What do you want from your vet? (not only for the dog-lovers!)

[Joolyjoolyjoo]

Right, I am setting up my own practice in the next month or so (gulp!) I want to get it right and give people the service they want. Things I think are important are:

Clean, comfortable waiting room, with seperate areas for cats and dogs

Friendly receptionist and staff, easy to get a same-day appointment

To see the same vet each time, if at all possible (as there is only me, you won't get any choice )

Your concerns to be listened to properly, and you and your animal to be treated with respect and empathy.

Procedures and prices to be explained and detailed. Prices to be reasonable.

A good range of in-house facilities (xray/ blood work etc)

Ample parking close by/ right outside

Computerised records/ receipts

What else? What makes a practice a good one in your view? Really interested to hear all views!

Sounds fab, and I think I'm lucky because my experience so far seems to meet all of these.

I would say knowledgeable receptionist is a key point - sometimes I've phoned for reassurance (novice pup owner), and she can tell me whether I need an appointment or not. I think they also have enough time between appointments for her to check things wit the vet. That might be a luxury if you're on your own!

Puppy classes, teenage dog classes etc.
My one complaint with my surgery is that I emailed before we got our pup about classes, and got all the info back, including payment details for classes. As I didn't know when the pup would be through his vacs, I didn't pay immediately. Once I tried to book him in 2 weeks later, I was told it had been sold out for ages . She could've mentioned they were running out of space!

Text alerts for appointments might a fab idea - my vet doesn't do this but other companies I use do, very helpful.

Oh, and don't get too sucked into pushing Hills food - it seems to disagree with as many dogs as it agrees!

Ours that we have the dog with (don't have the cat there as she travels so badly she's at the closest possible) is very good in that they have vet nurses on hand doing free quicky email advice and the like... yeah it's a minor freebie but it keeps a heck of a lot of people on their list and loyal in the long run.

They also rather bizarrely do a "pet of the month" feature - it's like "which animal's got most spectacularly injured and patched up this week"... thankfully my dog hasn't decided he wants to get in on that yet.

Appointments at times around people who work - ours goes normal surgery till 7pm, then obviously out of hours service on top of that - but our vets is a huuuuge practice.

Think the other biggie is how well you work with the insurance most people have now in terms of claim forms and the like possibly... I don't know how it works with payment for things when it's a huge bill in those terms but something to consider I guess. Ours runs a saving club scheme as well for those who don't want to do insurance - pay so much a month into a pot for vet treatments and they get a discount on flea/worming stuff for being "VIP" members in return.

Listen to your customers
I had a feral cat and I told my vet this when i took her to be vaccinated. He said he would have to scruff her ..i said NO she is FERAL she cannot be handled you will have to inject her quickly as you open the lid of the basket.
She was a feral cat, not just a bit flighty
He didn't listen and then shouted at me and hinted I should have her PTS when she demonstrated how feral she was!

While I appreciate some people may over exaggerate their animals nature, thinking because you are better qualified that you know their animal better is wrong.

I still see him and he still thinks he is gods gift and doesn't listen.

the only other thing is have somewhere near your counter for people to hang their leads on whilst they are paying, it's impossible to hold your dog, purse, children, pet medication and enter your PIN number at the same time!

Good Luck
Hope you don't get too many feral cats

Don't push products that people haven't come for. I have a pet hate of being nagged about vaccination boosters "specialist" food etc (I know its unreasonable its just annoying)

Good luck

Nice reasonably priced would actually do it for me - everything else is a bonus.

Our vet sends us a postcard a month before vac's are due to remind us, very, very helpful

Thanks all

have qualified vet nurse, so hopefully will run free nurse clinics

Point taken re dog parking! I have ordered devices to park the lead on near reception!

I don't intend to sell non-prescription food at all really, as I agree on sales-pressuring people- doesn't look professional at all, and I actually left a previous job because of their insistence on pushing stuff at people

Open day is tentatively arranged, and will advertise it locally (and see if I can be cheeky and get local press to do a feature on it!)

OldBag- sorry to hear about your cat I have a seperate nurses/ bereavement room set aside to try to avoid people having to leave via waiting room, as I know how upsetting this would be

I'm hoping to do booster reminders and practice newsletters by e-mail.

And fruitshoots- I promise to listen when someone tells me their cat is a bit, erm, spirited!! (ouch!)

BeerTricks- like the "tell-a-friend" voucher idea, especially as I will be dependant to a great extent on word of mouth in the early days!

Thanks guys! Any more ideas?

