Putting Nervous Clients at Ease

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Wendy Lester-Knoll, DVM

Let’s face it, bringing a Pet to the vet clinic is not always an easy task.  Managing an excited Pet in the exam room can be far more daunting.  Then, hearing that the Pet is sick and listening to the vet talk about diagnostics, prognosis, and medications is enough to get anyone’s blood pressure up.  As veterinarians and paraprofessionals exposed to medical equipment, Pet illnesses, even the typical veterinary hospital odors, we tend to lose sight of the different triggers that can make our clients nervous and anxious.  Sometimes, our clients can become upset, even with us, if they are very worried about their Pets, and this is the case with many of our clients since we deal with their “fur-children” and their health every day. I am the same way when it comes to my Pet.  A health problem with my Pet will make me nervous, cautious and every decision is questionable whether it is the right one or not. I feel the best way to calm a nervous client is to put yourself in their situation and treat them the way you would want to be treated. It’s kind of like what they taught us in grade school right?  Here a few pointers to keep in mind when working with a nervous client:

  1. Introduce yourself with confidence with a warm, friendly smile and always use soft, calm speech.  If you approach a client with overpowering, firm speech then they will tend to back off and not trust you. Trust is the key to keeping a client’s nerves at ease.
  2. Talk to your nervous client like you would talk to a good friend. Make them feel at ease and allow them to approach you with what is really making them nervous. If they don’t tell you, then ask them directly what is making them most concerned about the situation. I would stay away from mentioning “being nervous” because nobody really wants to be called nervous, use the words concerned or worried.
  3. Address the issue that concerns them most first. A nervous client wants to know or wants an answer right away. If this isn’t possible then explain why it is not, and what you will do to find that answer as quickly as possible.
  4. Assure them that their Pet is in good hands.  It’s amazing what these words will do.
  5. Assure them that they aren’t the only one to go through this. Tell them it’s ok to be concerned, for this is a sign of a good Pet parent. I sometimes tell them a story about myself going through a similar situation and how I felt.
  6. Make sure that you keep them super- informed of what is going on with their Pet.  A couple of hours can feel like 24 to a nervous client.
  7. Nervous clients can quickly escalate to irate clients if they aren’t getting the outcome that they expected. Always explain all possible outcomes before they occur to avoid this.  Don’t sugar coat things just because the client is nervous – be honest and direct with the client’s concerns.  The worst possible scenario CAN happen.
  8. And most importantly – do NOT get nervous yourself – this will make clients even more uneasy. I would be wide-eyed nervous if I had a fidgety, squirrely doctor talking to me about my precious little Pet.


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