Veterinarian clinics across America are facing unique challenges during this time. Whether your clinic is only open for emergency services, you are only allowing the patients in the door (not the humans), or you're back to normal processes, there's likely some obstacles to work through. People don't particularly like change and letting a dog owner know that they are unable to come into the veterinary office with their pet can be devastating. While the protocol you have in place may be a recommendation or mandatory from a governing entity, it's still your clinic that is sharing the upsetting news with your patients' owners. This kind of situation may lead a pet owner to lash out and write a negative review for your veterinary clinic. Here at BlueJay Reviews, we know that can be a very emotional situation. That's why we're sharing some tips on ways to explain your procedures in a way that may be easier to swallow for pet owners.
Share Entering Process
Make an effort to share the entering process that can be expected as early as possible with the patient's parents. This can help the pet owner mentally prepare for the experience they are about to encounter as they visit the vet office. Catching someone off-guard with new information can create a situation of high emotion, which can lead to backlash. It's best to update your website, social media, and phone message system with the process your clinic is practicing. It's also recommended for your receptionist to go over the entering procedures when the patient is making the appointment.
Show Empathy
You and your staff care about animals and likely know how strong the bond is between a human and their pet. Encourage your staff to be empathic about the situation. Explain to the pet owner that you know this is a hard situation and you understand how frustrating it is to have to wait outside (if your clinic is only allowing pets inside). Showing some understanding can really help a pet owner know that your clinic does understand how hard this situation is and that they are doing everything they can to take care of their pet.
Instill Trust
Your staff should communicate clearly that you and your team will have the patient's best interest at heart during the entire appointment. Let them know that you'll be right there by their side to love on and console the pet (if that is your procedure). Knowing that someone there is right there by the pet's side can help ease some anxieties a pet owner may have.
Communicate Often
Encourage your staff to communicate as often as possible with the pet owners. Whether that be via phone call or walking out to the parking lot to share an update. It can be very nerve-wracking waiting outside knowing a pet is having a procedure done and regular updates can really help ease that worry.
As everyone navigates this challenging time, know that our reputation management company is here for you! Monitoring your reputation is even more important now than ever before. You may experience an increase in those negative reviews as your procedures change. The relationship between a pet owner and a pet is a strong bond and anything that disrupts that bond is at risk for a highly-emotional situation. We hope our tips can help you and your clinic staff keep some of those reactive emotions in check, but ultimately, it's an important time to keep an eye on your online reviews. BlueJay Reviews offers a reputation monitoring platform that makes it easy! You can even set the platform up to send an automated notification when a negative review comes in about your veterinary clinic that way you can be as responsive as possible.
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