My latest poll came from a discussion with one of my colleagues about what operating hours our clinics should be open. Most of them are open from 9am to 7pm. We try to have extended hours to accommodate client needs, but that the same time keeping in mind the quality of life for our staff. So, I thought I'd ask my readers!
Interestingly, 10% opted for the existing hours, not preferring any extension of the time. I suspect some of my veterinary readers didn't like the idea of getting in early or staying late. Opening 1 hour early was preferred by 54% while staying open late was preferred by 34%. I find the results interesting as conventional wisdom among my colleagues is that more clients would prefer being open later in the evening to help with the sick pets they discover when they come home from work. I thought that more people might be interested in getting up a little earlier to have pets seen before they go to work. Looks like I was right!
This doesn't mean that I'm going to extend our operating hours soon, as in our location I don't think that we'd pick up enough business to justify the change. But if we do grow to that point, I'll take the "advice" of the readers and open earlier.
