Customer Story
Calder Vets saves 40+ hours every month after integrating online appointment scheduling
"Vetstoria has had a huge impact on the way we work at Calder Vets. The booking system has reduced the pressure on our phone lines and associates. We have seen an increase in positive comments via our feedback service since using Vetstoria, mainly in relation to ease of booking and response rates."
Danielle Cooper, Practice Manager at Calder Vets
Calder Vets is a multibranch veterinary practice with 11 branches in South and West Yorkshire. Their mission is to provide a personal, caring, and professional service for pet owners and pets backed by some of the best facilities in the North of England. Using Vetstoria, Calder Vets has seen a growth of 222% in appointments and over 40 hours saved every month through automated online booking.
*Based on Vetstoria data from 11 Calder Vet locations
Problem
Like other practices, Calder Vets had multiple phone lines that made the call volume overwhelming. While answering calls, the front desk also had to multitask with in-person customers. But just like their mission, they wanted to provide quality care to the people right in front of them, and the volume hindered them from delivering great service.
Solution
Calder Vets adopted Vetstoria in 2019. However, it first required a mind set change within the teams to adopt new technology and understand how the platform can help the team’s efficiency.
Initially, the teams were skeptical about adopting a tool like Vetstoria. Some speculations included whether it would create more work if, for example, the client books the wrong type of appointment for the wrong duration. The other concern was about errors the platform might make if it didn’t integrate well with its practice management system.
Calder Vets’ leadership briefed on “why” Vetstoria was required.
“The key to a successful launch of this project was to provide associate training and explain why we introduced Vetstoria in the first place. It was important to inform the associates of our trials and improvements along the way; they needed to know the issues we were trying to fix and how Vetstoria’s support team was assisting us. The main concerns at first related to the booking of appointments. After confirming that the advanced system allows bespoke booking, we were all very confident. We understand the strain the system takes off our receptionists and the improvement it offers to the client’s journey.”
Danielle Cooper, Practice Manager at Calder Vets
Calder Vets took a phased-out approach, aligning all the teams to make the most of Vetstoria. They started by testing Vetstoria at one of their branches, Brighouse, opening up online bookings with one vet consultant.
The team attended training sessions, and the group made it a point to empower team members to make the most of Vetstoria with all its customizations that put the practice in control. During the process, there was extensive communication with the practice about how vital online booking is for increasing revenue, saving time, and being more accessible to pet owners.
The team at Calder Vets was able to see growth by opening up online booking to pet owners 24/7.
*Based on Vetstoria data from 11 Calder Vet locations
Seamless Integration of Practice Management Software (PIMS)
A key point for Calder Vets was to integrate with their practice management software. After sorting initial concerns about the integration, Vetstoria could sync well with EzvetPro. Calder Vets needed to display clinician availability and reflect the appointments in the PIMS, and Vetstoria provided this.
“The more we use Vetstoria, the more time we can concentrate on the client journey. Vetstoria reduces the pressure for our associates and allows us to continue to be highly productive.”
Danielle Cooper, Practice Manager at Calder Vets
Vetstoria offers the ability to customize the platform based on its availability. These included features like slot exclusions for emergency bookings or walk-ins. Calder Vets was able to show their availability since Vetstoria offers the ability to set up the availability per clinician, species, etc. For example, Calder Vets does not display the clinicians’ booking processes but takes advantage of the setup per clinician.
Also, Vetstoria team helps with some of the customizations, making it easy to account for any tweaks or changes.
“The support that comes along with Vetstoria is brilliant. I like how I can book some time and get valuable insights from the customer success team. Whenever I have an issue or an idea, I can easily book a call and get support.”
Danielle Cooper, Practice Manager at Calder Vets
Results
Save time for the team and increase efficiency
“Each time we made improvements to the process or came up with new ideas, this has immediately reflected in an increase in online bookings. When this happens, we can feel the release of our workload.”
Danielle Cooper, Practice Manager at Calder Vets
The team at Calder Vets realized that once Vetstoria is set up accurately, it’s smart enough to do the work for them. Especially when it comes to new clients, there is a whole process of getting client, pet, and appointment information. Vetstoria automates this complete process saving at least 20 minutes with each new client. Pet owners also like seeing the full schedule in front of them so they can pick a day to link with them, so it’s a win-win.
With the reduction in manual work and automated online appointments, Calder Vets grew their appointments by 200% since they switched from telephones to real-time appointments with Vetstoria.
*Appointments booked online based on Vetstoria data from 11 Calder Vet locations
Pet owner satisfaction
“Offering quality care for pet owners is a key goal, and Vetstoria helps with that by optimizing the online booking experience. This allowed our associates to spend time on other tasks and the client journey, paying attention to pet owners in-practice while reducing calls.”
Danielle Cooper, Practice Manager at Calder Vets
The Future
Moving forward, Calder vets are hoping to provide further availability by adding more vets into the system with the capability of customizing based on their preference, availability, and specialization. This plan also includes opening up for nurse consultations to provide more options for pet owners.
About
Calder Vets is a multibranch veterinary practice (a part of Linnaeus/Mars Veterinary Health family) with a mission to provide a personal, caring, and professional service for pet owners and pets backed by some of the best facilities in the North of England.
Website
Locations
11 branches in South and West Yorkshire
Practice Type
Corporate
Practice Management System
Key Features Used:
✅ Real-Time Online Booking
