The world of veterinary medicine is every changing. Virtual care from home is becoming a very real thing for many hospitals. Increased call volumes has lead to an increased need for more positions related to veterinary customer service. The veterinary Client Service Representative is an integral part of the veterinary experience. Veterinary CSR’s prepare the client for the type of experience they are about to have, ensuring a smooth and calm transition to the veterinary nurse that will be handling their case.
CSR’s set the tone for the visit in the practice, this is no different in virtual medicine.
Who you talk to matters!
When having any interactions with clients, tone matters. If someone begins a conversation abruptly with “ABC Animal can you hold please” versus “Thank you for calling ABC Animal Clinic my name is Sally are you experiencing a life threatening emergency?” you are going to have two very different conversations. Option A although presses urgency addresses no need of the client calling, who likely is calling out of concern for their pet. Option B has them quickly addressing if Fluffy is okay to hold or if they need to escalate this call quickly for life saving measures. Option B lets the client know that the care of the pet is first priority, not the hold time. Maintaining professional yet direct contact with the client allows for optimal communication and creates a better overall experience for the pet owner.
Passion. People. Pets.
These three words can be arranged a variety of ways: all of which are imperative to the career of the Veterinary CSR. When it comes to their pets, people are passionate. That passion can come through a call in a variety of emotions, the two most common emotions being fear, which often sounds like anger, and FEAR, which often results in tears. Yes, fear is listed twice. People emote differently, fear is an uncomfortable emotion for most pet owners. When met with either of these reactions, compassion is key. It is far easier to diffuse a fearful client, much like you would a fearful pet, soft spoken, calmly and cool. If you React, they will react and the situation will escalate needlessly. Having a passion for people and their pets makes a veterinary receptionist very successful in this chosen field. Passion can be wielded in many different ways, all of which tend to translate into the utmost care for the pet and the owner. COnveying that passion into a phone call in a constructive manner allows a client to bond with the front of house alos, realizing you equally know their pets medical history and care just as deeply for the animals as the Doctors, technicians and assistants do.
The Veterinary CSR is a huge part of the client care experience, remotely and in clinic. CSR’s prepare the owners for uncomfortable conversations, ease of transition to other staff members and the importance of the understanding of veterinary care to come.