Customer Service

So often we think our practice is providing the best in customer service. Very often, veterinarians measure customer service based on their own perceptions of the office and/or their professional experiences and knowledge. Frankly, clients view customer service from a different perspective, and, clients typically use the same metrics to measure customer service without regard to the business they internally evaluate.

Simply said, customer service, or customer value, is a combination of;

• Price
• Access
• Quality

It is with these metrics that client/customers determine VALUE. My experience suggests that while customers complain about high prices, what they are really saying is that they did not receive VALUE for the price they paid. For example, Starbucks did not attain its level of success based on low prices. Instead, Starbucks offer great access with lots of locations, high quality of coffees from all over the world, yet the prices they charge are 2-3 times that of your local fast food joint or local corner gas/food mart. So how do they do it?

Simply put, Starbucks creates an unsurpassed customer experience that the consumer interprets as high value. So how do you create the unsurpassed customer experience? Well, it depends on your practice, your staffing, your location, office hours, etc. In short, it depends.

A good start could be conducting a short customer satisfaction survey. Typically, the data from these surveys reveal the very best of your customer service and the very worst. Direct feedback from your clients provides insight to areas of your practice you may have not yet considered as an opportunity for improved customer service.