Commentary
Self-service phone options offer streamlining for businesses and customers. BUT, when these options require multiple prompts, take two minutes or more and end without the ability to talk to a human, the customer service experience suffers. Digitization provides important advancements in providing better veterinary medicine and patient outcomes, but animal owners are not robots.
. . . clients were complaining about communication shortcomings and a feeling of impersonality when contacting the hospital.”
Source: DVM 360, January 12, 2024. Link. Clinical veterinary medicine at its root is a for-profit small business. Hopefully this stimulus will prevent client interactive automation from taking over completely.
INSIGHTS: Kudos to Marc Rosenberg, VMD, for his article depicting the real challenge of managing client satisfaction and communication. Animal health remains a people-first business and today’s veterinary teams are increasingly dependent on animal owner stewardship for the best pet health outcomes.