Dignipets has been using Kernow Vets Messaging since 2019, and during this time we have been able to support this specialist veterinary practice’s growth to help even more pets and their owners.
Read on to find out how we managed this.
Who are Dignipets?
Dignipets is a mobile veterinary practice that provides in-home hospice and end-of-life veterinary care for pets. They are an independent veterinary practice based in the Midlands with a team of mobile veterinary professionals.
For many elderly or ill pets, circumstances are often not suitable to make the journey to a veterinary clinic, and if it is practical for you to get your pet to the veterinary practice it is likely to be a stressful and painful process.
This service is so invaluable for pet owners and their animals as they face some of the hardest times in their relationship. For most of us, our pets mean the world to us: they are more than just animals, they are family members and as such making those decisions can be extremely difficult when the time comes. Our pets devote themselves to us, giving us their unconditional love and trust, and as such, they deserve the best from us as pet owners when the time comes.
Dignipets believe that with the right veterinary advice and support, this care is best given in the comfort of the family home. They even offer hospice vet consultations online via video call to provide advice on veterinary care, diet, and support with less stress to you or your pet.
What challenges did Dignipets face before working with us?
As you can imagine from their specialist service, the veterinary staff at Dignipets are constantly on call to support their clients. They also consistently deal with some of the worst parts of pet ownership and animal care as they deal with veterinary hospice care day in day out.
When we started working with Dignipets, they had three vets working in three different areas to cover the widest possible area for quick reaction times during emergency calls. Each vet had an individual phone number to which clients had access. Therefore, all three vets were taking calls at all hours of the day, even dealing with non-emergency nuisance calls. It was very important for the vets that every client spoke to a human being immediately no matter what time of day during the nature of their service.
How did Kernow Vets Messaging change this?
The first thing we did for Dignipets was to set up one central phone number for the business. We sourced a central number for them and oversaw the full set-up process, including sourcing the phone system and ensuring the number would work for all of their calls. We continue to manage their whole phone system, including controlling where calls go at different times of day, as well as providing call-answering services to ensure all calls are answered almost immediately.
By handling their calls, we could then redirect them to the appropriate vet where required. This ensured they were no longer dealing with nuisance calls and were able to have calls filtered appropriately. We access their in-house client system to take calls, provide quick quotes for customers, and filter non-emergency calls.
This helped the team to gain some work–life balance and switch off when not on call. But more importantly, it meant that every distressed pet owner who is dealing with a very difficult part of pet ownership talks to someone compassionate immediately without having to go through answering machines or a waiting jingle. With the added time to focus on the business, they were able to work on growing the practice and now have a team of 8 veterinary professionals alongside a small team of support staff. This has allowed them to help many more owners and pets across the Midlands.
What does Dignipets have to say about our services?
We love having feedback from our customers, and to have the lovely words below from Dignipets, in particular, was extremely satisfying considering the hugely important service they provide.
“As a small mobile veterinary practice that provides 7/7 end-of-life veterinary care, Dignipets has been using Kernow for a few years with great results. Getting the care of Kernow means more sleep for our on-call team, with the peace of mind that even the most distressed pet owners get a discerning empathetic response. Kernow provided us with a dedicated account manager who grows with the account and knows your business, and its people, inside and out. I can highly recommend this service!”
What is next for Dignipets and Kernow Vets Messaging?
We are currently working on helping Dignipets to set up a switchboard so their nurse and practice manager in particular will get the right calls directed to them without a client having to wait together with pet owners who need an urgent visit. This will again improve their services.
If your vet practice is struggling to meet the communication demands of their clients, get in touch to see how we can help you improve your call processes and next to giving excellent care give your team their work–life balance back.