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CLIENTS' EXPECTATIONS FROM VETERINARIANS
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Introduction
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In the face of unprecedented competition, the veterinarian and his/her team must provide their patients and clients the best scope of medical and surgical care but also a variety of services and products. For some veterinarians, these services and products are not considered to be 'ethical' or part of their responsibility. However in the eyes of the owners, the veterinarian is the expert, so it is quite normal and 'expected' that he or she would fulfill these needs. The 'animal doctor' is expected to propose such services or products. However, it is well known that there is a potential cultural conflict. Most veterinarians will mention that they have not studied medicine and surgery to 'sell dog food, or shampoos'. In such case, the barrier is the veterinarian, not the owner.
Expectations & needs
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There are several kinds of expectations. Those who are expressed or so-called 'explicit' and those who are not expressed by the customers or so-called 'implicit' expectations. It is quite important to know what are the client's implicit expectations since by definition these will not be mentioned by people. A perfect example is the fact that people expect the personnel and staff in a veterinary clinic to have a 'professional medical look' (white or medical types of clothes), if it is not the case, people may be surprised or even upset, but they will not mention it. It is implicit for them. Veterinarians specifically need to have a good understanding of that category of expectations. Some classical implicit expectations of the consumers include:
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Availability (no wait, flexible hours, easy access & parking, sufficient stock, etc.)
- Patience (Clients expect their doctor to be patient with them, allow sufficient time for them)
- Explanatory (Answering the questions calmly, not avoiding them, clarify their doubts and explains even the minute details)
- Transparency (prices should be clearly marked; invoices should be itemized, etc.)
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Choice (various products and services, 'freedom of choice', etc.)
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Environment (comfortable, neat, clean, odourless, friendly, modern, etc.)
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Clarity of the offer (prices listed, estimations, badges, etc.)
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Services (various services adapted to their needs as pet owners)
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Various surveys have shown that what clients were looking for in a veterinarian was by order of importance his or her:
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kindness
- affordability
- availability
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patience to listen
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his or her competency
- approach
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Measuring client satisfaction in a practice can help maintain a more stable, satisfied client base. Satisfaction will often be a measure of client perception of quality. The highly satisfied client will feel they have received a high quality service, whereas the dissatisfied client will be disappointed by the quality of service.
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Client service is the ability to meet client requirements. Services are experienced, and veterinarians, as service providers, are as much in managing the client's experience as in providing technical expertise.
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"Any business that wants to succeed must be aware of its customer's requirements. Failure to do so is a missed opportunity to satisfy client needs and to maximize profits. Many practitioners are focused on the medical and technical issues. They do not realize that their services do not match necessarily what their clients expect and do not listen to them.
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Participants
