WEB Vetnews May 2015

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admitted and seen later. • Clients have to be aware that they may still wait even if they have made appointments as there are emergencies. If there are two emergency walk-ins, then we call the client due for the next appoint­ ment and try cancel or explain so that client doesn’t come and wait. As long as the situation is explained to clients and they are aware, they tend to understand emergencies happen and are very understanding. For certain types of services appointments are the norm • Complementary medicine • Specific species work (e.g. Avian) • Behaviour consultancy The disadvantages of not using appointments • With walk-in system, you tend to have lots of clients coming as practice opens and you tend to try work fast, not giving the time that is deserved.

And our personal favourite • “I once spent an hour waiting with my young child for an appointment with a human doctor who must have triple booked. In the end I chewed him up for insulting everyone who was still waiting and sent him an account for my time! He paid half of it!” Someone give that vet a Bells! So it appears that the use of an appointment system is not a clear cut issue and as a dynamic profession with diverse professionals, practices, clients and systems, each practice must choose what works for them. If the results seem to indicate that appointments are preferred, we should consider the possibility that the respondents who responded did so because they had more time. Could this perhaps be as a result of using appointments and managing their time? v

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than a mild gastro. Once you go over time it is very hard to catch up and clients get more irritated waiting if they expected to be seen at a specific time rather than expecting to wait, if there is no appointment system. Methods practices use to try to instil the ethos of using appointments • Owners are encouraged to phone in ESPECIALLY with emergencies and ESPECIALLY after hours: Sign on the door reads to the effect that the bigger the emergency, the more it makes sense to phone and alert the team before you leave home so that we are ready when you arrive. • Could not run our clinic without appointments. We do not close for a surgical time – we are open for appointments all day. Walk- ins are seen as soon as possible, but sometimes the animals are

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Mei/May 2015