Oh- would you like a price list on the website, so that you can know prices before you visit, or not?

BloodyMoFo- really?? Having seen what it does to cats, I've never been tempted!!

Near-by late night emergency cover if you can't do it yourself.

Nothing more stressful than facing a 40 minute drive with a sick/dying/dead pet late at night.

Good luck!

I took our cat to see a new vet last night.

I liked the fact that last week when I popped in to the vets to see how much an appointment was - he came out of his surgery rooms and had a long helpful chat with me about what issues my cat might have.

I like the fact they show their prices for a basic check-up etc.. Vets seem to hide these things until it is time to pay up.

I like the easy car parking. I liked the fact they had some kids toys that my little un's amused themselves with.

I liked the receptionist saying hello to our cat when we walked in and acknowledging us before we said who we were.

I liked the fact the vet did not berate me for the fact my cat is fat but weighed him without a fuss.

I liked it when he asked to me leave the room whilst he extracted urine from my cat because it could be upsetting and he did battle on his own with my very pissed off cat.

I liked the fact he appeared interested in the history and behaviour of my cat.

I liked the boxes of tissues on the counter available for people who might have an upsetting time there.

Openess on prices always a good idea then people can't be shocked when it's time to pay. Obviously other practices will be able to have a shifty too but will keep them on their toes!
Not sure when the drug companies run their Vaccine Amnesty week but that is often a good promotion to build up a client base as is Pet Smile Week as everyone gets a goody bag and a free dental check. (Your nurse will love you )

Oh yes- kids toys in the waiting room! great, means I can have a clearout!

I think I have just missed vaccine amnesty week (think it is very soon, but will check with reps!) and will take note of when pet smile week is. Keep em coming!

Ours sends out a price list with not only basic prices on as guidelines - consult/vacc/spay (roughly)/neuter (again roughly depending on weight) but it also has guide prices for some of the more commonly prescribed medications on it which is a handy reference card (I'd look exactly WHAT it has but hubby's taken it to work to ring them from).

Space AWAY from any kids toy areas for those with dogs (or people) who want the option to stay well away. Cranky woofbag might not want to be caught in the middle of toy-car racetrack and if the waiting room's laid out like some - avoidance is difficult.

I guess some proceedure for people with difficult dogs - be it that they can ring to check in and wait outside or get last appointment of the night or whatever - minimize hell breaking loose in the waiting area if they've got a dog reactive dog (heck even my lovely dog becomes a raving nutter with all the smells of the vet surgery).

Still really impressed by the email advice system mine runs to be honest - mailed them first thing this morning with the sort of query that really doesn't warrant going in, got a reply by 11.

Ours hooks in with the local rescue to do half-price neutering for dogs - they get patients who tend to stay on the books, the rescue gets snipped dogs - it's how we came to be patients there.

Oh and my own personal one - don't sneer at people who've never had dogs before (we do have one vet nurse with the knack of making me feel like shit with how she does it)... sometimes can feel like without being indocrinated at birth into some secret dog owner club, you're not allowed to ever get one!

The big one is just a vet that cares about the animals - the one my mums cats go to is dreadful - 10 second consultations, a few boxes of tablets and a triple digit bill... both the mog and dog's ones are pretty good - the cat adores hers (even when he's shoving a thermometer up her bum) because she's a gullible fool who'll do anything to be fussed over and told how gorgeous she is, and the dog's vet spent about 10 minutes trying to work out exactly what he's a cross between - just little things that make a difference! (Never did get to the bottom of exactly what varieties of dog lurk in there)

Ooh yes toys, we always used to have one of those little kids tables from ikea and a couple of chairs. Drontal used to do free colouring/spot the difference pads.
Do you have a primary school nearby, often a good idea to forge links and build relationships with them via colouring competitions, winner could officially open the surgery on the day, usually ensures you get in the paper! Do guided tours for them and basic talks on small furries. Basically promotes you as a family friendly practice which is always a bonus.
Photo board, people love to have "famous" pets.
Free notice board to advertise puppies, kennels, catteries etc.
Access to a loo is always appreciated but not essential.
I think one of the things people appreciate most though is a vet and staff that acknowledge them, remember then (client records usually have a secret bit where you can store little titbits of info like Mrs S is not fat she is pregnant and prefers a nurse to hold her cat for claw clipping as she finds it difficult etc. or Mr D is anti castration so don't bother talking about it)
and finally do your best to run on time, nothing worse than waiting forever for your appointment. PTS/difficult cases excepted but get your receptionists to book double appointments for difficult clients if necessary.

