Encouraging clients to talk about their pet or lifestyle helps bond them to your practice and improves compliance, shares Amanda Donnelly, DVM, MBA. What she shares is an example of how open-ended questions can add situational information that is relevant to a pet’s lifestyle with an owner.
Practice teams demonstrate compassion and learn more about a pet when they invite people to share a story. Clients might not volunteer a story when they are distracted or trying to be respectful of your time.
Source: Today’s Veterinary Business, December 2018. Link. Dr. Donnelly shares three ways that listening to a client’s story help pets get veterinary care:
- Stories uncover possible barriers to care
- Stories reveal what’s important to the client
- Stories help teams provide personalized recommendations
Also see: The wisdom is in the questions, Animal Health Digest, January 9, 2018. Link.
INSIGHTS: Animal health pros need to hear this type of message every two or three months. Many of us get focused on delivering answers and meeting the objectives of the hour. One key is patience after you engage the animal owner. Crossing-off the open-ended question box does not mean you can go on without listening.