There are dozens of pet owners in your community. You likely get plenty of business already with all the needs for pets in town, but things can either get even better or setbacks can be avoided entirely for vets. Veterinarians can enlist the services of a medical answering service so that pet owners can be served after business hours.
What Does an Answering Service Do?
An answering service is similar to a call center, except they help specific businesses and answer the company’s phone when no one at the company is around at their office. So, if a customer calls a company’s number at 3:00 in the morning, the call will be forwarded to a representative in a remote location. The representative will then talk to the customer and help him or her as best as they can. It’s a revolutionary business designed to assist companies in several industries, from medical to legal to everything in between.
A med answering service can help serve hospitals, clinics, veterinarians, and other medical facilities. The ways that an answering service can help patients include answering questions about their pets, booking and cancelling appointments, ordering prescriptions, and more.
Why Should Vets Hire an Answering Service?
Pet owners typically have a respectful relationship with vets. They often understand and adhere to a vet’s business hours and will typically call the vet when they know that somebody is available. There are other times, however, in which problems can arise instantly and the pet owners needs help at a moment’s notice. For instance, if somebody’s dog is choking in the middle of the night, the answering service representative will contact an available paramedic in the area to help with the emergency. This is great on account of somebody being there to listen and respond to the pet owner’s concerns. This can make your business all the more helpful and valuable to people in your neighborhood.
Additionally, you likely want more clients with pets. If you miss after hours calls, you could be missing out on new clients to other vets. While you probably have hours of operations that you post just about everywhere online and also in your brochure, potential new clients will only save and keep your phone number, and would be surprised regardless if they call at a time when you are not in the office. Hiring an answering service can ensure every call is answered, and this can impress potential clients. It can also allow you to capitalize off of other vets in town that still do not have after hours answering services.
How Do I Pay for An Answering Service?
The concept of an answering service is new to many people. Why it may seem like a luxury service that only the most successful of companies can afford, it actually costs less per month than hiring a new employee. Most answering services charge a flat monthly fee, so regardless of how long your calls are or how many calls your answering service gets, you will pay the same price every month. It works like a subscription; you are billed for services every month, and when you no longer want or need your answering service, you can cancel the next month and beyond. But considering answering services are proven to help make companies money, there is very little reason for business owners to do so.