|
Upcoming Seminars
It's What's Up Front That Counts
- 1/15 - Springfield, IL
- 1/22 - Minneapolis, MN
- 1/29 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
- 2/12 - Atlanta, GA
- 3/5 - Anaheim, CA
- 3/19 - White Plains, NY
- 4/23 - Charleston, SC
- 5/21 - Baltimore, MD
- 6/4 - Indianapolis, IN
- 6/25 - Philadelphia, PA
- 7/9 - Monterey, CA
|
Teams That Work
- 2/12 - Ypsilanti, MI
- 3/5 - Augusta, GA
- 4/2 - Boston, MA
- 4/30 - Tampa, FL
|
Smart Moves For Technicians
- 2/19 - Sacramento, CA
- 3/5 - Scottsdale, AZ
- 3/26 - Hartford, CT
- 4/23 - Oakbrook, IL
- 4/30 - Denver, CO
- 5/21 - Milwaukee, WI
|
The monthly Financial Tip and QuickBooks
Tip are courtesy of
Burzenski & Company, P.C., Certified Public Accountants
and Financial Consultants.
Gary I. Glassman, CPA, is a Principal with the firm.
Melody Mann Fox is the Director of Client Services,
Specializing in Veterinary Medicine.
To Contact Us:
VMC, Inc.
30792 Southview Drive
Suite 200
Evergreen, CO 80439
Phone: 303-674-8169
Fax: 303-670-3899
email: vmc@vmc-inc.com
Website: www.vmc-inc.com
|
|
|
Evaluate Yourself
 |
We each know that the success
of our practice is dependent upon the quality of
customer service we provide. So how do you
evaluate how well your practice is doing? |
 |
How do you know if your team is exceeding your
client’s expectations? As practice owners and
managers, we must live by the rule “expect only what
you inspect,” so it is critically important that you
inspect this aspect of your practice.
Over the years I have found that one of the best ways to
evaluate your customer service is to use the concept of
a mystery shopper. A mystery shopper is someone you send
into your practice as an “undercover client”. The
mystery shopper makes and keeps an appointment for an
out-patient office visit, just as any other client
would. Often this mystery shopper is a relative or a
friend whom employees do not know. When the visit is
complete, the mystery shopper submits an evaluation form
that can be presented to the health care team.
You might be surprised that almost every business—
from banks to jewelry stores—uses mystery shoppers. In
fact, there are some commercial companies that will do
the mystery shopping for you. Personally, I would like
you to consider teaming up with another veterinary
practice in your area. In a collaborative effort, select
a receptionist or technician from the other hospital to
come to yours as a client and you do the same in return.
I would tell your health care team that this is going to
occur but not tell them who it will be or when. Once the
mystery shopping is complete, the other hospital’s
employee completes an evaluation form or, better yet,
comes to the practice to talk about what they
experienced.
The experience will be positive for both practices. We
all do some things well and we can also improve on what
we do. Team members will be reinforced for those things
they do well and, hopefully, will learn about what they
can improve upon from the experience. Not knowing when a
mystery shopper might walk in the door also helps to
keep everyone in top form.
Click here for your free copy of VMC Inc.’s mystery shopper form.
You must inspect what you expect, how do you know if
your team is doing as well as you think? A mystery
shopper is an excellent tool to help you evaluate your
practice’s customer service and learn how to improve
upon it.
Mark Opperman, CVPM
President - VMC, Inc.
Let us hear from you - tell us what you'd like to see in
future issues. You can contact us at vmc@vmc-inc.com
|
| |
-
Feature Article: Are You Using Care Plans?
by Mary Ann Vande Linde, DVM
|
| |
Hospitals use the terms “care plans” and “estimates”
interchangeably, but I think “care plan” is the best
choice. True, it provides an estimate of the cost, but
if you’re using your care plan effectively, it’s
more about process – it’s a tool for educating the
client about the steps needed to provide quality medical
care for their pet and the value of each procedure,
written in language the client can understand....
|
| |
Read on... |
| |
-
December Practice Tip
by Sheila Grosdidier, BS, RVT
|
| |
The Cost of Employee Turnover
Are you aware of costs related to employee turnover?
Replacing an employee includes direct costs such as the
cost of background checks, as well as indirect costs,
such as lost productivity. Your goal is to attract and
retain the best employees but some turnover is
unavoidable. You can calculate the cost of turnover if
you identify all direct and indirect costs.
Click here to download a self-calculating spreadsheet to
help you identify the costs of turnover and find out
what it will cost your practice. If you would prefer the
file in PDF format,
click here.
|
| |
|
| |
-
December Marketing Tip
by Mary Ann Vande Linde, DVM
|
| |
Are Your Handouts Effective?
Visiting hospitals around the country, I find that their
hand-outs are too wordy. Your marketing materials should
give the top 3-4 reasons why the program is important.
Pose the questions that determine if the pet is at risk,
and with the answers you can make recommendations that
are specific to the pet. For example, “Does your pet
visit the dog park? Does she sleep in the bed with you
or your children? Then we recommend yearly intestinal
parasite checks for pet’s health and your
peace-of-mind.” Use pictures, bullet points, and
consistent messages to increase client understanding.
Personalize your marketing materials whenever possible.
Use digital pictures of the pet, highlight the answers
that make the program right for them, and make sure
everything you distribute has the hospital’s logo,
name, address, phone number and message. Remember you
don’t have to create every hand-out yourself. There
are great ones from VMC and other companies, but be
absolutely certain the clients know where they got the
brochure and who to contact if they have questions.
|
| |
|
| |
-
December Financial Tip
by Gary I. Glassman, CPA - Burzenski & Company, P.C.
|
| |
Options for the New Year -
Will you and Your Practice be Financially Successful?
Part 2:
As the New Year approaches, now is a good time to
reflect upon the year just ending and to ask yourselves
if you have been satisfied with the practice financial
performance and structure and what improvements you can
make for 2006. Here are a few items you may want to ask
yourselves that are on my list:
Corporate Minutes-
Are they up to date? A quick review with your attorney
may shed light on your requirements to maintain up to
date corporate minutes. They should contain items such
as a re-election of officers and authorizations for
issuances of bonuses, salaries and pension
contributions. Also any other important business matters
should be affirmed with corporate minutes.
Practice Transition Plan-
Do you have one? If you are anywhere in the last ten
years of practice ownership, now is the time to begin to
plan for transition of the practice. Do you know what
your practice is worth or how you might dispose of it?
Do you have an associate who may want to acquire an
interest and assume full ownership in the next ten
years? Other options include sale or merger with nearby
colleagues. If they are not options, then a sale to an
outside party or corporate buyer? Will you consider
using a broker? ( They take anywhere from 6 to 8 percent
as a commission and it sometimes includes the value of
the real estate if that is included with the sale) Have
you completed a practice valuation? Is the practice
operating at maximum efficiency to create the best
value? Completing a practice valuation and working on
weaknesses will make a significant difference in your
take home reward. Do you have the right practice entity
structure? If you are a “C” corporation and want to
avoid double taxation, it takes 10 years to make an
“S’ corporation election effective and avoid the
double tax.
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
If you have suggestions for Terminology, please
submit them to us for publication.
| Old Term
| New Term |
| Dental Procedure |
Use appropriate terminology |
| Girl/gal/guy |
Receptionist, Technician, etc |
|
| |
|
| |
|
