The Companion Animal Market is a huge sector of the US economy and has an important impact to the Kansas City area. For 2009, it’s estimated that $45.4 billion will be spent on our pets in the U.S.
We’ve done our part, pampering our pets in a “good-dog” way by providing them with quality food, toys, treats, regular visits to groomers and veterinarians and various pet paraphernalia. Even though we have kids of our own, we love our animals and they are part of the family. According to the 2009/2010 National Pet Owners Survey, 62% of U.S. households own a pet.
Think non-traditional retailers haven’t noticed the trends? Think again. Big name companies including Paul Mitchell, Omaha Steaks, Origins, Harley Davidson and Old Navy are now offering lines of pet products ranging from dog shampoo, pet attire, and name-brand toys to gourmet treats and food.
As in all industries, we are universally touched by customer service. Whether you experience it, perform it, manage it or even mandate it at the top of your lungs, we all know what good customer experience FEELS like. Feeling appreciated, getting heard, respected, vindicated or even just a smile and a heartfelt “thank you” when you pay your bill, customer service at its best, makes you glad you chose the products.
Which is a long, stalling introduction to tell you that my dog died.
Technically, Denise’s dog, but Maddie (”Maddison Bailey” when she was in trouble) belonged to everyone. She was a dog’s, dog. She made “Marley” look like a piker. What we spent on repairs alone during her 14 years would have bought us a really nice car.
But what car isn’t better with a big yellow lab’s head hanging out of it, looking at you like you’re the one who invented wind. You just didn’t stay mad long at someone like Maddie for very long.
Maddie played really hard at life. She was tireless sometimes to her detriment. If you knew her for any time at all, you quickly found out that she liked to chase flashlight beams, shadows, and reflections. Once, at a Nebraska campground, the kids took her for a walk…with a flashlight. Maddie came back with bloody paws and still was determined to catch that light.
We knew in recent years that she was on the decline. Bad hips, short of breath and slowly she went deaf– which had its good and bad points. On the minus, she couldn’t hear you call her. Eventually you had to walk up behind her to get her attention and try not to startle her. But, it made the 4th of July (also, her birthday) much more enjoyable. Even thunderstorms were tolerable, if you closed the shades and blocked out the lightning.
I had been broaching “the subject” with Denise as much as I dared. I didn’t want us to get caught making a tough decision without being at least a little ready. So, we talked and thought about what would be good for her and formulated a plan…if it ever came down to it. We always ended our conversations with, “Maddie will let us know when it’s time.” We told her that often, even though she couldn’t hear us.
I’m still stalling, aren’t I?
OK. Last Saturday, we load up the dogs–3 total, into the SUV with the other bags of stuff you take to the lake and headed out. As soon as we got there, we fell into our unpacking, opening things, turning on this, airing out that routine. After a bit, I looked for Maddie and yelled to Denise, but she hadn’t seen her either. We found her under a tree, panting and in some distress. I carried her into the house and we tried to minister to her, but could do little to relieve her problems. We knew it was probably time.
Our vet was more than an hour away and we couldn’t reach our back up. We were closer to Fort Scott, but didn’t know anyone. Denise remembered that her friend mentioned a vet at the Town and Country Equine Hospital that would perform the “house call” service that we hoped for. After talking to the vet on call, Allen Baldridge DVM, we decided to head back home.
We met the daughter, Lauren and a couple of her friends, spread blankets on the ground under Maddie’s favorite napping tree and made the call. We passed the time “telling stories on her” as my grandma used to say and giving her our love. We patted her, rubbed her velvety ears through our fingers and whispered huskily into her neck. We didn’t have long to wait.
As we saw the truck coming down the driveway, I rose to meet the doc and thanked him for coming. Immediately, we were comforted by Allen’s demeanor, his care and his respect for everyone there. He greeted Maddie with a friendly rub and quickly assessed her situation, and ours.
After listening to her breathing, he laid out our options and waited with compassion for our decision. We just can’t sit by and watch her suffer just to satisfy our need for a few more days. “You are making a very loving decision,” Allen said.
Through every part of his visit, Dr. Baldridge patiently and carefully described the next step and waited for our permission to proceed. The whole event is a blur and thinking back on it now still brings a flood of emotions too painful to really describe in detail. At one point, Lauren noticed a drop of blood coming from Maddie’s arm. He reached into his pocket for a roll of bandage and together they patched her up, one last time. It seems like such an insignificant act, but I know I’ll never forget that expression of kindness. Suffice it to say he that took very good care of all of his patients this day.
Since we didn’t know Allen before, it would be hard for me to say what his demeanor is in the office. I know (from their website) that he is a recent graduate of the Kansas State University DVM program, but I doubt that there is a lot of classroom time spent on customer service education. Yet, you could spend hours of instruction teaching the importance of this level of service. It’s more than just accomplishing the job in a competent way. He eased our hearts, gave us the information we needed to make a very tough decision and gave us the time and space we needed to say goodbye. He truly exhibited a service mentality this day and we will never forget him for that.
In fact, we have decided to give the clinic all of our animal business based on this 30 minute encounter. That should tell you the value of customer service as a component of your marketing mix.
In her years, Maddie was a grande dame; beautiful, loyal and loving. She carried her role well and needed our help at the end. Thankfully, for this day we had help carrying her, the rest of the way home.
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