The View from the Front Desk

I am always humbled and inspired by the staff at our front desk. They have such a tough job, and they do it with a smile!! I recently asked our staff if anyone would be interested in contributing to my blog, and Gretchen jumped at the chance!! She has worked in the veterinary industry for 9 years, and has a wealth of experience and knowledge…she is also a pretty fantastic human and likes to adopt older pets to give them a loving home in their golden years! One of her favorite things about being a customer service representative (CSR) is the connections with our clients – interacting with a grateful client who had a great experience at our hospital! There is a client who struggled to get air conditioning for herself and her pets, and Gretchen took time out to go to her home and help install air conditioners with her to keep them all comfortable! This is the type of person I am honored to work with! Below are her words describing some of the challenges and tasks in the day to day life of being a CSR at PRAH!

Veterinary customer service has indeed gone through many changes since Covid, and at Pennridge Animal Hospital our front desk CSR’s have been doing a great job in keeping pace with the challenges they faced recently. Who can forget curbside service, and “what parking space are you in?”

Besides the increase in adoption of pets during the pandemic, pet owners spent more time at home interacting and caring for their companion animals. This burst in demand for wellness and medical care is still being felt in most veterinary practices, including PRAH.

An average day at the front desk includes routine hospital daily tasks and duties, providing support and individual communication to clients needing everything from pet records to scheduling appointments; checking in for surgeries and emergencies; and picking up food or medications. We work closely with the dedicated doctors and veterinary technicians with teamwork, compassion and unity. Being prepared for the unexpected doesn’t hurt either! You never know when a printer, scanner or workstation is going to have a slow day, or, when Fluffy needs a clean-up in the waiting room!

We launched our new App, “Vet 2 Pet” in February, and have had tremendous success with it. The front desk staff has really stepped up handling the additional electronic communications which include chats, appointment, medication and record requests; and vaccine reminders to name a few. Clients can also send a selfie photo through Vet2Pet and have it downloaded to their pet’s history.

As we recently celebrated “Administrative Professionals” week, remember the personnel at the front desk working hard each day to deliver the highest level of Customer Service to our clients and their pets. We love what we do!