Satisfaction Guaranteed
During the course of the ASPCA $100K Challenge, we have been keeping an eye out for new and innovative programs that may help to increase lives saved not just at one organization, but in organizations throughout the country. This is the driver for the Challenge R&D grant process.
One of the programs we will be testing is one developed at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley (HSBV) called Satisfaction Guaranteed. The premise of this program is best expressed by this quote from HSBV: “As staff at the humane society we get to sample dogs and cats all the time…Over and over we have talked about the unfairness of the “adopt now” requirement, and it took the Challenge for us to decide to test the idea: If you adopt and it isn’t a good fit, then bring the pet back with no consequence and full money back because we want to guarantee your satisfaction!”
Satisfaction guaranteed – and delivered! – at this Humane Society of Boulder Valley adoption event
This program seemed to have great effect at HSBV, with a significant increase in adoptions. The program also, as they anticipated, slightly increased their returns. The staff saw those returns not as failures, but as ways to build relationships and assure the right match. Read this great quote from an HSBV adopter:
Sammy is doing great. He was immediately comfortable in our home and is starting to bond with our two older cats. He’s exactly the “baby animal” my daughter was looking for… She is doing a good job of caring for him. I know this is an aside but I want to make sure I comment on the first dog we adopted before bringing Sammy home – Spike. Please know that adopting Spike the dog was not a whim. We put in 2 months of deliberation and searching when we adopted what I thought was going to be a good fit for our family. It was clear immediately that he was not. What a fiasco one night can be! I was very thankful that your shelter now has a “return policy” that allows someone to bring an incorrect pet back to you without penalty. I think you will save a lot of animals and humans much frustration by invoking this policy. Thank you for doing so!
While most shelters have return policies, many involve fees for the return and, more importantly, the return is perceived and communicated as a failure. The philosophical shift of Satisfaction Guaranteed is that the goal is to make sure the adopter is happy and satisfied, even if that means it takes a few tries to make that happen.
Returns are not always a bad thing – the dogs and cats get to leave the shelter (much as they would if they went into foster) and we gain lots of knowledge of what that animal is like in the home.
Since HSBV was competing in the Challenge, the environment was far from a laboratory setting, with lots of new programs and processes simultaneously developed for the competition.
This is where we need you! We would like to test the program in a couple of shelters that are willing to implement this process and leave all other processes the same – giving us the ability to measure the effect of the program. Shelter “laboratories” for this project will receive a grant and will be guided through implementation by the ASPCA Shelter R&D department and the staff at HSBV. We will be conducting this research next year.
Interested? Please contact shelleyj@aspca.org with your information and we will set up a time to meet.
Tags: $100K Challenge, adoption, Humane Society of Boulder Valley, open adoptions, R&D, return policies, return rates, returns, Satisfaction Guaranteed
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Heather Mohan Says:
I love this idea!!! Something now that I am no longer working at a shelter I do not have the luxury of doing. I agree it is not a failure and would even take it further to say that it can be a great way to build a better profile for the animal. It is information gathering on how they behave in a new home for x number of days that you can pass along to the second adopter. Why are we so hung up failure? Why not see it as a sleep over and a chance for the shelter to gain information? It gives the animal enrichment and time out of kennel environment where we often see animals decline. It is an asset and what an incredible way to build open communication with adopters, build strong community connections, and a stellar reputation! Kudos to CO!
Tricia Says:
We have always allowed for a two week “trial period” on all our adoptions. I can’t imagine not having this policy. We don’t have a high return rate and it allows people to be sure they are happy with their decision and makes sure the pet gets back to us instead of bouncing around before it finds a home.
Shannon Cole Says:
This is one reason I LOVE working with the ASPCA! When I was searching for a new Kitty about 2 years ago I was scared to death that whatever cat/kitten I brought home might not work out. In fact I almost adopted a little tuxedo kitten named Frankie from a small local animal shelter. This place was so small the cat cages were in the room leading into the dog runs. And the door was open with all the dogs barking! They had 3 chairs to sit in to get to know the pets & the place was packed so there was no where to move! So this little kitten was so scared I couldn’t even tell what his personality was like! They said I could return him within a week & would receive a a credit good only at their shelter for the $100 adoption fee & the credit had to be used within 3 months! As much as I felt bad for the kitten I ran for the hills knowing I had a 12 pound 8 year old Alpha female calico at home!
A client of mine was on the board at the ASPCA Anti Cruelty society in Chicago, IL. He heard all the problems I was having trying to adopt from the locals shelters & rescues. He told me he was going to be down at the ASPCA for a meeting the following week & would keep an eye for me if they had any cats or kitten like what I was looking for since it was an hour drive into the city. I received the report back there were a few & to feel free to drop his name & put him down as a reference on my adoption application.
Sure enough I went down & there were a couple I was interested in. I saw this little black & white tuxedo who was 6 months old & just sitting pretty in the front to her cage. I was able to take her out & play with her & get to know her a bit in a calm relaxing environment. The adoption process was professional but yet not abrasive & intrusive. Kaize became a part of our family that same day & I swear I’m the luckies cat owner on earth! She was the PURRfect fit! I will definitely go to the ASPCA Anti Cruelty before going anywhere else for a pet in the future!
I feel shelters might have a higher adoption success rate with “trial periods”. I know a lot of my client who started out as fosters & ended up not able to give their fosters up & adopted them.