“Do you want the truth, or something beautiful?”

As Paloma Faith reminded us, not everyone we ask for advice and help tells it how it really is. From our corner of the veterinary consultancy world this seems to be particularly pertinent – we have just recently heard from several clients that they feel in their dealings with large companies offering ‘help’, all too often honesty can get clouded by contracts, whilst doing the right thing gets lost amongst selling more things. If you want to know what it’s really like to own a Ford, you don’t ask the dealer on commission – you ask an online forum, a friend who has one; in short, anyone who isn’t going to benefit financially from their answer. Just as when you want to know if that new jacket really does suit you, you don’t ask your other half – they’ll just tell you what they think you want to hear, give you a safe assurance, (or at failing that, choose the least inflammatory option!) So if you are a practice, serious about changing your business for the better, perhaps asking the rep who sells you vaccines might not get you the right information to tackle your high people costs. Perhaps it might be better to ask someone who understands your business model and the local market in which you operate, and who does not stand to lose if you take your business elsewhere because you don’t like or don’t trust what they’ve said? At Onswitch, we don’t have any issues with being completely objective and honest, what with being, as we are, 100% independent. We’re lucky to work with all sorts of practices, all over the country. With our Fixer process we go through financial, staffing, operations and client communication procedures with a fine-tooth comb and a healthy dose of common sense and industry nous. We talk both to clients and to pet or horse owners in the area who choose not to use the practice, as well as to other local animal care businesses, so that we can really build up a picture of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges. And then we tell the practice what we’ve found. We might soften any blow a little with cake, but we’ll still tell them. Everything. And then we’ll set about creating a bespoke plan, together, to fix any issues. So if you want someone to really help you clear the smoke away, not just blow it where the sun don’t shine, then maybe think about talking to Onswitch. We promise that our feedback and advice will always be unbiased and honest, and based only on what works for your practice. Which our clients tell us that they really value, because ultimately, it really adds value to their business.