SCHEDULING GUIDELINES
Overview
Correctly scheduling appointments is a crucial part of your job. Correctly scheduling an appointment includes communicating the information about the appointment to the client in a clear manner so that no misunderstandings occur, correctly inputting their information in our system with no spelling mistakes, inputting their address, phone numbers, their pet’s name etc… perfectly with no mistakes. Making mistakes on taking the client’s information can lead to terrible confusions, loss of time for the doctors who might be sent to a wrong address, or not be able to reach a client via phone if the phone number was input incorrectly and possibly losing the client. Not to mention that if you send a client an email with their information spelled incorrectly, we will appear unprofessional and incompetent. Therefore, when you are inputting client information in our system, double check your spelling, ensure that you fully understood the information the client gave you, have the client spell the words if necessary and repeat it back to them to ensure you have fully duplicated their communication.
Appointment times
Doctor regular hours are 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, Monday - Friday.
We are available for evening and week-end appointments as well but there is an Off Hours Fee. The amount is based on the time and the day, see the Fee Schedule for details. Off hours fees include the 4PM slot due to the fact that rush hour traffic make the freeways extremely congested at 4PM.
Our appointment slots on our calendar are: 8AM, 9:30AM, 11AM, 1PM, 2:30PM, 4PM, 5:30PM and 7PM. For potential appointments outside of those times, you will need to reach out to the doctor scheduled for that day to see if they are willing to take appointments in a different time slot, whether before, after or between those times. For any other appointment slots, you never reach out to the scheduled doctor to see if they are willing to take the appointments. You just schedule according to this policy.
If you have an emergency call and our doctor for the day is booked, you may reach out to other doctors to see if they are willing to take calls outside of their scheduled time. In that case, an emergency fee will be charged to the client so that the doctor can get additional compensation for doing calls outside of their scheduled time.
There are specific doctors assigned to each day. The doctor assigned to cover the days is marked on the calendar. Please acquaint yourself with the current schedule for the week before starting your shift.
When scheduling appointments, we give a time slot with a one to two hours leeway. The first appointment for the day is given one hour leeway (arrival time between 8 and 9AM). The other appointments for the day are given a 2 hours leeway (one hour prior to the time we post on our calendar and one hour past that time). For example, we do not have a 1PM appointment. The appointment is the time slot between 12 noon and 2PM, which means that due to traffic and the needs of the family with the appointment prior to them, the doctor could arrive anytime between 12PM and 2PM, and in the unlikely event that he/she runs later than this, the doctor will give them a call to update them on their arrival time.
If it is not clear from the conversation you have already had with the prospect, Ask him/her: “When did you have in mind for us to come and help you?” This will give you an idea of the day they want the doctor to come or let you know if it is needed today or ASAP. Do not ask them what time they would like the appointment.
It is a priority to schedule the 8AM appointment because if this slot is not scheduled by the end of the previous day, it will be a wasted slot. When the client tells you what day they would like the appointment for, schedule the appointment in time order. For example, if the 8AM is not filled up yet, you tell the client that what you have available on that day is “the doctor will arrive at your home between 8 and 9AM. Then, once the 8AM appointment is filled, your next appointment slot to book is the 9:30. You tell the client that “… the doctor will be with you between 8 and 10AM (2 hours leeway), etc… Keep in mind that you never tell the client a specific time so when you schedule the 8AM, you tell the client that the doctor will be with them between 8 and 9AM and if the doctor runs later than 9, we will give them a call. Never say “Is that OK?” as it opens the door to letting the client control the schedule.
The importance of having good control
If the client says something like “Don’t you have anything later than this?”, your answer is: “This is what I have available at this time. Would you like me to give you a call if something opens up later than this?”
IF the client is unhappy about this, and it looks like you are going to lose them, or if they tell you plainly, “Oh, I can’t do that time because my family won’t arrive until _____”, then ask them what would work for them and see what you can do to accommodate them, but do not right off the bat ask them what would work for them. YOU are in control of the schedule. You never ask a prospect what they want to do or what time they want. You need to be confident and professional with excellent communication and high care. This does not mean that you let the client run your business and this also doesn’t mean that you don’t help them out if they truly are unable to make arrangements for the time slot you want to give them. You need to use your judgement, good control, good communication and self assurance. You have to have good judgement and to be able to differentiate between: 1. A situation where the client would just “find it more convenient” to have a later appointment, which can be handled with good communication and good control to take the appointment you need to give them, versus: 2. A client who genuinely has a situation where they are unable to make the time slot you want to give them, in which case you may work out a different time slot with the client.
