How to offer a great experience - Part 2

Finally, some tips to improve your follow-up strategy will be reviewed.
 

Settling the bill

In every transaction, the moment where the client pays is a very important step. This is especially true for services, as the price is often less predictable for the client than when it comes to purchasing a product. This is even truer in a veterinary clinic, because most clients pay for a service that includes several elements (e.g., consultation, ultrasound, blood tests, biochemical analysis, injection) and products (for example, an injected drug and a treatment delivered), the details of which is often decided during the course of the consultation. This uncertainty results in anxiety for the client and often for the clinic team, especially vets. Managing this anxiety is done partly during the collection of payment, but also and especially prior to the delivery of the service or during it.

Clear pricing and transparency

The moment between stating the price and settling the invoice allows the client to mentally calculate — consciously or not — the balance between what they have received from the service and the price. Indeed, the notions of “expensive” or “cheap” are never absolute but relative. At the restaurant, everyone understands that they will pay more for a starter, a main course a dessert, two glasses of wine and a coffee than for just a main course and a pitcher of water. It is therefore important to present an invoice that is sufficiently detailed to remind the owner of all the services delivered and products purchased for the amount that he will have to pay: the list of services invoiced, medicines administered, medicines issued after the service and other potential products. If the prices are displayed and advertised including all taxes, it is recommended that you present the invoice with and without tax. Indeed, the taxes are only collected by the clinic on behalf of the State or the local authorities that have established them.

The invoice is not only given to the client, but also explained by the person in charge of collecting the payment, usually a receptionist. There is no need to use a vet’s time for this task. On the other hand, the receptionist may call upon the vet if a difficulty arises and cannot be resolved. Some clinics offer to issue the invoice for clients and only do so for those who request it. We strongly recommend issuing the invoice automatically. The annotated invoice makes it possible to explain the services provided and prices and to quickly raise a possible issue (billing difficulties have the tendency to fester if not resolved quickly). In addition, the detailed invoice may also be useful, once the client returns home, to understand and justify the amount paid, during a conversation with his or her spouse, friend or other person.

At the time of payment, practicality contributes to the client experience (Figure 7), which means accepting the main popular payment modalities in the country and keeping up-to-date innovations in this area, such as e-wallet payments or payments from the client’s mobile phone (the stage of development of these technologies depends on the countries and banking partners of the clinic. Here the idea is not to be an absolute pioneer, but rather not to fall behind.)

Special attention should be paid to insured pets to ensure that the clinic makes its client’s life as easy as possible in terms of paperwork and administration of claims.

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