Efficiency and Growth: PetDesk’s Time-Saving Impact on El Paseo Animal Hospital’s Performance
See how PetDesk’s mobile app, phone system, and online booking platform improved El Paseo Animal Hospital’s performance all while saving time for their staff.
%
of appointments booked out of hours
total appointment bookings since opening in Fall 2023
%
of the 428 new appointments booked were from new clients
el paseo
Meet El Paseo Animal Hospital
- PetDesk Mobile App
- Online Booking System
- PetDesk Phones
El Paseo Animal Hospital is a new veterinary practice connected to a legacy of over a decade of local veterinary caregiving in the greater Coachella Valley. This new animal hospital is located in Palm Desert on El Paseo, in the Palms to Pines West Shopping Center
El Paseo Animal Hospital offers full-service veterinary care including dentistry, surgery, and tailored care for senior pets as well as care for puppies and kittens. Expert care is available for dogs, cats, pocket pets, exotics and more!
It was founded by Dr. Rachael Jeffrey and Dr. David Jeffrey, local veterinarians who have been treating animals in the Coachella Valley for over ten years.
About Dr. Rachel Jeffrey: Dr. Rachael Jeffrey was born in the Midwest, then moved around the US for a bit before settling in California when she was 12. After receiving her undergraduate degree, she moved to Western Australia where she earned her Veterinary Degree. After 5 years in Australia, she was ready to move back home and be closer to family. She moved to the Coachella Valley where she lives with her husband, young son, and their beloved animals Daisy, Zedd, Karma, and 9-Ball. She has called the Coachella Valley home for almost a decade now and has fallen in love with the area. Dr. Jeffrey founded El Paseo Animal Hospital with her husband Dr. David Jeffrey in 2023.
About Dr. David Jeffrey: Originally from South Africa, but raised in Southern California, Dr. David Jeffrey received his veterinary degree in Western Australia and developed a love of native wildlife and companion exotics. Dr. Jeffrey is an experienced venomous snake handler and has an interest in venomous snake surgery and medicine. He also treats dogs, cats, and many other exotic species including other reptiles, small mammals, pigs, and some of the birds you may have seen at local resorts in the Coachella Valley. He and his wife Dr. Rachael Jeffrey founded El Paseo Animal Hospital together in 2023.
Of the clients who visited the practice 5 times or more, 59% were app users
In 2023, 448 messages were sent to clients (52% of total text messages)
In 2023, 413 messages were received from clients (48% of total messages)
328 out of 427 appointments came through the online booking widget on their website
Analytics from PetDesk dashboard 2023
“There are many features of PetDesk that we find beneficial, but the texting capability stands out the most.”
“PetDesk also handles all appointment reminders automatically. Everything is set up beautifully and works seamlessly.”
‘We are definitely seeing a return on our investment.’
El Paseo Animal Hospital had PetDesk’s client management and online booking system in place and running 30 days before their opening date. Because of this, they were fully booked for the week on opening day.
“We opened in September 2023 and had PetDesk live 30 days before our opening. We were already fully booked for the first week we opened. 60% of our appointments were made online through PetDesk’s online booking system. Today, seven months in from opening, we have started seeing profits. It was worth the investment.”
‘PetDesk’s ‘texting’ feature saves a ton of time for the receptionists’
Dr. Rachael Jeffery invested in three PetDesk products- the App, online booking platform and phones- when they first opened their clinic in September 2023. She finds the ‘texting’ feature of PetDesk’s client management system the most attractive as it helps save a lot of time for the receptionists.
“There are many features of PetDesk that we find beneficial, but the texting capability stands out the most. For instance, after completing lab work, we can simply text the results to pet owners, significantly reducing phone call time. Additionally, many of our clients confirm their appointments through PetDesk, freeing up my receptionist from having to make those calls. PetDesk also handles all appointment reminders automatically. Everything is set up beautifully and works seamlessly.”
‘PetDesk allows us to save an hour and a half daily.’
For Dr. Rachael and the staff, PetDesk has been an enormous help. With the tools, the more people go through online scheduling and make their appointments, the fewer phone calls her team needs to field. And that’s more time for them to focus on providing quality pet care.
“PetDesk’s texting saves us an hour to an hour and a half a day off the phone. The efficiency is huge.”
‘I love these tools because I hate seeing time getting wasted.’
Dr. Rachel confesses that she is not tech-savvy. However, she sees herself as efficient and hates seeing her time wasted.
“I don’t like having to spend a bunch of time doing something that could be done much faster. So using PetDesk’s online booking has been great and takes a lot of the scheduling pressure off my reception staff. PetDesk’s tools are huge time savers for our staff; they can complete tasks faster which allows us to see more patients.”
‘With PetDesk, we have seen lower stress levels with the clinic staff’
The hospital is huge on work-life balance. Dr. Rachael encourages her staff to take their lunch breaks on time, even if she has to stay back and work through hers. However, with the ‘texting’ feature, she feels the staff can get out on time more and have lower stress levels.
“A phone call could take 10-15 minutes while sending a text with lab reports takes about 60 seconds. PetDesk allows us to communicate with 15 people in 15 minutes, as opposed to one person in 15 minutes. I think this lowers their stress levels too because they are not stuck on a phone call whilst thinking of so many other admin things they need to finish.”
‘When the staff saw the online booking system in action, they loved it’
Dr. Rachael was honest about how nervous the staff was about the online booking at first. Since they had not seen it in action before, they weren’t sure how much work it would entail for them. However, implementation was easy and the staff adapted quickly without extensive training.
“I think they were a little nervous at first, but once they saw it in action, they loved it. The platform in itself is pretty self-explanatory, and there was almost no training needed.”
‘We love how customizable PetDesk’s online booking system is’
The hospital’s schedule is structured with several restrictions to support work-life balance. Dr. Rachael explains that they avoid scheduling appointments back-to-back every 15 minutes. Additionally, they avoid booking certain appointments at the end of the day.
“With the online scheduling, we like to block out a few appointments, especially 30 minutes before we close. With all the customizations PetDesk’s online booking offers, we can easily manage it. It is also great for clients because they can book appointments at 2 am on a weekend and have that flexibility.”
‘We would have lost a few clients if we did not have the PetDesk App’
Dr. Rachael truly believes that having the PetDesk app helps people keep track of their pets’ vaccinations and other records. She also believes that getting them to retain their clients would be difficult if they didn’t have the app.
“We often have people asking if we have the app, and they’re thrilled when we say yes. I think we would probably lose those clients if we didn’t offer it”
‘PetDesk Phones are customizable allowing us to build it around our needs’
PetDesk phone’s ‘ring of groups’ offers extensive customization options. We can set up varied messages for different scenarios, such as notifying callers when the hospital is closed or directing them to transfer to another department.
“With PetDesk phones, we can customize the call flow, determining the path a call takes when it’s unanswered and ensuring it’s routed appropriately based on our predefined decision tree. I love that!”
‘PetDesk Phones allows us to manage our time and prioritize our tasks more effectively.’
For Dr. Rachael’s team, as with any clinic, recognizing incoming callers is beneficial since some clients may require more time than others. Additionally, the system includes a callback feature that prompts staff to return missed calls, which is quite helpful.
“When the receptionist identifies a call that may require more time, especially during busy moments, they can efficiently prioritize tasks to ensure all clients receive timely and effective service.”
