A veterinary clinic in Whitefish, Montana with two locations — a main clinic and a satellite office 15 miles away in Columbia Falls — was running separate phone systems at each site. The main clinic had 3 veterinarians and 6 support staff; the satellite had 1 vet and 2 technicians. Pet owners calling the wrong location couldn't be transferred. After-hours emergency calls went to a generic voicemail. The clinic was losing urgent cases to competitors with better phone availability.
The Problem
Each location had its own phone number and its own system. Clients often called the satellite office for services only available at the main clinic — surgery scheduling, dental procedures, lab work. The satellite receptionist would give the client the main number and ask them to call again. 30% of those clients never called back. After-hours emergency calls went to voicemail at both locations. The on-call vet had no way to receive forwarded calls on their mobile. In one case, a dog with bloat — a life-threatening emergency — left a voicemail at 9 PM that wasn't heard until 7 AM. The dog survived but required emergency surgery at a Kalispell facility 40 minutes away. Monthly costs: $340/month for two separate landline systems plus $120/month for an answering service that only took messages.
The Solution
Big Sky Telecom deployed hosted VoIP across both locations on a unified system. Both offices share the same auto attendant: "Press 1 for appointments, Press 2 for prescription refills, Press 3 for emergencies." Calls transfer seamlessly between locations using 3-digit extensions. After-hours emergency calls route directly to the on-call vet's mobile softphone — no answering service needed. SMS appointment reminders reduce no-shows. The on-call vet can see the clinic's caller ID on their softphone and access voicemail remotely.
The Results
80% reduction in missed calls: With unified routing and ring groups, calls that aren't answered at one location overflow to the other. The satellite office receptionist can now transfer directly to the main clinic's surgery scheduler. The "call back at this other number" problem was eliminated entirely. Client callback rates went from 70% to near 100%.
After-hours emergency routing: Emergency calls now ring the on-call vet's mobile softphone immediately. In the first 3 months, the on-call vet handled 14 after-hours emergency calls — 4 of which required immediate clinic visits. The managing vet estimated this saved at least 2 animal lives and prevented 3 cases from escalating to expensive emergency referrals.
Remote vet flexibility: The satellite office vet now works from home one day per week for telemedicine follow-ups and phone consultations. She uses the softphone app to call clients from the clinic's number, access voicemail, and transfer calls to the main clinic when needed. Pet owners have no idea she's not in the office.
$2,520/year savings: Monthly costs dropped from $460 (two landline systems + answering service) to $250 (9 VoIP users). The answering service was eliminated. Annual savings: $2,520 — plus the avoided cost of emergency referrals and lost clients.
What the Managing Veterinarian Said
"The after-hours routing changed everything. We're a small-town vet clinic — our clients expect us to be there when their pet is in trouble, day or night. Now we actually are. And unifying the two offices means our clients get one experience no matter which location they call. The remote day for our Columbia Falls vet has been a huge morale boost too — she's more productive and less burned out."
Is Your Veterinary Practice Ready?
If your vet clinic is running separate systems at multiple locations or missing after-hours emergency calls, hosted VoIP with intelligent routing can be set up in a single day.
Big Sky Telecom provides hosted VoIP, business phone systems, and managed IT services to small and mid-sized businesses across Western Montana. Locally owned and operated in Missoula, MT since 1998.