I run a successful veterinary practice. One wrinkle is clients who don”™t show up. Some call to cancel, some don”™t. It gets in the way of scheduling other clients. In these tight financial times I”™m hesitant to drop them and I don”™t want to annoy a potentially paying client and motivate them to go elsewhere.
Clients who don”™t keep their appointments can be a real pain. You end up overstaffed for the workload. And your infrastructure ”“ the rent, lights and office supply costs ”“ still has to be covered.
There are a few things you can try. Take a look at your staff”™s scheduling skills. Ask clients to make a promise. Try booking fees. Track client activity. Give good clients priority. Call cell phones and clients who live nearby. Incent staff.
Booking clients
Start by listening to how your staff schedules. Are they casual or specific? Do they make a point of telling cancelling clients that re-scheduling is a big hassle for the practice? Sometimes reception staff is so tuned into customer service that they go too far accommodating cancelling and late-showing clients.
Tell your staff to make a big deal of cancellations and no-shows. Have them track down no-show clients and get them to re-schedule. Tell your staff they need to teach clients how to behave better. Complain a little about how hard it was to fit the client in for the last appointment before telling the client to be on time for the next one. Share how it feels from the other side; that may help some clients understand that scheduling appointments has real-world consequences for everyone involved.
Ask clients to make promises. When specific clients are always late, or regularly no-show, try the promise exercise. Go over the time agreed to. Ask if the client is writing it down somewhere and if he is sure there is not a conflict. Then say to the client, “Are you making me a promise you”™ll show up at XYZ time?” You”™d be surprised how that stops people in their tracks. I”™ve even heard one receptionist go so far as to tell offending clients to be sure to call if there”™s a problem, otherwise she”™ll get into trouble. Whatever it takes.
Booking fees are charges for clients who book an appointment and then don”™t show. These can be as small as $5 or $10, but I”™ve seen them go up into the $100s. You may be less ready to try a large booking fee in a recession, for fear the client who gets charged won”™t come back. Think that one through. If a client regularly doesn”™t show up, he”™s taking space away from a more reliable client.
Tracking activity
Know the difference between a client who always shows up and then has a one-time problem making an appointment, and one who always has trouble getting to your office on time, if at all. Treat the client with the one-time problem differently. Call the problem to his attention and tell him you”™ll overlook the booking fee this once, because of his good track record. For the client who is always late or never shows, think seriously about penalizing him financially, and let him know what you”™re thinking.
Make sure you have a waiting list and encourage people to walk in. That will help you fill empty slots, especially in a recession. Keep track of how far away from the clinic your clients live. The ones who are closest are most likely to run over at the last minute. You can call someone scheduled for the next day, and offer him an opportunity to be seen early. That gives you an extra day to find someone else to fill in the next day”™s slot.
Look at the flow of your practice appointments. There are always times when you know people are likely to call at the last minute for emergencies, or just walk in. Once you know you have a potential offender ”“ either late or no show ”“ schedule him for the early part of those busy slots. That way, if he does not show, you can move other people up and call people on the waiting list to come in.
Consider giving your staff an incentive for a full schedule. Figure out how many clients you see each day of the week. Give your staff a small bonus for each client over that average per day. Give them a stake in success and see if it makes a difference.
Looking for a good book? Try “Veterinary Office Practices” by Robert Kehn.
