day. Allowing more than one person to handle phone calls at a time is just asking for confusion and mixed messages. For example, two team members could try to schedule in the same time slot while on the phone at the same time.

2. Turn over every stone when scheduling. The easiest way to fail to get complete information is by failing to ask for it. Before each appointment, screen horses for needed vaccines and dewormers. A quick review of the medical history will reveal any other relevant questions you need to ask. This is another area where equine-specific experience is critical—the staff member scheduling the appointment should be able to connect the dots presented by the client to a list of possible outcomes and predict how much time you might need for the appointment. (Note that the team member needs to do this nonverbally to avoid the suggestion that he or she is making a diagnosis.)

By being thorough over the phone, you can avoid surprises in person. Plus, this tactic helps mitigate a client's frustration if he or she requests extra services during the visit and you elect to postpone them for a future appointment. You can remind the client that you or your team member asked multiple questions during the scheduling call. If you question why a client failed to mention the extra services she'd need when she called you initially, the last thing you want to hear is, "Well, you didn't ask."

3. Know your clients. Most practices have repeat offenders—clients who habitually add extra services or otherwise cause the doctor to run behind. It's vital to know which clients are needy, which clients are likely to surprise the doctor with extras, and which clients tend to be unprepared. Again, if you have a small team handling equine scheduling, they're more likely to become familiar with these clients' names and build more time into these appointments. Of course, it's never a bad idea to create a list of "extra time needed" clients to help less experienced staff or those filling in during breaks.

4. Help yourself. Another way to reduce delays in your schedule is to educate clients about what to expect when you arrive. Here are two examples of preventable delays: a horse that hasn't been haltered standing at the far end of a pasture when you arrive, and a client who didn't know he had to pay at the time of service slowly walking to the house to locate the checkbook. Discuss expectations when scheduling the appointment.

Another way to avoid clients being unprepared is to let them know you're on your way. In this age of mobile phones, it works great to have staff call clients 15 minutes prior to your arrival.

"Hello, Mrs. Smith? This is Ryan from On the Go Equine Services calling to let you know that Dr. Ontyme will be there about 3 p.m., just as planned. Go ahead and put a halter on your horse. She'll be pulling into the barn in 10 minutes, and we'll figure out what's causing the lameness."

The ability for your staff to make this call several times each day—and to apply these other strategies to stay on track—will be just what the doctor ordered.

Kyle Palmer, CVT, is practice manager at Silver Creek Animal Clinic in Silverton, Ore. Send questions and comments to ve@advanstar.com.