Gah, NStarz! I wanted off this forum for a while, but you probably have noticed that this is a thorn in my side.
There are a ton of ways to mitigate this perception that vets are out to rob you blind and a lot of it is creating a sense of value for your services.
People want to spend money on their pets. Even during this recession, pet spending held steady with a majority of pet owners saying they intended to spend as much or more on their pets than in previous years. Many will continue to buy premium pet food even if it means cutting something people-related from their budget.
A lot of it comes down to better communication to create a greater sense of trust and of value for the time the customer gets to spend with you.
Exams - Most people have no idea what the doctor is looking for during check-ups and often people walk out wondering what their $75 was for. Explaining "When I'm moving his legs, I'm looking for signs of arthritis. In a dog Fido's age we might start seeing some changes here and we want to keep an eye on it." This empowers the customer with knowledge, a sense that you're engaged with their pooch AND a reason to come back to check for changes over time.
A common complaint heard is "My stupid vet won't give me eye meds for my dog without seeing her first!!! Money grubbing jerk!" Most people do not understand that it's illegal to write prescriptions without seeing the animal first. A simple, efficient explanation of the law would help here.
Follow up - Have a tech or receptionist do follow up calls to animals who came in sick or had procedures done. You have to be realistic about how much time to devote to courtesy calls, but people LOVE that stuff and you can instantly move into "I have the best, most caring vet ever" realm.
Oh and when a pet dies, send a card.
Pricing - do a better job of explaining the individual costs of every part of a procedure. What things are and what they cost. Explain that human-grade instruments and supplies are used and draw some parallels to human medicine when appropriate. Offer lower cost options as available, but do everything to avoid bill shock because nothing peeves people more.
Product pushing - Give your customers options. You are the professionals, most of them do want your opinion on what to use for their pet, but they want to know why. "Here's what we recommend and why" with the why part being important. Also, being honest about prices--"Hey our heartworm meds are a little more expensive than those online because we're a smaller office. We'd appreciate your business but are happy to write you a script." Avoid what happened to me recently, "Oh your dog has a stick in its eye, have you thought about a new flea and HW complete preventative?"
Yeah, it sounds like a lot of wasted time talking, but vets and vet staff who are good at this are very efficient. And it's almost never just about pricing. Avoid sales and discounts, it makes a practice look cheap and will attract the coupon and discount trolls--who will jump ship to another practice for a penny in savings. And there will always be some who complain and the absolute crazies. Can't do anything about those.
So in short, communication and creating a perception of a personalized, valuable service is key.
