Friday, March 31, 2006
Client Care 101
A few days ago, whilst working late in the office on a file, I called the client on his mobile phone to ask a question about the case. I already knew the answer but I wanted him to know that I was working late on his case, so I called him. I also wanted him to know I was working from the office even at that hour, so I called his mobile (where caller ID would reveal a city number calling). This is a ploy I use every now and then in client relations and it works.
Most lawyers think that what makes clients happiest is good professional legal service. Strange as it may seem, that's only number 2 on the client's list of priorities. The truth is that the most important thing to clients is being assured that their lawyers care about their case and are working hard on their case.
Every client thinks his case is the most important one on their lawyer's plate. Of course, to the client, it IS the most important one because that's the client's only case (most of the time). The clients knows we work on many cases simultaneously but every client wants to know we work the hardest on his case. Best way to demonstrate that? Call him when you're working late on his file. It only takes a minute but it gets you a lot of leeway when you subsequently tell him you haven't read the documents he sent to you a week ago because you were at The Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas all week with a martini permanently in your hands when they weren't gripping a golf club, poker cards or Opus X cigar.
And while I'm at it, here are a few other simple things you can do to show your clients that you care and you're working hard (although you've spent the last fortnight in Las Vegas gaming, drinking, golfing, smoking and racking up bills close to the GDP of small nations):
1. Fire Drill Calls - When the fire alarm goes off in the building, all the secretaries jump up with glee, traipse out of the office and take a 20 minute break from their mundane work. I stay in the office and call every client I have one after another for as long as the fire alarm is going on. With each client, I have a simple conversation until they ask, "What's that noise in the background?"
And I reply, "Oh, nothing, it's just a fire alarm, but don't worry I'm still working. Now, we were talking about ...".
2. Congratulatory Calls - Every morning, I scan the newspaper for any good press about my clients. As soon as I spot something, I call to congratulate them. If it's big enough, I send flowers. I don't even have to read the articles about them in full. I just say "Hey, saw you in the papers today. Congratulations! Good press!" Works great as long as they don't reply "I'm sorry, you must be looking for my husband. He can't come to the phone right now. You might have noticed he was in the obituary section of the papers."
3. Positive Statements - In reply to client's queries, always say things like "We're looking into it right now" or "We're actively looking into it right now." The former means we've lost the file and the latter means we're trying to find it. In fact, my secretary has been instructed that as soon as she receives a fax from the opposing party, she is to forward it to clients with a cover letter saying that I am actively looking into the matter right now. The only time this didn't work was when the opposing counsel sent me a fax saying "We are actively looking into your letter of yesterday right now" and my secretary forwarded that to clients with my standard cover letter.
4. Definite Statements - Clients want to hear a "Yes, you can do this" or a "No, they can't do that". They get worried and confused when their lawyers say "On the one hand ... but on the other hand ...". If you don't actually know whether they can do what they want to do, just say "That is a definite, definite maybe. We're going to actively look into it right now. I'll call you back when the fire alarm next goes off." Doesn't matter that I'm actually in Macau on the 6th green of a world-class course making a par putt to double or wipe out all my Blackjack winnings from the previous night whilst the caddie patiently holds my martini and cigar.
Additional tips from readers are welcome!
A few days ago, whilst working late in the office on a file, I called the client on his mobile phone to ask a question about the case. I already knew the answer but I wanted him to know that I was working late on his case, so I called him. I also wanted him to know I was working from the office even at that hour, so I called his mobile (where caller ID would reveal a city number calling). This is a ploy I use every now and then in client relations and it works.
Most lawyers think that what makes clients happiest is good professional legal service. Strange as it may seem, that's only number 2 on the client's list of priorities. The truth is that the most important thing to clients is being assured that their lawyers care about their case and are working hard on their case.
Every client thinks his case is the most important one on their lawyer's plate. Of course, to the client, it IS the most important one because that's the client's only case (most of the time). The clients knows we work on many cases simultaneously but every client wants to know we work the hardest on his case. Best way to demonstrate that? Call him when you're working late on his file. It only takes a minute but it gets you a lot of leeway when you subsequently tell him you haven't read the documents he sent to you a week ago because you were at The Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas all week with a martini permanently in your hands when they weren't gripping a golf club, poker cards or Opus X cigar.
And while I'm at it, here are a few other simple things you can do to show your clients that you care and you're working hard (although you've spent the last fortnight in Las Vegas gaming, drinking, golfing, smoking and racking up bills close to the GDP of small nations):
1. Fire Drill Calls - When the fire alarm goes off in the building, all the secretaries jump up with glee, traipse out of the office and take a 20 minute break from their mundane work. I stay in the office and call every client I have one after another for as long as the fire alarm is going on. With each client, I have a simple conversation until they ask, "What's that noise in the background?"
And I reply, "Oh, nothing, it's just a fire alarm, but don't worry I'm still working. Now, we were talking about ...".
2. Congratulatory Calls - Every morning, I scan the newspaper for any good press about my clients. As soon as I spot something, I call to congratulate them. If it's big enough, I send flowers. I don't even have to read the articles about them in full. I just say "Hey, saw you in the papers today. Congratulations! Good press!" Works great as long as they don't reply "I'm sorry, you must be looking for my husband. He can't come to the phone right now. You might have noticed he was in the obituary section of the papers."
3. Positive Statements - In reply to client's queries, always say things like "We're looking into it right now" or "We're actively looking into it right now." The former means we've lost the file and the latter means we're trying to find it. In fact, my secretary has been instructed that as soon as she receives a fax from the opposing party, she is to forward it to clients with a cover letter saying that I am actively looking into the matter right now. The only time this didn't work was when the opposing counsel sent me a fax saying "We are actively looking into your letter of yesterday right now" and my secretary forwarded that to clients with my standard cover letter.
4. Definite Statements - Clients want to hear a "Yes, you can do this" or a "No, they can't do that". They get worried and confused when their lawyers say "On the one hand ... but on the other hand ...". If you don't actually know whether they can do what they want to do, just say "That is a definite, definite maybe. We're going to actively look into it right now. I'll call you back when the fire alarm next goes off." Doesn't matter that I'm actually in Macau on the 6th green of a world-class course making a par putt to double or wipe out all my Blackjack winnings from the previous night whilst the caddie patiently holds my martini and cigar.
Additional tips from readers are welcome!
# posted by Fore! @ 3:59 PM 
Comments:
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I sort of like E@L's "Up to a point!" response and you can definitely definitely use that for your definite answers bit.
Like, "You's correct! Up to a point." or "You will win! Up to a point." or "The other side is wrong! Up to a point."
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Like, "You's correct! Up to a point." or "You will win! Up to a point." or "The other side is wrong! Up to a point."
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