Simple Ways to Gather and Use Client Feedback in Your Veterinary Practice
Veterinary practice owners often talk about delivering excellent client service, but few take the time to truly listen to what clients are saying. Not just the loud ones and not just the five-star or one-star reviewers, but the everyday clients who come through your doors, pay their invoices, and quietly decide whether or not to return.
The truth is, most clients won’t speak up unless something is at the extreme of really great or really wrong. That means you’re often flying blind when it comes to understanding their experience. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can create simple, unobtrusive ways to gather client feedback that don’t require complicated software or full-time data analysis. And more importantly, you can use that feedback to strengthen trust, improve operations, and drive profitability.
One of the easiest and most effective tools is the post-visit follow-up. Whether it’s a quick automated email or a personal call after a procedure, asking a simple question like, “How was your experience today?” can open a goldmine of insight. The key is to actually listen to the answers. Not defensively, not with excuses at the ready, but with the intent to understand. Some of the most valuable operational improvements I’ve seen in practices came from a client casually mentioning, “It was a bit hard to find parking,” or “I wasn’t sure if I could call to check on my pet after surgery,” or for an ambulatory practice, “I had to miss my son’s baseball game since it took so long for you to arrive.”
Another simple tool is a brief survey — and I mean brief. Nobody wants to fill out a 20-question form when they’re leaving with a nervous cat in a carrier. But two or three questions? Or let them know a brief survey will come by email after their visit and you would greatly appreciate their honest response. That’s doable. Ask what went well. Ask what could be better. Keep it anonymous if you want honest responses and this can be done with a survey software even if responding by email invitation. Be sure to offer a feedback option that doesn’t feel like a burden. A QR code at checkout, a tablet at the front desk, or a quick text or email link can be surprisingly effective.
Now here’s where a lot of practices stop short: they collect the feedback, maybe even glance through it, and then… nothing. That’s a missed opportunity. When you use the feedback, whether it’s to tweak your reminder calls, retrain on client service language, or update your website FAQs, you send a powerful message to your clients and your team. You’re saying, “We hear you. We care. And we’re committed to doing better.”
Sometimes an incentive can be offered where a gift card to a local business or for a product they purchase in-house with a drawing monthly can be useful. Announcing the winners on social media can help gain marketing traction as well as the feedback you received from the client. However this requires the client revealing who they are. Leave an option for the feedback to remain anonymous. Ask for permission to use feedback on your website or social media and the client can still remain anonymous. This shows potential clients that you care about your existing clients and that they have good things to say.
You don’t have to act on every single comment – either good or bad. But patterns matter. If you hear multiple clients mention long wait times, it’s time to look at your scheduling flow. If they rave about a specific technician, maybe he/she should be training new hires or deserves recognition. Feedback can be your compass, if you let it.
At the end of the day, gathering client feedback isn’t about vanity metrics or five-star ratings. It’s about running your business like someone who wants to keep improving. It’s about building long-term relationships with clients who trust that their voice matters. And for a veterinary practice, that kind of trust is worth its weight in gold.
