Geldoff thinks vets are the coolest creatures 
Geldoff loves veterinarians. Well, I should qualify that. I love veterinarians as long as they don’t shove anything down my throat or up my pooper, or try any of their lotions and potions on me.
Apart from that, we get on like a house on fire.
In fact, just the other day, I said to the chick who feeds me, “I’m feeling on top of the world today. Why don’t we get the vet out for a chat?”
For some reason, she didn’t think that was a great idea. Can’t think why.
Now, as my beloved readers know, Geldoff is a worldly-wise creature who, from time to time, checks out the interweb to learn what’s unfolding on the cutting-edge of equine research.
It was during one such foray this week that I came across an interesting piece on a top-notch website for veterinarians, dvm360.com.
There I found an interesting article entitled “How to double your prepurchase exam income“.
It began with this gem: “If you’re looking to increase business at your equine veterinary practice, consider increasing your fees.”
It carried on to provide a heart-warming account of a vet who didn’t enjoy performing prepurchase exams.
The time and effort involved was far greater than the price he charged, it transpired.
He struck upon the idea of doubling his price and, Hey Presto!, instead of putting off his clients, business increased!
It transpired his clients assumed because he was the dearest, he was the best.
Fear not, readers. It all turned out OK for the hapless vet. As he was now being paid more in keeping with the time and effort expended, his enjoyment in providing prepurchase services grew!
Wily old Geldoff has come across this principle before. It’s called “smile pricing”, and this is not the first time the virtues of lifting veterinary charges has been dangled in front of vets.
A while ago, I read this article on Horsetalk, entitled “Putting a smile on a horse vet’s dial“.
An undoubtedly eager audience of veterinarians heard these words of wisdom from a Colorado vet: “If you and your colleagues generally feel that you’d like to make more money and you’d like to have more time, these are symptoms that indicate that your services are undervalued. In other words, your fees are too low.”
He continued: “If you absolutely hate to float teeth or clean sheaths on geldings, then ask yourself, ‘if you doubled your fees for these procedures, would you enjoy providing those services any more?’
“How would you feel about providing these services if you tripled or quadrupled your fees for them? Once you get to a level at which you decide that you would gladly perform those services and you would actually look forward to them and arrive with a smile to do so, then you know that the fee is set at the appropriate level.
“The worst thing that can happen is that your clientele says ‘no’ to you providing those services. But then, you hate to provide them anyway, so you’re happier with the result.”
Well, Geldoff cannot fault his logic.
Goodness, all this talk about vets, pricing and bodily examinations has got me hungry. Mind you, talk about pretty much anything gets me hungry. I’m off to eat grass!
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Interesting stuff – I think you will find this kind of philosophy in all aspects of life today. If you are selling cakes, the more expensive the better it must be, houses, well if they leak tough. Double the price and disappear. We have had two leaky houses and we fixed them ourselves. Investment, double to predicted return, attract investors, fall over and rebrand somewhere else. There are still lots of vets who put service first, and the pressure on them from their own professional bodies and the public would make most people want to do something else. The “Service” industries -nurses, vets, and others are often full of people who care for their patients and animals first and their income second…in today’s world this is no good. You go out of business. So there is an effort to encourage Vets to charge an appropriate fee for their services. What is an appropriate fee? I dont know. I have been thinking lately that people move into science to escape politics. AT least if you use cunning and duplicity in your general conduct, in science the data will out you in the end. So Geldof if you have a person with a high power degree cleaning your sheath, he or she is probably worth it ! (Close your eyes and think hairdresser – the expensive kind) Or if they are cleaing your doggy mate’s anal glands they are worth twice as much. I havent seen them charging dirt money or danger money yet as they do in other areas.
I need to spell check the above
Yes Gabrielle, he’s a mean old gelding! The vets I know all go above and beyond the call of duty. That said, I’m not sure I’m a big fan of the suggestion of charging a whole heap for doing some part of the job they don’t like. That seems to be the principle behind this “smile pricing”.