Indirect Veterinary Customer Service: Technology and the Employee-Customer Dynamic

by Hunter Little

I’ve got to say, I am really proud of the title of this blog. If nothing else, I’ve managed to make something that is, at its core, a very simple concept and transform it into a seemingly complicated theory (there is always something humorous about over-complicating simple ideas). When I say “Indirect Customer Service”, what I’m really referring to is the notion of improving customer service by improving other aspects of your business that do not directly deal with customer service. That is to say, addressing customer service indirectly by addressing other areas of your business. Also included in the title is this notion of the employee-customer dynamic, or more specifically, the daily interactions that occur between employees and customers (we can even include employee-to-employee and customer-to-customer interactions).

My theory is quite simple, and is ultimately based on a few basic observations within the workplace. By implementing a few key technological improvements into the lives of employees (with the idea being that these technological installments are meant to make the employees’ work easier), the employees would ultimately be happier and more productive (I promise, this is not some kind of pseudo-communist plot). This direct influence on employees has indirect benefits for customer service. A happier employee is bound to have a pleasant interaction with the customer. If you have ever been introduced to any kind of behavioral-based psychology, then you know that people oftentimes direct emotions at outlets other than the source of their emotions. Thus, an employee that is, for example, stressed out about the complicated process for inputing a new client’s medical history into the medical records database may be more likely to imbue that employee-client interaction with their negative emotions regarding their practice software. The client ends up being the recipient of an employee’s frustration, and thus has a negative customer service experience. Yet, this negative experience had nothing to do with the client. Thus, because we failed to directly address a problem or inefficiency within the workflow dynamic (or the workplace as it applies to the employees), we have indirectly influenced our customer service.

This notion of indirect customer service was one of the driving factors behind the creation of EasyDVM veterinary practice software in the first place. We wanted to create something that was entirely based on a customer-centric model, emphasizing the importance of customer service before anything else. This means that, when we began designing the software, we designed it through trial and error, utilizing the input of our employees throughout the creation process. It is easy to design a software platform that is aesthetically pleasing and loaded with tons of features. but none of that matters if your employees can’t use it. Functionality and ease-of-use became imperative to the creative process behind EasyDVM veterinary practice management software. What I ultimately found was how this indirectly affected customer service. If employees are happy, then clients are happy. It may sound simple or a little overreaching, but I challenge you to try it. Like I have done before, I challenge you to put customer service at the forefront of your business, and see what changes come with that new approach.

EasyDVM Practice Software is a cloud-based veterinary practice management software system. We pride ourselves in offering a system that is user-friendly, easy to learn for new team members, full-featured and elegant in its simplicity. Best of all, all devices, multiple users, all your clients and patients, always affordable.

Millennials and Veterinary Care: Learn to Grow as Generations Shift

by Hunter Little

It may seem easy to brush off Millennials as the ‘selfish’ generation, occupying a universe in which they are at its social center and where everyone gets a trophy just for participating. Yet, millennials are now the largest living generation- totaling 84.3 million according to the US Census Bureau- and are coming into their marketplace prime, both in terms of earning and spending. They are also entering the civilian workforce in greater numbers, too. So, given their growing demographic presence, is it really smart to continue brushing off millennials? While it is very natural for different generations- i.e. baby boomers, Gen X’ers, etc. – to have difficulties when it comes to productive socialization and interaction, especially in the workplace, bridging the generational gap can be vital to a healthy and productive environment.

Perhaps more important than any particular generational trait, millennials are not to be confused with younger versions of baby boomers or Gen Xers. It is a losing battle to assume that millennials will grow up to fit within the mold you, as a member of a different generation,  have constructed for yourself. With each generation comes new and unique external influences and environments that shape the way we develop and interact with the world. Millennials, in particular, are growing up in much more prosperous and affluent era than previous generations. Due to this rise in affluence, people are transitioning to adulthood later than previous generations. According to Generational Insights, a business firm that studies and consults on generational traits and trends, as well as recent statistics on marriage and birth rates*, the mean age of first marriage and the mean age of first-time mothers are all increasing. This means that while millennials do experience the same life stages and milestones as, let’s say, baby boomers,  they are experiencing these stages later in life.

There is, however, more to it than simply delayed maturity. How does one, particularly within veterinary medicine, go about meaningfully interacting and engaging with millennials both in the workplace and as customers? The key is to understand the generational traits millennials identify with.1 While past generations may measure the value of work by the number of hours put in, millennials base their work ethic on the completion of tasks. As research from firms like Generational Insights indicates, millennials don’t enjoy being in the office longer than they have to. The number of hours spent on the job is not the focus, but rather how efficiently one has spent their time and how many tasks or assignments one has completed.

Millennials also like to connect socially with people and seek input from everyone around them. This is a kind of misnomer, however, as many misconstrue this desire for socialization and input as a need for constant positive reinforcement and hand-holding. On the contrary, millennials want to feel needed and be impactful, thus they enjoy learning and developing relevant skills that are valuable to their job. Because of their desire to learn and develop, millennials seek constant communication and feedback that is not only positive but constructive. The importance of communication can also be a two-way street. As much as millennials want to be taught, you can also take the time to learn from them, making the focus on building knowledge collectively rather than viewing the effort of communication and training as a chore.

These generational traits also apply to engaging with millennials as customers. Millennials care about how things will impact their lives on an individual level, both now and in the future. They are also concerned with how you and your services might make them stand out and be more distinct within the world. Thus, your marketing tools, online platforms, etc., must function as educational tools, making them feel like a more educated participant and consumer. This also means that two-way communication and transparency are important. The less automated and more human you appear, the more authentic and distinctive your product becomes in eyes of a millennial. This, of course, has ties back to millennials’ need for social platforms and communication. It’s not just having the ability to stand out and be authentic, but how something stands out and why it becomes distinctive.

So what, then, can be gained from this? Perhaps the most important lesson from all of this is the ever-present value of communication. Take the time to have discussions with your employees and co-workers about these generational differences and learn from these discussions. Such communication can flesh out differences between generations and construct a more cohesive environment for both employees and customers. More often than not, it is the company that is willing to learn and adapt to change that ultimately survives and thrives as time progresses.

1Generational Insights

References and Additional Resources:

http://atwork.avma.org/2016/01/15/free-webinar-the-impact-of-millennials-on-the-veterinary-workforce/

https://www.avma.org/News/JAVMANews/Pages/141101a.aspx

http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/8095-exchange/

https://generationalinsights.com