The Challenge
With the rising demand for specialty and emergency services, VRCCO saw a sharp jump in inbound calls — from appointment scheduling to follow-up questions and general inquiries. The communication gap was beginning to erode both customer experience and internal efficiency.
- Extended caller wait times during peak hours
- Missed calls and frustrated pet parents
- Front-desk staff overwhelmed by routine queries — pulling focus from in-hospital care
VRCCO needed a smart, scalable solution to enhance client engagement without adding headcount — one that could absorb routine queries and free the team to focus on what matters most: the animals in their care.
The Solution. Cricket, AI Assistant.
VRCCO partnered with Dataflix to deploy Cricket, an AI assistant built using IBM watsonx Assistant and hosted on IBM Cloud. Designed for natural, conversational interactions, Cricket simulates a live customer service experience — without the wait — and supports pet parents 24/7.
Self-Service Scheduling
Book, reschedule, or cancel appointments by specialty or veterinarian — without dialing the front desk.
Symptom Checker
Initial guidance based on the pet's symptoms, helping owners decide between routine, urgent and emergency paths.
EMR Integration
Integrated with EZYVet for real-time access to patient records, appointment data and visit history.
The Results
By embracing AI, VRCCO has modernized client communication — providing faster, more personalized service while allowing staff to focus on what matters most: exceptional animal care.
Cricket has been a game-changer for our hospital. It's not just about reducing call volume — it's about giving our team more time to focus on pets in need and offering a better experience for our clients. Partnering with Dataflix helped us take a leap forward in how we use technology to care.