To re-iterate: The most important slot to fill is the 8AM slot. If it is not filled out by the end of the previous day, this will most likely end up being a wasted slot as we have very little time to fill this slot in the morning between 7AM and 7:30AM and giving an 8AM to a doctor without notice can make it upsetting to a doctor because it can make them fall behind on their entire day. Be confident about filling that 8AM slot. No back off. You can use the patter: “What I have available as of now for tomorrow is a doctor arrival time of 8AM to 9AM (making it clear that the doctor may arrive as early as 8AM and that they need to be ready by 8AM). I can reserve this slot for you right now before it gets booked.” If they ask if you have anything later in the morning, you say: “I can note down that you would like something later and if something opens up later, I can give you a call. We do get cancellations and I will keep you in mind if something comes up.”
If, as mentioned earlier, the client can genuinely not make that time slot due to family arriving later, etc… then, when it looks like an impossible situation, you may offer a different slot.
If the 8AM slot is not filled out by the start of the day, it must be booked before 7:30AM. 7:30AM is the cutoff time to notify a doctor that they have an 8AM.
If a family calls first thing in the morning and they have an acutely suffering pet and the 8AM slot is open, you may book it even if it is later than 7:30, HOWEVER, YOU MUST GIVE CATCH UP TIME to the doctor a little later in the day. And the travel time has to be workable. So for example, if the 8AM slot is open and a client calls at 7:30 and you get off the phone at 7:45 and notify the doctor at 7:45 or 8AM and there is a 9:30 that is already on the calendar but no 11AM, then you need to block off additional time at 11AM to give the doctor a chance to catch up and not be running late all day. You can use your judgement on this as if, for example, the 2 calls are very close to each other (for example in the same city, minutes of travel time apart), you may not need to schedule additional catch up time. If the schedule is already filled except for the 8AM and there is no possible way to block off catch up time, and if the prospect lives 30+ away from the next appointment, then we cannot book the 8AM past 7:30AM.
After the 8AM is booked, the other calls for the day get scheduled in order of time period: next you book the 9:30, then the 11AM then the 1PM, etc…
Drill various scheduling scenarios in order to be smooth in getting the client to accept those times without upsetting them, let your manager know you need help in practicing this and we will be happy to help you. In some cases, there is a genuine "impossibility" for the client, but in MOST cases, they can be smoothly talked into making special arrangements for this important time of their life that is the passing of their pet.
Scheduling correctly also involves looking at where the calls are and re-arranging the appointment times so that you put calls in the same area one after the other rather than making the doctor zigzag across 3 counties.
It is important for you to do your best in making the schedule for the doctor as “flowy” as possible. For example, if you have an appointment in Mission Viejo at 8AM, then a Long Beach at 9:30, followed by another Mission Viejo at 11AM, you will need to rearrange the schedule, call the 11AM and tell them that the doctor will be with them between 8 and 10AM instead of between 10 and noon. That way, the doctor can do both of the Mission Viejo appointments and then head towards Long Beach. You may not even need to call the Long Beach appointment to change their time because if the doctor has 2 Mission Viejo in a row, he might still be in Long Beach before 10:30AM. However, you will need to keep in good communication with the doctor and see how they are doing time-wise and you may need to call the Long Beach appointment if it looks like the doctor will run past 10:30.
You may have a client request an evening call. Sometimes they are trying to coordinate schedules between various family members who all want to be there. That is fine but please refer to the attached off-hours fee schedule as a guideline for scheduling off-hours calls.
Once you determine the time slot, work out cost as explained below. Get all the information from the Prospect Call Form completely filled out. You will have a harder time completing your “admin” if you don’t have all the data and might need to call the client back. This will sound unprofessional. So before completing a phone call with a client, make sure that you have the full information you need including what is wrong with their pet, how much the pet weighs, and their full name, address, phone and alternate phone and any specifics of the appointment such as needing an assistant, etc.
Scheduling out of area visits, especially for areas 40-50 miles away or for LA
The optimal time for an out-of-area appointment is mid morning, i.e. 11AM. Extra time MIGHT need to be blocked off on the calendar so that the doctor has time to come back from LA to get to his or her next visit, depending on where the next visit is in comparison with the out of area location. If the 11 AM is already taken, you will need to get in touch with your manager to find out if it could be workable to schedule that out of area appointment. Some doctors don’t mind doing out of area calls in the 8AM slot, particularly if it is during the weekend, when traffic is more reasonable than the 8AM weed day rush hour. If you schedule it at 8AM, it will be important to allow enough time for the doctor to get to his/her next visit. The amount of time to block off after an out-of-area (30+ miles) call depends on where the next call is. For example if you schedule a call in Glendale and the next call is in San Clemente, the doctor will need at least an hour and a half just to get from Glendale to San Clemente if there is no traffic. This means that you will need to block off an entire additional 1 1/2 hour slot for travel. On the other hand, if the doctor will need to go from Glendale to Buena Park you may not need to schedule extra travel time as it is only about 30 minutes drive from Glendale to Buena Park. From Glendale to Santa Ana is about an hour drive, so you will need to block off an extra half hour or so as our normal slots allow for 30 minutes of travel time between appointments.
