Part of a group? How to make the case to head office for better phones
By Ben Long, Long Communications
Key points
- Large groups are moving every site onto one practice system: CVS moved 350 practices to Provet Cloud in eight weeks.
- Phone systems are usually chosen centrally too, so local practice managers rarely decide.
- Head office responds to evidence: missed calls, lost bookings and client complaints, with a cost attached.
- The strongest cases ask for a configuration change on existing systems, not a new supplier.
If you manage a practice inside a large group, you probably know the feeling. The phones are a problem every Monday, but the phone system was chosen by someone in an office you have never visited, and changing it isn't your call.
It can still be your case.
How the big groups choose systems
The large groups are standardising. CVS Group moved 350 practices onto Provet Cloud in eight weeks after a pilot, using one standard set-up for every site. Vets4Pets announced a Provet Cloud pilot for its 450+ practices. IVC Evidensia's UK practices use Merlin.
The reasons are sound from head office's point of view: one view of every site's income and stock, central pricing, and the ability to switch a newly bought practice over in days. The downside is that one template rarely fits every practice. Local busy patterns, mixed farm and small-animal work, and local out-of-hours arrangements often fit badly.
Phone systems usually follow the same pattern: chosen centrally, set up to a standard, and hard to change locally.
What head office responds to
Head office teams manage dozens or hundreds of sites. They respond to clear evidence with a cost attached, not to "the phones are a nightmare". A strong case has four parts.
1. The numbers
- Calls per day, and how many go unanswered at peak times.
- How long callers wait, and how many give up.
- Your busiest half-hours (Monday 8:30am is common).
Most phone systems can report this. If you can't get a report, a week of tallies on paper still works.
2. The cost
Use a simple, cautious sum: missed calls × share that were bookings × share that never ring back × average consultation (£60 UK average). Even small numbers add up over a year.
3. The client impact
- Reviews mentioning "couldn't get through".
- Complaints that started with a phone call.
- Out-of-hours callers who were sent to the wrong place.
4. A specific, modest ask
Ask for configuration changes before new systems:
- A call-back option at peak times.
- An emergency option at the start of the call.
- Overflow to a nearby group practice or central team at peak.
- Missed-call reports sent to the practice weekly.
- A screen showing who is calling, linked to the practice system.
Many of these are features the group may already pay for.
What this means for your phones
- Find out what you can change locally: messages, menus, opening hours.
- Ask head office for your practice's call reports.
- Keep a short log of phone-related complaints and reviews.
- Present one page, with numbers, and one clear ask.
How does your practice compare?
My check takes about ten minutes and gives you a result and an estimate of income at risk, a useful starting point for a case to head office.
It takes about two minutes.
Frequently asked questions
- Who chooses the phone system in a corporate vet group?
- Usually head office, alongside the practice management system and other central IT. Local practices may be able to change menus, messages and opening hours.
- Which practice systems do the big UK vet groups use?
- CVS Group has moved its practices onto Provet Cloud, Vets4Pets announced a Provet Cloud pilot for its 450+ practices, and IVC Evidensia UK uses Merlin. Other groups have not published theirs.
- How can a practice manager get head office to fix phone problems?
- Bring evidence: call volumes, missed calls at peak times, client complaints and reviews, and an estimate of the income lost. Ask for specific changes, ideally using features the group already pays for.