‘Did You Get My Email?’: When Client Communication Becomes Your Full-Time Job

The sound of an email notification. It used to be exciting, a little dopamine hit that meant a new customer or a fresh booking. Now, it’s a sound that makes your shoulders tense up. Your inbox sits at 147 unread messages, the phone has three voicemails, and you have a sinking feeling you forgot to reply to that Facebook message from last night.

Welcome to the communication vortex. For many pet business owners, what starts as a passion for animals quickly devolves into a full-time, unpaid job as a call centre operator and administrative assistant.

The constant back-and-forth is exhausting. A client emails to ask about Christmas availability. You reply. They email back asking about pricing. You reply. They ask if their dog, who is a bit nervous, can have a quiet kennel. You reply. They finally decide to book, but now you have to manually transfer all that information from the email chain into your paper diary or spreadsheet, hoping you don’t miss a single crucial detail.

This isn’t just inefficient; it’s a broken system.

The Communication Overload Statistics

If you feel like you’re drowning in admin, you’re not alone. The average professional spends a staggering 28% of their workday reading and answering emails, according to a McKinsey analysis. For a small business owner who is also the head groomer, kennel manager, and marketer, that percentage can feel much, much higher.

This constant state of “responsive-mode” has serious consequences:

• Fragmented Information: A client’s booking details might be spread across an email, a voicemail, and a handwritten note on your desk. Critical information, like a food allergy or a new medical condition, can easily get lost in the shuffle. This puts the pet’s well-being at risk.
• Poor Customer Experience: Today’s customers expect instant, seamless interactions. They want to find information and make a booking quickly and easily, often outside of your 9-5 working hours. A study by Salesforce found that 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Making them wait 24 hours for an email reply about availability is no longer a winning experience.
• It Looks Unprofessional: When you have to ask a client to repeat information they’ve already given you, it sends a clear message: you’re disorganised. It undermines their confidence in your ability to care for their pet. They start to wonder, “If they lost my email, could they lose my dog’s medication instructions?”
• Your Time is Money: Every minute you spend manually confirming bookings or answering repetitive questions is a minute you’re not spending on revenue-generating activities. It’s an administrative black hole that sucks up your most valuable resource: time.

The “Just Give Us a Call” Conundrum

Many businesses try to solve this by directing everyone to the phone. “For bookings, please call between 9 am and 5 pm.” This seems like a good way to get direct answers, but it creates its own set of problems.

The phone ringing off the hook while you’re trying to manage a play session with ten dogs is both distracting and potentially dangerous. A barking, chaotic background isn’t a professional sound for a potential new client. And what about the clients who can’t call during the day? Or those who simply prefer the convenience of booking online at 10 p.m. after they’ve put the kids to bed? You’re effectively shutting the door on a huge segment of your potential market.

It’s a classic case of what feels easier for you in the moment (taking a call) creating a worse and less accessible experience for your customer.

Streamlining the Conversation

Imagine a world where you didn’t have to play phone tag. Where you didn’t have to answer the same three questions about your pricing via email a dozen times a day.

What if your clients could see your availability for grooming appointments or boarding kennels in real-time on your website and book themselves in? What if, upon booking, they automatically received a confirmation email with all the details, terms and conditions, and a reminder of what to bring? What if the system could send them an automatic SMS reminder two days before their booking?

This is the difference between being stuck in the communication vortex and being in control of it. A dedicated pet management software with a customer portal centralises all communication. The client can input their own details, upload their own pet profiles and vaccination records, and manage their bookings, all without you having to type a single reply.

It’s time to stop letting your inbox and voicemail run your life. Free yourself from the endless back-and-forth and give your clients the modern, professional experience they expect.

Escape the communication vortex and give your customers the seamless booking experience they deserve. Discover how a customer portal can automate your admin with a free 30-day trial of Pet Manager: https://petmanager.app/accounts/signup