Real World Story:
It all started about 11 days ago…
SUNDAY: I noticed my cat wasn’t eating and was acting very lethargic. Trying to avoid for her a traumatic trip to the veterinarian’s clinic, I called a mobile vet service—based on the great reviews the service had received from customers on Yelp. The vet responded via email that very day and agreed to come the following day at 2 pm.
MONDAY: At about 1:55pm, I get a call from the vet’s assistant telling me they are running a little late. They finally arrive at 3pm. The 
mobile vet staff conduct an examination, collecting blood and urine samples. The vet says she’ll get back to me on Wednesday.
WEDNESDAY: Tuesday comes and goes. By Wednesday evening, I still haven’t heard a thing. I email the vet to ask for the test results. Meanwhile, my cat is looking worse and worse.
FRIDAY: Two days after my email, the vet finally replies saying all the test results look fine.
SATURDAY: My cat looks worse than ever, so I take her directly to the animal hospital where the staff conduct more tests. A technician tells me that my husband and I will probably get the test results by Sunday afternoon.
SUNDAY: The day progresses from morning to afternoon and, finally, into evening. And the results are still not ready. Now, I’m in a stressed state because my cat is deteriorating fast. So I call and speak to the night-shift vet who tells me that the vet “assigned to my cat’s case” will call me by 10am tomorrow morning.
MONDAY: Morning comes and goes—no call. I call the hospital and am told that my vet is not in the office today. Now, I’m panicking. I need to know what’s wrong with my cat, so we can treat her immediately.
MONDAY: Late in the afternoon at around 3pm, the “assigned” vet FINALLY calls to say that my cat has a septic abdomen. The only solution is to perform emergency surgery–NOW! We are told our cat probably has a tear in her intestine, and all they have to do is fix the tear. My cat will then have a long and happy life.
MONDAY: Naturally, we take her into surgery that night. I was told the vet would call before the surgery. She did not. The vet called AFTER the surgery, saying they did not find anything and that she would call the next morning. She did not.
TUESDAY: When I went to visit my cat in the hospital, I was told the vet would come to my exam room in 5 minutes. She finally met me 25 minutes later.
WEDNESDAY: Sadly, my cat does not survive this HORRIBLE ordeal.
Time after time, an expectation was set and not met. As a result of this poor communication, I was angry and had lost trust in the vet’s office and the people who work there—on top of being grief stricken with the loss of my cat!
Strategies that Turn it Around:
- When setting expectations with customers, you should be careful of using specific time frames, unless you know that you can adhered to them precisely.
- If you must set a time frame, give a backup option. For example, “The vet will call you no later than 10 am. If you don’t hear anything, feel free to call in. Here’s our direct number.”
- Better yet: to instill confidence, trust, and loyalty, if you say you’re going to do something at a certain time, then JUST DO IT!
Remember: The number one cause of complaints is unmet expectations, which are set through our communication skills. The more clearly you communicate, the more likely you can eliminate complaints and angry customers.
What do YOU do to ensure you communicate clear expectations? Please share in the comments section below.