Wow clients on a tight budget

Raise your hand if you've had a memorable oil change—you know, the kind of experience you rave about to all of your friends. Don't worry if you haven't. Most of us leave an oil change center without event and with clean oil. But what if you pulled up and the service man opened your car door and escorted you to a clean and comfy waiting area with a television—and a remote? And what if, after servicing—and washing—your car, he asked to schedule your next visit in 3,000 miles? Now that would be impressive.

Donna Bauman, CVPM

The point isn't to sway you to open a top-notch oil change business. The point is to make you step back and evaluate the service—or lack thereof—that you're awarding clients. It's up to every team to decide what constitutes exceptional service. But to help you get a better grasp on what makes clients gasp—in a good way—here are four examples of how to offer A+ service at an affordable price.

1. Make it easy

Save clients a call or a trip by contacting local counties for necessary licenses. Then, when clients come in to get their pets vaccinated for rabies, ask if their county needs a form and offer to send it in yourself. You'll impress clients because it isn't your job to make these forms available. You can take pet insurance forms a step further too. When clients hand you a form to fill out, complete it and ask if you can fax it for them.

2. Bartend

Offering coffee and water to all clients is just good manners, and on a hot or cold day these beverages hit the spot. If you're already hydrating clients, why not upgrade? You don't need to serve them Starbucks, although they'd sure like that, but what about bottled water? It's more convenient for clients and less mess for you. And, again, don't shell out a lot of money. Visit your local discount warehouse for inexpensive supplies.

3. Keep promises

Doing what you said you would seems like common sense, but considering how chaotic a normal day can become, it's an important point to review. If you tell a client you'll call at noon with a report on Fluffy, then call at noon. If you say the test results will be ready in four days, try to get them done in three. Here's a tip: In a designated notebook, write down when labs are ordered and results are received. Check the notebook weekly to see that all results came in and clients were called.

4. Be meticulous

The cleanliness of your practice plays a large part in client service. Show clients you care by keeping the practice clean and up-to-date. Pick up hair balls and erase nose prints on the front door. Go through your brochures and remove the ones from the dog trainer who you don't recommend anymore. Splurge on a subscription or two so clients aren't stuck reading a magazine from 1997.

These are just a few simple and inexpensive ways to wow your clients. Can you think of more? At your next staff meeting, strategize as a team how you can go the extra mile. For example, if you already offer to carry pet food to clients' cars, that's great. But it'd be even better if you just did it without asking.

Donna Bauman, CVPM, is practice manager at Ottawa Animal Hospital in Holland, Mich., and founder of Visions Veterinary Consulting. firstline@advanstar.com.