For how long does your client need to wait?

Did you ever sit on an uncomfortable chair in the crowded reception area waiting for a doctor to appear and call your name? Appointment time was scheduled fifteen minutes ago and it seems people who arrived after you are guided in to the room next door. Children are yelling and youngsters are kicking chairs. TV is too loud and nurses seem to be over stressed and impolite. Minutes feel longer than an hour and you feel you never want to come back. Hopefully description of the reception area atmosphere at your veterinary practice is somewhat different. There is a lot you can do with good interior design, coffee and light music; however the key to your clients’ hearts is within your personnel’s attitude and the timing with the appointments. dvm.360.com reports that according to a US national study patients wait 17 minutes an average before meeting the veterinarian. During the time their clients are becoming irritated due to waiting time. Veterinary practice waiting roomMost pet owners are likely to understand random delays – especially if the reason is explained: Difficult surgery, personnel reasons or a first aid patient being treated between the scheduled visits. Honesty is reported the most used policy to handle clients when delays (dvm.360.com). Additional stress releasing tactics may be adopted. However, if there is a regular tendency of schedules slipping more than appropriate during the day, you should evaluate your processes. Are the appointment times set realistic, how much time is used for each part of the client visit and why? You can ask the reception personnel to keep track of the time or you can use Practice Management software such as Provet Cloud for recording the visit. Provet Cloud records each step of the visit and automates the calculation of time from Registering to Consultation to Ready for discharge and to Discharged client. This will help you to monitor how much time clients spend waiting and how you progress in better matching the appointment schedules. There are different strategies that you could use to cut the waiting time. Paperwork filling does not go well with paperless office, however you might want to offer the clients tablets to fill in questionnaire “What do I expect from my Vet” or informative reading related to clients visit reason. Empty slots in calendar may help you to catch some issues; however, it may not be the optimal solution for your business. Drop off appointments would be attractive solution for the busy clients - you need to schedule staff for the supervising job and space for the patients. It would help you to be more flexible with the treatments though. You could alternatively offer online booking for routine appointments and schedule them to less busy times. Offering “fast lane” for vaccinations would also help to release the patients with shorter appointments from waiting and crowding the waiting room. Waiting 15 minutes for 10 minute vaccination does not feel good, does it? Regular evaluation helps you to keep your practice work effective and efficient. You will find out what is done and consider if it all adds value to your clients. More value, less hassle - your clients will be happier.