People who love animals will tell you that they are not just pets but great family members. Pet owners always want the best for their furry friends and ensure they are healthy and happy. When choosing a veterinarian, many pet owners will want to know their four-legged friends are being handled with the highest possible care. A veterinarian answering service can help ensure this.
As a veterinarian, you know your priority is providing the best medical care for your patients. Your customers need to be sure they can count on you to care for their pets. So, building trust between you and your customers is crucial in your veterinary practice. However, you cannot overlook the importance of customer support.
In particular, 24/7 customer service is essential because pet emergencies can happen anytime. However, it may not be possible to offer 24/7 customer service and answer all calls, especially if you are a busy business. Pet owners will not wait until you are open the next day when emergencies strike. Instead, they will look for help elsewhere.
A veterinarian answering service will ensure you provide 24/7 customer service and help you focus on other important duties. Virtual receptionists will ensure that no call goes unanswered, whether on a weekend, holiday, or after-hours. They can also take messages and transfer urgent calls to the on-call veterinarian’s home phone or cell phone.
If you plan to hire a veterinarian answering service, you have come to the right place. This article will discuss the benefits of a veterinarian answering service and what to look for when choosing the best veterinary answering service. Keep reading to learn more.
What to Look for in the Best Veterinarian Answering Service
There are many veterinarian answering services, and choosing the right one for your business can be challenging. If you want to run a successful business, you cannot afford to make a mistake and hire a veterinary answering service that does not provide the quality customer service you want. But how do you know if they are any good?
The following are a few things to consider when choosing a veterinary answering service.
24/7 Availability
As a veterinarian, you will often need to answer your customers’ calls outside of office hours. One of the most important requirements your business may have for the perfect answering service is making sure the service is available 24/7. The right answering service must ensure that your business is always open for customer service, whether on a holiday, weekend, or after-hours.
While many answering services offer 24/7 availability, it may come at a cost. For instance, some veterinarian answering services may charge an extra fee to answer your calls on a holiday or after 9 pm. Others may offer live support until a certain time and then switch to an automated system. The right answering service should offer 24/7 customer support at no extra cost.
Professional Greeting
An answering service can make or break your veterinary business because it is in charge of the first impression of your business. One of the most important things to look for when choosing an answering service is the professionalism of the operators. Every incoming phone call is a chance to make a customer feel valued, and your answering service is on the front lines of that process.
With a warm, professional greeting, your callers will know that they have reached the right party and will get the help they need. Whether it is a “Good Morning,” “Good Afternoon,” “Hello,” or “Thank you for calling,” the first thing out of a virtual receptionist’s mouth should be a greeting. After greetings, they should follow with your company’s name.
Customized Scripts
If you want to provide a better customer service experience, you will need to have a phone answering strategy that is helpful, friendly, professional, and efficient. The ideal answering service should be able to work closely with you to develop and customize a phone answering script that does all that. Customized scripts guarantee that virtual receptionists can answer all calls and respond to questions exactly the way you want.
HIPAA Compliance
As a veterinarian, you must comply with HIPAA and other state and federal laws protecting patient privacy. While the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not cover veterinary medicine, you must still protect the privacy of your patient’s medical information. Besides, you must comply with applicable state laws and regulations governing the protection of personal health information. Therefore, the answering service you choose must be HIPAA compliant.
Comprehensive Reporting
An answering service does not only answer calls but also takes messages from your customers. The message is then transcribed and sent to the relevant individual either via text or email. If you hire an answering service, it means you will depend on them to relay your customers’ concerns to your office. A reliable answering service should be able to provide you with comprehensive reporting.
Automated Appointment Reminders
When it comes to appointments, no-shows can be costly and waste your time. When your customers schedule an appointment, sometimes they forget to keep the scheduled appointment. A reliable answering service should remind your customers of their pre-scheduled appointments by sending automated appointment reminders through a text message or via email.
How a Veterinarian Answering Service Can Help
The following are ways in which a veterinary answering service can benefit your veterinary practice.
Streamline Service
As a veterinarian, pet owners depend on you to provide the best medical care to their four-legged family friends. Pet emergencies can happen at all times of the day and night. When customers call your office with an emergency, they expect to talk to an expert and their concerns to be addressed on time. If their calls are unanswered, they may become frustrated and even call the veterinary office on their list.
An answering service will streamline services by ensuring that your customer service desk is available 24/7. Whether it is on a holiday, weekend, or after-hours, you will be sure that a qualified, professional virtual receptionist will always be available to answer your customers’ calls. In case of an emergency, they will transfer the calls to the appropriate departments for an immediate response. Using an answering service can also cut down on how much time a caller needs to wait to get an answer.
Reduce No-Shows
Veterinarians have busy schedules. Managing your calendar is a time-consuming process. An answering service can help you schedule appointments in a manner that is both practical and efficient.
In addition, a veterinarian answering service can help reduce no-shows by making reminder calls to owners whose pets have upcoming visits. They can also contact pet owners who may be overdue in scheduling their pet’s yearly examination, vaccinations, and even medication reorder reminders.
Increase Efficiency
If you run a busy veterinary practice, it is important to recognize that your on-site staff has to wear many hats to ensure the smooth running of the business. From booking follow-up appointments to managing a sometimes-chaotic waiting room to working with pet insurance companies, taking payments, managing records, and handling pets, your staff needs to be present at all times.
If you hire a veterinarian answering service to answer calls and help you with other services like appointment scheduling, you end up freeing your staff to focus on other important duties. This can help increase efficiency.
Conclusion
Choosing a reliable veterinarian answering service can be a great way to grow your veterinary practice and provide your customers with comprehensive, accessible services. An answering service will help you offer 24/7 customer service and send appointment reminders to reduce no-shows. It can also increase efficiency by ensuring that your in-house staff has time to focus on other, more important duties.
If you are looking for a reliable veterinarian answering service, look no further than Always Answer. We have experience in medical answering services, which have a lot of similar requirements, like HIPAA compliance. We will help you provide 24/7 customer service and manage appointments. For any questions, contact our team, and we will be happy to help you.
