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10
Mei/May 2015
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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
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?
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