So remember that there is no exact rule for the amount of time to block off for out of area calls. You might need to block off an extra half our, an extra hour, an extra 2 hours, it all depends on where the doctor is going and where the next call is. Use the MAPS app on your phone to route one location from the other to see how much time will be needed.
Scheduling when the client has time constraints or has an appointment after the euthanasia visit
Sometimes, a client will tell you that they have to be at another appointment right after the euthanasia visit. The best thing to do is to recommend to the family to schedule the appointment when they do not have any appointments scheduled immediately after as they will understandably be upset and that it would add to their stress to know they have to be somewhere else right after. However, in cases where it cannot be avoided, it is important to make sure that the client allows enough time for the visit and that they will not be worried with having to get somewhere else on time.
For Example: If the client has to be somewhere by 2pm, we cannot give them an appointment time of later than 11am (3 hours prior to their deadline) to be “safe” for the client and the doctor. If we give them an 11am that means the doctor may be there as early as 11am or as late as 12pm. They should allow at least 1 1/2 hours for the appointment (in case something takes longer than usual) so that they don’t feel rushed, plus what ever time they will need to get TO their appointment (perhaps 1/2 hour). To be safe, we should allow at least 3 hours between the appointment time and their engagement time (1 hour leeway plus 1 1/2 hours for the visit plus enough time for them to get where they need to go). However, please make it clear to the client that sometimes there can be unforeseen circumstances such as jammed freeways, accidents, etc… which means that it is possible that the doctor will be much later than anticipated and that they might be late for their later engagement. Ideally, they should not schedule the euthanasia visit when they have an engagement after the euthanasia.
Once a time is agreed upon, tell them the time slot and then let them know that the doctor will arrive within the 2 hours leeway as described above. Let them know that the doctor will be coming from other locations and sometimes there is more time needed for an earlier client or traffic conditions which can delay the doctor’s arrival. Make sure this leeway is really understood by the client and that rarely, due to unavoidable traffic situations, it could be more than the leeway given and if this happens, the doctor will keep them updated on the arrival time. You may need to repeat it a few times to make sure it is understood and that we eliminate possible upsets due to “the doctor being late”. They should not worry about lateness until after the leeway time given has elapsed. This relieves them of the stress or worry they may feel over the doctor not showing up or not arriving in the earlier part of the one hour slot.
Informing the client which doctor will assist them
Clients may expect a certain doctor or prefer a certain doctor. Due to the fact that our doctors cover specific shifts on specific days, it is important to know the doctor schedule and to inform the client which doctor will assist them. They may have heard from a friend or referring veterinary office that Dr. Annie is wonderful or Dr. Julie was awesome with their pet, etc… and the client may not be aware of the fact that we have several doctors. So when you schedule an appointment, let the client know which doctor will do the visit so that they are not surprised or disappointed if it is not the doctor they expected. This will give them an opportunity to choose a different day/time for the visit if they want a specific doctor. And if it is an emergency and need help immediately, at least they will have a heads up on the fact that it may not be the doctor they expected it to be. The patter could go like this: “The doctor who will help you with Honey today is Dr. Daniel. He is wonderful and very compassionate and he will make it very peaceful for Honey.” There is no need to say “Is that OK?” or anything like that. You just say the above and if they have a consideration, this will give them a chance to voice it.
Please be sure to review our policy regarding discrimination if the client says he wants a specific doctor or if the doctor doesn’t want a male doctor or any other type of discrimination. We have a strict “no discrimination” policy.
Prior clients
When we have a repeat client, please alert the doctor that the client is a repeat client. Please put this information in the notes section of our system so that the doctor knows that we have helped this client before and to help jog their memory if they have helped the client themselves..
Please include in your notes:
- the name(s) of the prior pet(s).
- the date(s) of the prior visit(s).
- What kind of pets they were.
-
What doctor helped them in the past with each pet.