Phew think that's it! Will come back if I think of anymore, have been out of the game a while.

i've stayed with my current vet for 7 years despite it being a bit further away because -

-staff are friendly and greet us when we arrive
-vet is knowledgeable and will clearly list all options on treatment. i never feel rushed during consultation. if i ask him from his list of options what he would do if he was me he is honest. its a large practice but i will only take my older jrt to him for this very reason
-treatment room has a cheap plastic chair on customer's side of table so i can sit down if i need to
-they have a weighing scales in foyer so i can pop in any time and weigh my young jrt who has a tendency to go slightly underweight
-there is always an available seat in the waiting room

in an ideal world they would also have -
-disabled parking space outside
-clearly displayed prices in the surgery and online

sorry but a waiting room with kids toys would put me off the practice. if i am there with a sick animal i would not want kids playing with toys. i wouldnt mind if it was a play area like at my dentist - a few kids books and one of those tables with intergral quiet puzzles

How exciting! Best of luck.

we have recently changed vets and are thrilled with the new practice, much of this has already been said, but the things I love are-

Very friendly receptionists.

Scales in waiting room which I can pop in and use whenever and whenever I do the receptionist always gives him a biscuit.

Very interested vet (always see the same one) who always checks at the end of the consultation whether I have understood everything/anything needs repeating/if I have any questions and doesn't seem to be in a rush to get me out of the room.

Twice when I have been with something exceedingly minor and I have only been in the consulting room for literallly 2 or 3 minutes, they have waived the normal consulting fee and once charged me a tenner (he did have some treatment) and once nothing. I totally understand that you are running a business and need to make a profit, but it is being treated in this way that means I am constantly singing their praises and encoraging other people to change practice.

Not sure about toys tbh, if I was very worried the last thing I want is noisy children playing and it could be very unsettling for animals not used to them, maybe books instead?

We have just moved 40 miles away from our vet and after going to see a few local vets here we have decided to stick with our original guy.

Reasons being:
It doesn't feel like its a business, it feels like he is doing it because he wants to, not for the money.
Reasonable prices, only charges for procedures, tablets etc not for consultations (ie we were there yesterday, were in with him for 1/2 an hour and were only charged the prices of worming tablets. Any other vet we have looked at charges at least £30 once your feet are through the door).
Knowing our dog by name (and our DD).
Once I was sitting waiting to be seen and an old woman came out with her dog. The receptionist said, it will be £x, shall I add it to your outstanding balance? The vet came out behind her and said that x procedure for Mrs X was acutally on offer and free today! The woman burst into tears. as did I.

emptyshell- good point about difficult dogs. I have a porch type area, but will look into whether there is somewhere a client could stand with a dog so other clients could get past.

I love the idea of the e-mail advice, but not sure if I will have the man (woman!) power to run it effectively, which might mean a query that needed dealt with got missed. Hmm.

Def happy to do reduced prices for charities, although most of the ones round here have their own internal vet for neutering etc. I intend to invite them all to my launch and see what they need/ want.

shufflebum- not only do I have a primary school across the road, it is my children's primary school (and was also mine!!) so should be easy to forge a few links there!

Agree with the photoboard, and also hoping owners might let me feature any interesting cases on my website.

Luckily, the premises I am renting has a nice new disabled toilet just off the hallway, so that people can use that if necessary

Agree with the clients records- I always read them before a consultation. I once noticed on the "notes" section that the next client I had was actually my cousin (I didn't recognise the name !! ) It's a good idea because I always remember the animals easily, but forget details about the owners instantly

chickchickchicken- a cheap plastic chair??! I'm sure we can do better than that

I do like the idea of scales that are immediately accessible to the clients, but unfortunately they are often open to abuse by small children- and they ain't cheap to replace! Even in my consulting room, I am amazed by parents allowing their children to jump up and down with some force on my poor electronic scales- makes me wince!

I see what people are saying about the toys- so keep to a minimum then, and in one area? And no noisy ones??

I always try to run on time, as i'm very concious of keeping the next client waiting. Was also thinking of having fresh coffee that clients can help themselves too- would that placate a little in the event of an unavoidable hold-up, or would I then have a waiting room full of annoyed caffeine-fuelled owners??

Wherethewildthingsare- totally agree about givng the odd quick consult for nothing. I believe it's worth it for client relations. Am a bit worried I will be a bit too lenient and will end up bankrupt, though!

I'm encouraged that so many of you out there have vets you really like