what do you want/like/dislike either as a customer or employee of a vet clinic?
A couple things I like to see as a customer:
a) People skills. There's nothing worse than bringing my animal into a clinic because something is wrong and I'm additionally being treated coldly by the hospital staff. I understand that people have bad days, but when you're being paid to be up front and work with people, you need to learn how to separate your personal from your work. I don't think it's too much to ask to be given a smile and shown some decent amount of human politeness. Rudeness of even the reception alone can turn me off a clinic, because that's not what I want to deal with every time I have to go in.
b) Compassion and timing. A friend of my mother had to have her dog euthanized, made an appointment with a local vet who is known for doing an amazing job with euthanasia. He often does at-home euthanasia but in the friend's case, was not available, and as opposed to extending her dog's suffering, she made an appointment with another doctor at the clinic. She asked if it could be done in the car because the dog was very ill and it was hard to move her without the dog experiencing significant discomfort. She proceeded to be yelled at. When they finally relented and decided to do it in her car, they were stopped mid-procedure by a receptionist running out to demand a cheque. While I understand that people sometimes try and skip on paying for their procedures, and while I understand that maybe the clinic was not prepared to do a euthanasia in the trunk of the car, I honestly think that the situation could have been handled a lot better than it was. You may be compassion fatigued by the number of animals you've had to euthanise in your work, but that doesn't mean everyone else has to suffer for it.
c) Cleanliness. I don't think this one should even have to be said, but it does. 😛
d) Ability to communicate. This one's more for the vets themselves, but while I wouldn't let this be a make or break for me about a clinic, it's nice when a vet has learned to communicate what they mean to the layperson. I have a friend who's a vet tech who does a lot of that communication for the vets, but in my experience, we don't always have a vet tech to "translate," so to speak, when the vet is talking about what's going on. I have always appreciated when vets are willing to go out of their way to explain the procedures, tests, etc. and to talk about the pet's well being in terms someone unschooled can understand. I also appreciate when vets acknowledge that there are always options. Sometimes people don't have money but still want to do the best they can, so don't yell at the client (this happened to my mother once several years ago and we have never gone back to the clinic) because they don't have money at the time to do the test you want to do when there are viable alternatives.
e) I also think there's nothing worse than veterinarians or clinics who push procedures on you.
As an employee:
a) Again, people skills and commitment. I have known some people who quit after x-amount of time because the vet seemed too condescending or because the customers were hard to deal with and quite frankly? That's life. You're going to run in to people who think they know more than you - and sometimes they do. You're going to have to deal with people who take up an issue with the fact the procedure is going to cost into the several hundreds and not <$300 like they were expecting. You're going to run in to people who are going to be bossy and abrasive. You're going to run in to people who raise their voices. You're going to run in to people who get hysterical. You're going to run in to people who don't communicate and blame YOU for their miscommunication. The list goes on. Sure, you'll run into some "normal" and easy to work with people as well, but don't go into a job expecting that these are the only clients you're going to get. 😛
I remember one thing that impressed the heck out of the practice manager during my interview was when I talked about what my job as a tutor and life coach has offered me in learning how to communicate with individuals and with parents and other consumers of my work as well. She said that it takes a lot of people years to develop the skills I was talking about and exhibiting. I honestly think the only reason I was able to learn it is because I put 110% into my job. I didn't quit because someone yelled or because some parents are never going to be happy no matter how much you change and improve certain areas of their child's life. Some people are always going to want to blame YOU and you have to figure out how to deal with it without escalating the situation. Sometimes you're going to have to work with annoying people, and sometimes you'll only have to deal with them as consumers, but I think part of providing good customer service means knowing how to work with customers and that the "customer is always right."
I think sometimes people go into a veterinary setting and don't understand it's as much about the people as it is the animals. As a fellow psych major and pre-vet student on here said on one of my threads, psychology is involved in a lot of vet med, and I think it's important to acknowledge that. Some clinics really do show that some people can only work with certain personalities, and I think a part of customer service is not only providing direction and leadership but knowing when to step back, when to roll over and let the client bulldoze over without another word, and how to communicate with the individual client in order to meet and satisfy their needs. This is one thing that, as an employee, I can say we need more of in the work place. 🙂
b) Patience. I may be biased because I'm an untrained individual currently being trained on as a veterinary assistant, but one of the technicians told me about how one of her first experiences with vet med was doing jobs I'm doing now and finally having an RVT come in and actually lay into her because she's there doing laundry and cleaning kennels when "there are more important things to be doing." She said she could understand why the RVT felt that way, and perhaps I can see where the RVT was coming from. However, we all start somewhere, and I think one of the best things about the clinic I currently work and am being trained at is the fact everyone's patient with me, sensitive to where I am in my training and willing to answer my questions. In turn, I work as hard as I can and dedicate as much brain power as I can to remembering and not needing to be told how to do tasks twice, but I don't think I'd be as motivated to do my best if I weren't held to the standard that I'm doing the best that I can and my best can only get better from here. I think it's important to be patient with the newbies, or even someone who's coming in to shadow/volunteer. I think it's super easy to forget that you were once in x position once you've achied the status of y or z. 😛 I don't know if this is quite what you're looking for, but it's what I appreciate about my clinic, and what I would hope to find in future experiences, so I'm adding it as what I like to see as an employee.
