Mar 1 2010

Upselling at the Vet's Office

Little Boy Lost Elbee As many of you know I had a stray show up at my door on Saturday afternoon in dire need of some food and attention. Elbee, as we are calling him for now, seems to be doing better. I took him to the vets office this morning and apart from some general concerns about his weight (he is 19lbs and probably should be around 30), some minor skin issues, and some parasites, he is in good shape all things considered.

As I stated before, we will hang on to Elbee for a while and get him back on his feet. He is a sweet boy and although I won’t rule out our keeping him, I wasn’t looking to add a fourth dog to the family. But my post today isn’t about Elbee specifically, but about the subject of upselling at the vet’s office.

If you have ever shopped at all then you have been the target of upselling. When the drive through attendant at the fast food restaurant asks you if “you want an apple pie with that?” that’s upselling. When a waitress asks you if you’ve “saved room for dessert”, that’s upselling. In fact anytime someone suggests or reminds you about other products or services they offer, other than the ones you have specifically asked for, that’s upselling.

Now mind you I understand that businesses need to upsell and I regard it as a legitimate business practice, indeed, it is probably a necessity. However there are places and situations that beg for a bit of decorum, and where I think upselling is inappropriate.

When I showed up at the vet’s office today with Elbee in tow, It was very obvious why I was there. Elbee is extremely emaciated and is obviously a stray or abandoned dog. When I was ushered into the exam room the vet tech did ask why I was there and took what history I knew of Elbee. But before even seeing the vet and coming to a diagnosis of what problems Elbee might have, the vet tech was trying to get me to buy a full series of vaccinations and other services offered by the vet. Now as I’ve said above I recognize that the upsell is a legitimate practice, but at least take my order before asking me if I want an apple pie.

Sadly in my area, this is not an uncommon practice at the vet’s office. And although most aren’t quite as blatant and obnoxious as this was, most all of them could benefit by being a bit more delicate and tactful about the process.

So tell us what you think. How is upselling handled by your vet? Do you think that upselling is legitimate practice for vets to increase their revenue? What is your experience with this?

My Woof Wednesday guest this week will be Veterinarian Krista Gibson (Scottsdale_Vet on Twitter) of Animal Medical Services in Scottsdale Arizona. http://amsscottsdale.com. We will be discussing ways to better communication between owner and vet.

Cheers

Kevin, Jackie, Elbee, Gavin, Annie, Tosha

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Comments

CincoGatos wrote on 03/01/10 3:30 PM

I find it interesting the vet tech talked about shots before the vet saw you.

I like when the doctor gives me options and I like when they state what is an option and what is highly recommended or even required to treat/diagnose, but I don't like when the vet techs try to make medical references.

I think vet techs are awesome, but they need to stay away from making statements like that.

p.s. Glad to hear Elbee is mostly ok! I'm going to guess he had no microchip. :(

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No microchip, from his overall condtion plus his behavior around people and other dogs, my best guess is that he was dumped. Sad begining but he has better days ahead.

I agree that suggesting the shots before actually being seen by the vet is peculiar. I don't want to sound like I am picking on vets here. I absolutely respect and admire them, I just would like them to consider the order in which they practice the upsell.

Thanks for your comments

Kevin

Rod@GoPetFriendly wrote on 03/01/10 3:46 PM

We've been going to the same vet since 2002. In that time (through a total of 3 dogs), I cannot honestly remember any attempt at upselling ... even when we brought in Buster, our GSD that we found on the street. In fact, the vet suggested we wait before doing shots in case Buster's owners showed up to claim him (they never did). To top it off, the vet gave us a discount on the check up - which he says is his practice for situations like this.

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Rod,

Sounds like you have found yourself a good vet and have a good relationship with them. I envy you. The upsell is something that I have only run into since I have moved into this area. I don't begrudge it, but I think it needs to be done appropriately.

Thanks for commenting.

Melinda Hertel wrote on 03/01/10 3:51 PM

Upselling in the medical profession, whether it be human or other animal, is controversial. I work in the human medical field and find it very unethical to upsell just for the sake of selling something. However, if I know of something that could really help a person, I feel that it is important to let them know about it. I don't consider that upselling, but rather sharing information. I would make a horrible salesperson because I cannot "sell" anything I don't believe in.

In this situation, where the vet doesn't know Elbee yet, it is totally unethical to upsell for anything. The vet's responsibility is to examine the dog, determine what he/she believes is the dog's true needs (based on his knowledge and experience), and present honest/truthful information to the owner. The owner must then make educated decisions regarding the dog's care.

I feel very strongly that in any business honesty is the only way. I have run into issues with vendors at times because I refuse to sell their product under false representation.

My vet is very honest, so I trust him. He has even given me his product recommendations and then said to buy it online because I would get it for a cheaper price. My vet would not even tell me his personal opinion about one of 2 procedures my dog needed because he didn't want to sway me in his direction so that he could get paid for it. He gave me straight information and gave me time to research and determine which procedure I felt was the right one for my dog.

