Customer Story
Anglesey Pet Clinic saves £2K monthly by tackling no-shows with Vetstoria
Customer Story
Anglesey Pet Clinic saves £2K monthly by tackling no-shows with Vetstoria
120
average appointments booked in a month
*since March 2024
371
appointments booked via the Vetstoria widget on the website
35%
out-of hours bookings
*data from Vetstoria analytics dashboard from 2024
Practice Type
Independent
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Key Features Used
✅ Real-time Online Booking
✅ Online Payments
About Anglesey Pet Clinic
The Anglesey Pet Clinic has been looking after Holyhead’s pets since 2007. They are an independent practice offering a high standard of veterinary care. They offer a wide range of services from vaccinations, microchipping, neutering, dental, in-house blood tests, X-rays, pregnancy diagnosis with ultrasound, hip and elbow scoring to more specialist services and treatments, such as chemotherapy, echocardiograms, endoscope for non-invasive investigations and advanced surgeries, including orthopaedic and BOAS surgeries.
‘We were constantly on the phone, and the frustration among staff was super high’
James Rutter, owner and veterinarian at the Anglesey Pet Clinic, tells us how the clinic staff were always on the phone before they got Vetstoria, which created frustration amongst them. The constant ringing made it difficult for a nurse to prioritise whether they needed to help a vet or answer a ringing phone line, which may or may not be an emergency.
“Before Vetstoria, everybody just rang and booked over the phone or came to the practice and booked. We’ve got three phones on the same line, so they could deal with multiple callers. Still, it was just too much. The frustration among staff was super high. We were constantly on the phone, so I thought, let’s see if we can direct our clients somewhere else so they can book independently.”
— James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
‘We wanted an appointment system that permits upfront payments and can interface directly with our PIMS.’
Anglesey Pet Clinic had a direct goal in mind when they decided to invest in Vetstoria. They researched and looked at other booking tools but realised that Vetstoria was a better fit for them. They wanted to reduce their no-shows by encouraging pet owners to pay upfront.
“We looked at two options – Vetstoria and another provider. Vetstoria had the advantage of allowing upfront payments. The other provider allowed booking and then emailing a payment link to the client, but it required extra work on our part. We had to email the link, wait for the payment, and then assign it to the client, making it a double process. For me, that tipped the balance in favour of Vetstoria.”
– James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
“We have been using Vetstoria Pay, and their integration with Global Payments has been easy since we were already using them for our in-house chip and PIN machines.”
‘We wanted to reduce our no-shows by directing people to online booking and making payments upfront’
“Our goal wasn’t to get more clients but to redirect those calling to online booking. We wanted to reduce the number of no-shows and people at reception by encouraging them to pay upfront. Previously, people would book and forget or not cancel. By getting clients to pay upfront, we’ve seen almost everyone who paid upfront attend their appointment, as they don’t want to lose their money. We want more people to do that.”
– James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
Previously, the clinic had 35 to 40 no-shows a month. These varied from post-op checks, to consultation appointments and even lengthy operation bookings – adding up to a loss of income in the region of £1000-£2000 per month. For them, it is not just about the time wasted for the vets; it’s also the pressure from clients needing same-day appointments. When someone doesn’t cancel that slot, it isn’t available to others who need it.
“Typically, we had maybe one or two no-shows a day. That was a missed revenue opportunity, which, over time, accumulated. Each missed appointment is 10-20 minutes that could have been used for another patient. We still have some no-shows, but never from those who book through Vetstoria. It’s usually the ones not booking online.”
— James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
‘Amongst many other changes, Vetstoria has contributed in helping reduce phone calls’
The staff at Anglesey Pet Clinic have been using Vetstoria since March 2024. Alongside this, they’ve implemented other administrative changes which have been beneficial. Together, these measures have led to a reduction in phone calls to the clinic.
“For every appointment booked through Vetstoria, we avoid a phone call—so hooray for one less call! Other factors that reduced phone frequency include asking clients to email in repeat medication orders and not accepting new clients. These changes also helped reduce phone call volume. While we still receive many, many phone calls, it’s clear that each appointment booked online means one less phone call for us.”
– James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
‘Vetstoria is customisable in many ways’
The clinic likes the customisability that Vetstoria offers to suit their needs. James and his staff are able to customise it beyond the default settings, which is really useful.
“Vetstoria is customisable in many ways. I particularly like the warning system for emergencies. If someone reports a bleeding dog, a warning comes up asking if it’s an emergency. I customised this beyond the default settings. We can also send emails to clients reminding them to bring vaccination cards or other necessary items, which is really useful.”
— James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
‘About 34% of our bookings are made outside of opening hours.’
Previously, when the phone rang, the staff at Anglesey Pet Clinic had to answer and book the appointments immediately. But now, they get their appointments out of hours.
The young clients really like it. They appreciate being able to book online and find it quite comfortable.
“Now, about 34% of our bookings are made out of opening hours. When my staff come in the morning or the night before, they quickly go through all the bookings, make sure they tally, and ensure the correct online payments are associated with the right bookings.”
— James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
‘Vetstoria’s representative was fantastic and guided us through the setup process with ease’
Like with any new technology, implementation takes time, and Anglesey Pet Clinic experienced the same. Fortunately, the support from Vetstoria’s team made the transition smooth and manageable.
“After all the hard discussions, you realise that it [Vetstoria] was needed. Chiara from the Vetstoria team was fantastic, so it all worked very well. If I got stuck, I just sent an email, and she helped me.”
— James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
‘The support is excellent too.’
“We recommend Vetstoria, and it does what we wanted it to do. We had a specific plan to reduce phone volume, and it’s working for that purpose. We also think the pricing is fair. For the cost, it’s great value for money.”
– James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
Vetstoria’s real-time online booking drastically reduces phone calls and keeps you in control.
Book a free demo with us today and see how we can help you grow!
The Anglesey Pet Clinic has been looking after Holyhead’s pets since 2007. They are an independent practice offering a high standard of veterinary care. They offer a wide range of services from vaccinations, microchipping, neutering, dental, in-house blood tests, X-rays, pregnancy diagnosis with ultrasound, hip and elbow scoring to more specialist services and treatments, such as chemotherapy, echocardiograms, endoscope for non-invasive investigations and advanced surgeries, including orthopaedic and BOAS surgeries.
Mr. Rutter has over 25 years of veterinary experience with cats, dogs, ‘small furries’ and exotics. He opened the Anglesey Pet Clinic in 2007, and it is currently the only independent 100% small animal veterinary practice in Anglesey. He holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Small Animal Surgery and regularly undertakes advanced surgeries, including TTAs and BOAS surgeries.
– James Rutter, Practice Owner of Anglesey Pet Clinic