Giving the doctor that information will create more reality between the doctor and the client and this will not lead to potential upsets on the clients’ part such as “Geez they don’t even remember me…” And also if the same doctor is doing the new visit who did the past visit, you give them something to trigger their memory ahead of time because the client will expect them to remember them and it can make things pretty uncomfortable if the client mentions his prior pet and the doctor is struggling, trying to remember who they are.
Length of the Visit
Inform the client that once their pet has passed away, we will give them sufficient time with their pet to say their goodbyes. We won’t rush them. However, please be aware that an additional fee may be applicable for unusually long visits (more than one hour from doctor’s arrival). We can also offer the option of 2 separate visits: One for the euthanasia only and we can return later for pick up and aftercare if they anticipate needing more time than would fit in a one hour visit. Make sure they understand that if we do it in 2 visits, there will be a separate charge for each visit: The first visit will be a euthanasia visit only and the 2nd visit will be for an Aftercare Only visit. (See fee schedule). Also, remember that all the visit fees will apply to the second visit if there was a travel fee and/or an After-Hours fee.
Policy regarding “OK to Lift” and possible need for assistant
After they have said their goodbyes, their pet’s remains will need to be carried to the doctor’s vehicle. If their pet is over 30lbs, the doctor will need help carrying the pet to the vehicle. The patter goes something like this: “After your pet has passed away, the doctor will give you some time to say your final goodbyes. When you are ready, since ____ (name of pet) is a big boy/girl, the doctor will need help to lift him to her vehicle. We have a stretcher and it makes it easy and dignified to carry him, but we will need some pall bearers.” Tell the client how many able and strong people will be required to help the doctor lift based on the weight of the pet. If they state that they are not able to assist the doctor, let them know that you will find out if we are able to provide assistants and let them know what the additional fee is for each assistant, or if it is too short notice and it is impossible to schedule an assistant, you will have to tell the family that due to the short notice, it is impossible to arrange for an assistant and that they will have to arrange for neighbors or friends to help.
Please stress the importance of them understanding the concept of “able and strong people” so that we do not end up in the situation that the 2 people available to help the doctor carry a 95lbs dog are two tiny 90 years old women. Due to safety regulations, our doctors are not allowed to help carry a pet to the vehicle if the below number of people are not available.
Our safety policy for lifting:
In order to safely plan for lifting your pet to the doctor’s vehicle, the number of strong and able people required, in addition to the doctor are: Pets under 75lbs : 1 person. Pets 75-99lbs: 2 people. Pets 100-l39: 3 people. Pets 140-175lbs: 4 people. Pets 175lbs and over: 5 or more (rule of thumb: no more than about 35lbs per person to minimize risks of injury).
For Pot Bellied Pigs and for giant breeds, regardless of weight, a minimum of 4-5 people in addition to the doctor are required. Giant breeds include, but are not limited to:
Anatolian Shepherd
Bernese Mountain dog
Bloodhound
Boerboel
Bully Kutta (Indian Mastiff)
Cane Corso
Deerhound
Dogue de Bordeaux
Giant Schnauzer
Great Dane
Great Pyrenees
Irish Wolfhound
Komodor
Kuvasz
Landseer
Leonberger
Malamute
Mastiff (ALL MASTIFFS, FRENCH, ENGLISH, BULL, Spanish, Neapolitan, ETC…)
Newfoundland
Presa Canario
Russian Terrier
St-Bernard
Shiloh
Swiss Mountain Dog
Tosa
PIGS
If the family insists that their dog is nothing but skin and bones and is not that big anymore, tell them that you understand and that you are sorry to hear this, but that due to their body shape and size of bones, it is best to plan for extra number of people and that it is our policy for giant breeds. If they do not provide the number of people stated, the doctor is not allowed to assist in the lifting.
Using our website to assist families in understanding End Of Life:
In scheduling any visit, refer the client to the homepeteuthanasia.com website where they will find help in preparing for the visit and where many questions they may not even think of will be answered.
There is a specific protocol to follow in sending the client a confirmation email and sending them the forms that they will need to fill out prior to the visit. Please refer to that policy and follow it strictly so that the client has everything in writing as to what to expect and so that their expectations do not go beyond what we can offer.
If they do not want to schedule at this time then be sure to refer them to the website to help them in making the best decision for them and their pet in the future. Use the protocol described in the section “Handling Prospect Calls” .
Scheduling Quality Of Life Assessments
See our policy entitled “Scheduling QoLs.”
Scheduling Hospice Care Appointments
See our policy entitled “Scheduling Hospice visits”
Scheduling Pot Bellied Pigs appointments
See the policy entitled: “Scheduling Pot Bellied Pigs”.
Scheduling Beach and “Off site” Calls
See the policy entitled: “Scheduling Off Site calls