Marc Abraham MRCVS, the Paul O’Grady Show’s resident vet is setting up a new website for pet owners www.thepet.net, described as being the first to use the power of social networks (think Facebook), to bring pet owners together to share and rate pet experiences, and help each other find the best their pet can get.
I think it'll fly, and if it does, it will be one for many in the profession to keep a close eye on. Reputations can (and have) be made or lost on these kinds of websites.
What's more, previous community sites for pet owners based on the more simple forum model have shown the danger of attracting, well, the nutters. I've seen at least two populated almost entirely by raw meaty bones evangelists firing false (or at least unproven) accusations at everyone from pet food manufacturers to individual vets. Worse than that, the same people seem to advocate alternative therapy for just about every medical condition under the sun. 'Heart failure you say? Wave some of these crystals over its tail'.
I can see pet owners flocking to this kind of site in their hordes. But for it to have any kind of credibility within the profession, I fear Mr Abraham will have to be absolutely ruthless in weeding out those who will inevitably try to use the site as a soapbox for extremist viewpoints. That'll be a challenge. I have first hand experience of just how tenacious some of these people are!
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It always fascinates me how as soon as the public are invited to comment on our profession, we all naturally assume it's a bad thing? I once organized a mystery shopper exercise at my previous practice. But when I informed the staff (vets, nurses and receptionists) they mostly became defensive, paranoid and some even quite angry. ‘Don’t you trust us?’ ‘Are you checking up on us?’ they asked.
The results were, on the other hand, very interesting, and proved incredibly constructive leading to slight changes being made in all departments - an improved happier practice just like that. Better business, contented clients and staff - and increased wages for all. Pretty simple really?
My passion (like all vets) is to promote responsible pet ownership but also to ensure the longevity of pet ownership. We live in a consumer-driven society where customer service and value for money have never made such a difference to our bottom lines.
And what better way is there to improve our service than to invite feedback? Free of charge, good and bad, up-to-date and completely transparent. Sure they’ll be ‘nutters’ with their soapboxes. There always are. But does that mean we have to weed out the over-positive ones too to make it fair and balanced?
And I ask you this simple question:
Which extremist is more damaging to our profession, the raw-meat bones evangelists posting a few ‘harmful blogs’; those tenacious crystal-obsessed alternative reiki-therapists who think they know best; or the assistant vet on a bonus incentive system with poor client communication who charges way too much, performs a load of unnecessary tests/surgery, and who over-hospitalizes the patient (especially if prognosis is über-guarded)?
What’s more, recent research has shown that negative comments on a business/service that’s already rated 5/5 (for example) hold no gravitas whatsoever and are usually ignored. A transparent website is a trusted website. Sites like Tripadvisor have proved this.
Clients’ experiences of visiting their vet practice are increasingly less positive than they used to be. Add-on online pharmacies, in-petstore vets, visiting microchippers and any other business that distracts your client’s pound from your own pocket and you’ve got a recipe for disaster, and it’s going to get much worse. In this tough financial climate we need to make sure that ANY contact with our brand is a positive one, otherwise those clients will never return, or even arrive on our doorsteps in the first place.
Even more seriously, they may chose not to visit any vet again, leading to an increase in preventable animal suffering, complete decline of family-pet replacement and a tragic rise in numbers of animals dumped in rescue centres.
And don’t get me wrong, no way do I want this to turn into an online slagging match. http://www.thepet.net/ is designed to promote good practice, and across most aspects of the pet industry too (kennels, catteries, groomers, pet-friendly hotels and pubs as well). To highlight the forward thinking ‘good-guys’, who put the animal first, have great customer care and give excellent value for money. The businesses that make people want to keep on owning a pet and looking after it well.
In an industry that traditionally relies so much upon word-of-mouth and individual experiences, what better way is there to spread the word in this day-and-age with this kind of technology, quite literally at our fingertips? Furthermore, if you’re a practice owner, responsible for a few branches or an assistant passionate about where you work, then how easy will it be to be able to observe what people are thinking about you, your colleagues and/or practice leading to improved standards and even staff appraisals?
And of course all listed businesses will have access to an immediate right-to-reply, and answer online comments/blogs - like I’m doing right now.
It’s up to us all to ensure pets are part of our lives, our clients’ lives and of course our profession forever. So let’s think of the future now, and enjoy an opportunity to secure it. In ten years time we’ll see the first generation of potential pet-owners who never knew a world without internet. Let’s be ready and waiting to look after them too.
And if you’re a business owner who can’t see the benefits of negative feedback, think you know what your clients want, are not interested in what your competition’s doing ‘right’, or simply just don’t care, then don’t log on – it’s your choice!