How does SMS for Vetstoria chat work?

Welcome to Vetstoria chat, a convenient way to connect with pet owners on your website.

Vetstoria chat can help you:

• Manage team flexibility by allowing pet owners to chat with you, this is perfect for when your staff is working from home or during flexible hours.

• Reduce non-urgent call volume  while handling multiple queries.

• Increase your pet owner satisfaction and let pet owners access your front desk easily without being left on hold. 

How does it work for pet owners?

When pet owners log into your website they will be able to chat with your clinic by clicking on the floating button.

Once a pet owner clicks on the floating button, they will be displayed with two options

1. To book an appointment 

2. Chat with us

Establishing a conversation with the clinic

1. Once a pet owner selects the ‘Chat with Us’ option. The chat widget will display the available communication mediums for the pet owner to choose from: Web Chat, SMS, and WhatsApp.

2. To proceed via SMS, the pet owner must select the respective option, which will prompt a form requiring the pet owner's personal information. This includes providing the full name, selecting the relevant country flag from the drop-down menu to automatically add the country code, and entering the phone number.

3. After accepting the terms and conditions, the pet owner can click ‘Start Chat’. The pet owner will be displayed with a QR code and a “Open text messenger” button to initiate the conversation with the clinic. 

4. Once scanned or clicked, the default SMS app will open. The pet owner must initiate the conversation with your clinic by sending the first message. An email notification will then be triggered to your clinic email address.

Note: If the number provided is feasible for SMS communication (mobile number), the pet owner will be presented with an option to proceed with either Web chat, WhatsApp or SMS. 

If the clinic has not linked their Meta business account to Vetstoria Chat, the WhatsApp option will not be displayed. 

How does it look for clinics? 

Once the chats have been loaded, the left side will indicate your chats. You will be able to identify and respond to the pet owners by their name and phone number.

All unread chats will be marked by a blue dot on the chat tiles.

Indicators

The medium in which the messages are sent (Web, SMS and WhatsApp) will be distinguished by the icon displayed on the message threads on the left as well as the chat window on the right. Messages incoming via Web are presented with a Computer icon whereas SMS chats reflect a Phone icon.

You can also search for a specific pet owner using the search feature available on top of the chat tiles.

update below

Incoming Chat Alert

When a pet owner enters their information into the form, an initial chat window will appear in the chat console, indicating that a conversation may begin soon. This alert is distinct from the email notification, appearing before the pet owner sends a message, thereby initiating the conversation formally.

After the pet owner sends a message, an automated response will acknowledge their inquiry, confirming that the clinic has received the message and will respond promptly.

Email notification

An email notification will also be triggered when a pet owner initiates chat.

If you have any questions or if you need further help, please login to Vetstoria to chat with our team or use the Contact Support form linked at the top of this page.