Paint your windows and profit

Photo courtesy of Susan Rossi

Want to celebrate your veterinary team's creativity, the holidays and positive experiences with clients and staff? Why not celebrate all of the above, all at the same time? Just grab some paint and your favorite window.

That's right: window painting. And according to Susan Rossi, practice manager at Gause Boulevard Veterinary Hospital in Slidell, Louisiana, when she and the rest of the hospital team tried it out, it was a hit.

Photo courtesy of Susan Rossi

“We started out by having the staff divide into teams of two,” Rossi explained. “Each team was to come up with their own idea for their window. Some were done freehand and some were outlined using a projector.

“Needless to say, they got really into it, got creative, and most even took extra time off the clock to complete it. It was a fun after-hours project.”

Photo courtesy of Susan Rossi

The next step? Taking to social media.

“We then posted the pictures of the finished windows to our Facebook page and asked the community to vote,” says Rossi. “It was supposed to be a secret as to which team did which window, but who can't resist a little competition by getting friends and family involved as well?”

Photo courtesy of Susan Rossi

The hospital's Facebook friends and followers were asked to look at each picture and “Like” the window they thought was most deserving to win. Each “Like” counted as a vote. If page visitors liked the veterinary hospital's Facebook page as well, they were entered into a drawing to win a $20 certificate toward veterinary services at Gause Boulevard.

Photo courtesy of Susan Rossi

But the voting wasn't limited to social media. “We went a step further by putting out a Halloween bucket and little ballots at the front desk,” Rossi explains. “As clients came in, we told them about our contest for the staff as well as the random drawing for the gift certificate for veterinary services. The clients seemed to enjoy the windows as much as we did, and we are absolutely doing it again for Christmas.”

This spook-tacular window received the highest amount of Likes on Facebook, as well as the title of Window Decoration Contest Champion! Photo courtesy of Susan Rossi

And the grand prize is…  

The members of the winning team at Rossi's clinic received $100 bonuses from the mastermind behind the contest, veterinarian and owner of Gause Boulevard, Michelle Newfield, DVM. Rossi says the most important aspect was how effectively it brought team members and clients closer together. “Not only was it a teambuilding project, but it was also Dr. Newfield's way of expressing her appreciation for the staff and all that they do.” 

Susan Rossi is the practice manager at the small animal hospital, Gause Boulevard Veterinary Hospital in Slidell, Louisiana.