Do you ever look back at periods of intense change in your life and feel like you were just along for the ride, speeding fast through a hazy fog, and someone else must have been behind the wheel? Before last summer, I had not. Looking back, each phase of my life thus far had a solid plan and an even clearer path to getting there, high school, college, veterinary school, job, house, etc. Then last year when VIP was incorporated and began to be translated from vision to reality the goal was obvious enough but the path was, well, foggy. Moving from day to day, encountering challenges and unknowns seemed simple enough last summer. I was just making decision after decision with the best information I had. It seemed easy and natural at the time, but when I look back at the aggregate of those decisions that somehow morphed into something as special as VIP is today, it makes me seriously wonder how I (but really we: my VIP family and community) did it.
Since my last post, change and improvements continue to dominate our day to day, but we finally have some consistency in our routines. The staff continues to go above and beyond in their dedication and personal investment in the success of VIP and I try to remind them daily of how amazing they are. Just today, I was finally able to iron out some of the last few (known) kinks in our Practice Management Software, Ezyvet, bringing it up to full functionality which is exactly what we needed as we continue to grow and a continue to fill our busier and busier appointment schedule!
We finally received the last pieces of our hardware in mid-December which had been overdue for delivery since September 15th! Once the cages, treatment tables, large animal kennels, and grooming tub were installed, we were finally done with construction and installation. I haven't picked up a screw driver or hammer in weeks--and Carisa is very happy about not having to re-organize all the tools I leave everywhere!
We also finally finished decorating and polishing the rough edges of our hospital space! We had an intensive photoshoot in February and you can now tour the full office in 3D on google! Click here to take a tour!
Speaking of grooming....we were so excited to welcome Rachel into the VIP family as our head stylist and groomer in the brand new VIP Salon! Rachel comes to VIP with three years of grooming experience and also previous experience as a veterinary assistant. We could not be happier that Rachel has joined the team and she is doing an amazing job in the VIP Salon. You can find information about the VIP salon here. You can also see pictures of her patients and different grooming cuts on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554925104950
A note on VIP Salon pricing:
We've had some slight push-back on the cost of Rachel's grooming services offered at VIP and we certainly understand it is more expensive than her clients paid at her previous location. However, Rachel is worth it. Period. If you remember from my very first blog post, we wholeheartedly believe every employee of VIP is worthy of a living wage. Our pricing reflects our vision of what she is worth...which is much, much more than we can actually begin to pay! And grooming dogs is HARD work. It is dirty, wet, messy, hot, and hairy. Although my opinion on price loyalty may come off harsh, it is a valid point: If a client, a previously very loyal client that had been very happy with her services states the only reason they will not continue with her grooming services through the VIP Salon is the increase in cost of the groom, then that client was ultimately only loyal to the lower price and not really loyal to Rachel or the quality of her work. With that being said, those situations have been very few in number. She has many more new clients than those that have moved elsewhere due to the cost. Furthermore, all of her old and clients at VIP have been more than satisfied with the quality of her work, and so are we!
As we get busier, I'm sad to say we've dropped the ball a few times as far as client care and communication is concerned. Sometimes it's directly our fault and sometimes it isn't, but the perception remains all the same. Either way, it happens and it sucks! We strive to be the best, and we all hate it when we fall short. Our promise is that we will learn from our mistakes. Once we've identified the problem, we immediately brainstorm and implement changes to reduce the chances of the problem occuring again. I am sure more mistakes will happen but you can count on VIP to care enough recognize there is a problem and to implement changes to reduce the times we let you down--and that we will do everything we can to make it right.
We are going to schedule our "Grand Opening" celebration sometime later in the spring. We wanted to do it sooner, but we had to wait until the hospital was fully finished and furnished! We will have an official ribbon cutting and open-house style event so the public can come chat with us, take a tour, and see what all the buzz is about!
Take care and enjoy the first signs of Spring...hang in there a few more weeks, winter is almost over.
--Dr. Jones
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