With health care honesty is even more important than in many other businesses. Although knowingly selling someone a crappy TV is wrong, it won't injure or kill the person. But, knowingly selling someone an unnecessary or perhaps even harmful health product for their dog is unspeakable.

Perhaps Elbee's vet should work with his/her staff on discerning which clients and which patient situations are appropriate for upselling. Obviously, the upselling of vaccination packages would be less offensive and more appropriate for someone bringing in a new puppy for a well-puppy exam, but not for an older, emaciated stray.

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Melinda,

It sounds like you have a great vet, and one that I am sure is more indicative of vet practices overall. I am actually going to speak with the owner of the practice I visited today and let him know my experience and my feelings about it. It will be interesting to see how he responds.

Lorie Huston wrote on 03/01/10 10:31 PM

Firstly, I'm glad to hear that Elbee checked out okay and that his skin issues are minor. I know they were causing him some discomfort yesterday, so this is good news. Given his physical condition, I'm not surprised to hear he has parasites.

Your perspective about upselling is interesting. I never really thought of it in that light before. As a veterinarian, I tend to think of it more as an opportunity to educate pet owners and advocate for the pet's best interest.

However, that being said, I'm not sure I would have been in a hurry to vaccinate Elbee on his initial visit given his physical condition. I don't want to question your veterinarian's judgment because I wasn't there and didn't see Elbee. I'm just saying that I might have discussed the vaccinations, etc with you for future reference and, based on the results of a physical examination, made a decision as to whether postponing them to a future date was a better alternative. I prefer to make certain a pet is healthy before any vaccines are administered simply because I feel the vaccines are more likely to be effective and less likely to cause undue stress or complications for the pet under those circumstances.

I admit it is possible that your veterinarian simply felt that Elbee was healthy enough to receive his vaccines and thought he was better off receiving them than not. That is a judgment call that cannot be made without performing a thorough physical examination. It is also possible that your veterinarian's staff is trained to offer "vaccinations and other services" to a client prior to the veterinary exam, in which case the doctor may have decided after examining Elbee that vaccines were not in his best interest today.

At any rate, your post raises an interesting issue in regards to how and when services are offered and discussed in the average veterinary office. Thank you for giving me some food for thought.

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Lorie,

Thank you for helping me with Elbee over the weekend. It was very good to have your advice to lean on.

As for my visit, it was not the Veterinarian that suggested the shots up front, rather it was the vet tech. The vet had not even looked at Elbee at that point and that was what upset me. I am all for education and I do appreciate options and things that I might not be aware of being brought to my attention. However, I felt a better time to present those options is after I have the immediate health concerns of the dog addressed.

Thanks for your help and your thoughtful comments. You've given me food for thought as well.

Kevin

Karen Frieseke wrote on 03/01/10 10:49 PM

I find it really surprising that the vet tech was offering you certain services before the vet had even seen Elbee. I don't like being "upsold" (i worked in a sales environement for many years so I guess that I'm just super sensitive to it)

Since my vet is a country vet, there is no hard selling for extrs for which I am very thankful!

btw, *great* name for your new charge!

Debbie Jacobs wrote on 03/02/10 8:51 AM

Recently at a specialty clinic where I brought my cocker for ear surgery, at the end of the exam the vet said, "I'll have cost detail worked up for you." I was handed a list with the high and low estimate of what my dog's treatment might cost. I really appreciated this. It spared me having to ask and feeling like a heel who might compromise her dog's health due to cost constraints, which are real and valid concerns nonetheless.

Jim (DoggyBytes.ca wrote on 03/06/10 12:19 AM

I think informing and educating is good.

Suggest add-ons like essential fatty acids and glucosamine when someone is buying pet food - not when they're in the examining room with their sick dog.

P.S. How is Elbee

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Elbee is doing well. He is visibly putting on weight and is clearly happier than he was a week ago. :)

Jesse Hillman wrote on 06/15/10 11:00 AM

Not only do I really dislike being upsold, I take it as a lack of respect from a trained professional. How would you respond if the Doctor doing your annual physical began upselliing you on the virtues of additional blood work, fecal smears and what not?

I recently acquired a second Border Collie. Since I couldn't be there, my wife took her to our vet for her first visit. They sold my wife a "Well Puppy Package" for almost $300. Essentially this was a de-worming and her vaccinations. I believe that I paid about $120 for the same services for my male Border 18 months before. I am EXTREMELY offended when they use scare tactics (like the heartworm pictures) to upsell.

Fast forward about 3 months and when I called to schedule her Spay surgery, I was quoted a whopping $250. There was absolutely no mention of the fact that they are participants in the City of San Diego Spay Program that provides the same service for $65.

As for this Vet.... I'm DONE...I will be taking my dogs else-where.... Hopefully everyone reading this will hold their Vet accountable to behave like professionals instead of acting like Carnies at the County Fair hawking their wares to the highest dollar and taking the unaware for everything they can squeeze them for.

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