Q: Lately our practice has lost several clients, and we don't know why. What can we do to stop more clients from walking out
the door?
Dr. Jim Kramer
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Clients leave when their expectations are no longer being met, says Dr. Jim Kramer, CVPM, a partner at Columbus Animal Hospital
in Columbus, Neb. To find out what those expectations are, you and your team members must ask. Dr. Kramer suggests surveying
new and long-term clients about what initially attracted them to your practice. Was it staff friendliness? The quality of
care you provide?
Talk to all of your clients—even the ones who just recently left—about what they perceive to be your practice's strengths
and weaknesses, he says. "Print a list of ex-clients and call them to ask why they left," he says. "Since they're already
gone, they'll probably be happy to tell you." After you've tallied all the client comments, hold a staff meeting to openly
discuss pet owners' expectations and ways your team can meet them.
But to keep clients from walking out the door today, Dr. Kramer says you must give clients genuine concern, sincere effort,
and constant communication. Then if your practice exhibits a few shortcomings along the way, they'll accept them. "If you
laugh with them, cry with them, and truly care about their pets," he says, "they won't leave you.
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