We became the proud parents of a new puppy a few weeks ago when we became responsible and bought Pemba, our black Labrador puppy.

He is a great big ball of energy that only knows fun and has quickly become part of the family — with all the emotional attachment that goes with it.

Apart from teaching me a few things about communications skills the search and purchase of Pemba has been an introduction to some superb business practices – most noticeable by my vet.

See if you can spot their skill from our tale of acquiring a suitable pet doctor!

We were looking for a vet and asked around the local community and some family and friends. One name kept popping up and as my wife had used them for her cats when she was growing up we decided to give them a try.

They were about 20 minutes drive away so before we went I drove past our local vet to see what they might be like.

I never found out.

The outside was tatty and dirty and just left me thinking that if they were prepared to let their business premises get like this then what care would they give my young puppy. Who by thgis stage we were a little attached to!

We arrived at the recommended vets a little apprehensive as this was Pemba’s first time out of the house and we were still training him to be responsive to us. We walked into a beautifully clean building with immaculately dressed sales/customer service staff (I deliberately didn’t use the term receptionists as I firmly believe everyone in a company is in sales).

We were shown into the vet’s office where we were greeted by a kind, cheerily faced male vet who warmly introduced himself to us. He told us all about his own black Labradors and how he adores them.

The vet then did a thorough health check, produced a detailed report on his first few months and gave us some free food, free wormer and invited us to call in (without an appointment) at least 1 per month to get Pemba used to the place. On these visits, the nurse would weigh him and make a fuss of him and get him comfortable in the unusual surroundings. We were also invited to a puppy party where he could socialize with other puppies.

The charge for all of this — Zero, free, nothing!! Up to this point the vet had made no sales out of us and there was no hard sell.

We took Pemba to his first puppy party and he came back with a goody bag including treats and a soft toy – all free.

My wife and I are quite attached to Pemba and our buying decisions where he is concerned have a large amount of emotion attached. He is now part of the family’.

Who do you think will be his vet for the rest of his life?

Of course. Our nice vet who looked after us.

Look out for part 2 where I will demonstrate the fantastic business practices behind this canny vets operations.

Remember – come back for part 2.