Veterinary clinic improves responsiveness for 35+ daily calls

How AI Receptionist helps a Nebraska practice maintain client service with complex veterinary triage

Rose Adrian

The Pet Pad

About the Business

Rose Adrian owns The Pet Pad, a small veterinary clinic in Kearney, Nebraska, that specializes in the care of small and exotic animals. The clinic operates with a lean three-and-a-half-person team, focusing on keeping pets and their owners comfortable throughout the entire experience with a calm, family-oriented approach to veterinary care.

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The Pet Pad

Kearney, Nebraska

The problem

Small team juggling dozens of calls a day with other veterinary duties

Our solution

AI Receptionist for uninterrupted coverage that maintains quality service

As the owner of The Pet Pad, Rose serves as receptionist, office manager, and veterinary assistant — wearing multiple hats that keep her busy throughout the day. With an average of 35+ calls coming into the clinic daily from clients seeking pricing information; other clinics requesting records; patient emergencies; and more, Rose was consistently overwhelmed. The timing was always problematic: "When I'm helping in back with getting a patient down for surgery or helping with treatment, the phone is going to ring at that moment. It's guaranteed." Missed calls were directly impacting The Pet Pad's ability to continue its steady growth and serve its community effectively.

Overflow answering

Lead screening and intake

Instant email summary of calls

"It has been incredible to have AI Receptionist there to back us up and triage our calls, so the moment that I get back to my desk, I don't have to have an upset client because somebody wasn't there to talk to."

Finding the perfect solution

Recognizing that The Pet Pad's rapid growth demanded immediate phone coverage, Rose began searching for a call-answering solution that could meet her clinic's high standards. While she found options that worked adequately for personal use, none met the specific requirements of her veterinary practice — particularly the precision and customization needed for accurate information-gathering and medical terminology handling.

After experiencing the limitations of another answering service, Rose discovered Smith.ai’s solution, AI Receptionist, and was drawn to AI Receptionist's extensive customization capabilities that could be tailored specifically to veterinary workflows. "The difference between Smith.ai and the other answering service I used is night and day," Rose explains. She further praised AI Receptionist’s superior level of adaptability for various call handling scenarios, and its understanding of medical terminology, stating, “Smith.ai has been just phenomenal at the triage and the amount of information AI Receptionist can gather. I'm also impressed with the terminology that it actually understands.”

In addition, the critical state of Rose’s clinic made Smith.ai's rapid deployment particularly valuable — she was up and running within just a couple of days. Rose recalls, “Our onboarding process was really simple. I contacted the sales representative and let them know the urgency behind our needs. I'm not a patient person whatsoever, but he had me going within a couple of days.”

Immediate impact & exceeded expectations

For The Pet Pad, accurate information capture was vital. Rose expressed having some early reservations about implementing AI in her practice, stating, “I was absolutely terrified of bringing on AI in case it missed information, or any number of things.” Her concerns were quickly eliminated. AI Receptionist's accurate information-gathering has proven reliable for Rose’s clinic. "Every time I called back a client, everything was fine," she reports. "AI Receptionist gathers the right information."

Since implementing AI Receptionist, The Pet Pad has achieved remarkable efficiency in lead capture and intake. Rose now has peace of mind knowing that when she’s getting a patient down for surgery, AI Receptionist will handle incoming calls, gather accurate details, and instantly send detailed call summaries to her email for easy review. The instant email summaries have transformed Rose's workflow. Instead of checking voicemails when she returns to her desk, she immediately receives detailed call summaries with priority levels clearly marked. "When I see the word urgent come across my email, I know that's the first person I need to call back," she explains. This system allows her to focus on patient care while knowing every call is professionally handled.

Rose’s clients now praise the clinic for its enhanced responsiveness, appreciating the natural, human-like interactions the AI provides — which Rose attributes to the voice customization feature that allows her to adjust the AI's speaking speed to match local speaking patterns and maintain the clinic's personal touch.

Smith.ai's per-call pricing model has also proven more effective for The Pet Pad than competitors' per-minute structures, particularly given the extended conversations that are typical with concerned pet owners. She also appreciates the cost-effective option over adding headcount to her clinic for call answering, and the financial impact has been substantial. Rose notes, “It’s saved us quite a bit of money, only having to spend what our subscription costs, versus having to hire another receptionist.”

Outstanding service for long-term success

Hand-in-hand with the clinic’s hardworking team, Smith.ai’s solution has enabled The Pet Pad to maintain its high standard of personalized care while scaling its responsiveness for continued growth — without expanding its workforce. With AI Receptionist professionally handling calls, Rose can focus on what she does best — providing quality veterinary care, while knowing that every caller interaction reflects The Pet Pad's commitment to exceptional service.

Rose's enthusiasm extends beyond her own practice: "I'm incredibly impressed. I think that AI Receptionist is customizable enough that there really isn't an industry that wouldn't benefit from this, especially those with high-volume calls."