The right kind of feedback
This week in a gap between seeing clients I went to buy a light bulb for my car. I had noticed I had not been very bright (if you see what I mean). It is the sort of thing you usually never get around to sort out. Buying a new one is complicated by having to know exactly what year your car was made; if not the month, and the precise model, and having bought the right thing it is virtually impossible to fit unless you have eyes on stalks and at least three multi-jointed arms.
The point of this story is on the way out I was given a slip of paper with a picture of a cheerful car-parts person explaining how I could win money by completing a feedback form. You had to go online to fill out the questions. I, in fact, had a good service and was pleased to rate them highly. The questions were designed to make you think you - the customer - are the store’s best friend and you would shortly be invited to tea by the staff.
I then went back to my office and compared this to my feedback form. Several years ago we dutifully adopted the standard design and questions. The term feedback itself is not particularly impressive. The questions asked are really a suggested list of reasons to hate solicitors. 'Were we slow, could you understand us, did we treat you unfairly, and you wouldn’t recommend us to your dog would you?' I exaggerate but by giving complaints information you are often pointing out shortcomings rather than reasons to be cheerful.
We send these out to all clients and get a small number returned. Fortunately most people are fairly positive. People usually hate us or love us. You rarely get people saying they liked parts of the case and not others.
My experience of going to the shop was the staff were friendly but not intrusive, they knew what to do and had been trained to make the customer feel important. It was not cheap but I felt it was worth it. Do we as solicitors do this? Are we trained in how to handle customers? Not really.
David Pickup is a partner in Aylesbury based Pickup & Scott
Comments
How do you know if you are giving a great service unless you ask
How do you know if you are giving a great service unless you ask?
Technical quality is one thing. Service quality is another.
There are plenty of technically competent lawyers. There are fewer that are service quality competent.
Take your own experience. Have you dealt with a professional recently? Did they do the following?
Understand the unique nature of your business?
Listen carefully to what you had to say?
Explain what they were going to do and why?
Help you understand the reasons behind what was going on rather than just telling you what was going on?
Keep you informed when you wanted to be?
Avoid jargon?
Make sure they were accessible when you wanted them to be?
Keep their promises?
Keep to deadlines?
Involve you in major points of the work?
Show an interest beyond the work at hand?
Be helpful beyond the task for which they were paid?
I've written more about this
http://www.greatlegalmarketing.co.uk/sitedata/Misc/Total-Quality-Service.pdf
I don't disagree with the
I don't disagree with the importance of feedback forms. My poinit is it can easily became negative - what do you dislike about solicitors rather than positive. The feedback experience I had from a national chain of car part suppliers was positive. It made realsie they train their staff and the customer is important to them.
Thank you for your comments.
Iam agree but you must know
Iam agree but you must know that graco duo glider is convenient for parents, too. You can keep your drinks cool in special deep cup holders.
Feedback
At the Coroners service in the area where I am Coroner we have had feedback forms for a number of different categories of personal we are in contact with, namely relatives, funeral directors, GPs, jurors etc. The forms give the ability to make good comments as well as negative ones and suggestions, many of whom we have taken up. I was dubious about it to begin with but now see the benefits .
We could use it for the courts and tribunal service!
Customer service - the old fashioned way.
I think it is alot more than whether or not you are given adequate training to deal with customers. I have worked for many customer facing organisations and most of the training courses run by external companies I have attended are not tailor made for that particular business. In the legal profession and many other companies and organisations, providing a good service should be more than parking the partner in the reception area one day a week with a name badge and a cheesy smile.
For many law firms, improving customer service is about changing attitudes completely and getting away from the attitude that solicitors are doing clients (or customers) a favour. The same attitude is often found in the motor repair industry (which is mentioned in the article) but I too have noticed some improvements there over the last two years. Is the motor industry pulling its socks up at last and the legal profession now one of the the last refuges for followers of the Basil Fawlty school of thought?
Yes - you have to retain your professionalism and remain slightly 'aloof' but at the same time show your human side. Alot of skills required cannot be taught but simply dropping the attitude will be a start. The constant theme I hear about the legal profession is that it has lost trust. Remember that word - it is very important. However, athough this may sound quite a serious problem to overcome, in my opinion this perception persists because many solicitors do not communicate with their clients or provide timely updates.
I remember the conveyancing on the sale of my house and the solicitor instructed . I recall I completely lost trust in him by the end of the process and thought the sale was going to be jeopardised by him. But when the sale completed, I could see that he knew his job extremely well and there was really nothing to worry about. Well, there would not have been, if he had picked up the phone and updated me at least once or twice during the 4 month process!!!
I do not believe external customer service courses are the answer. All I think is needed is law firms to get all their staff together and identify the areas for improvement and discuss how they can improve their service. Involve them regularly on how well the business is doing financially and budgets and set goals and desired targets etc. You would be amazed how many good ideas this will generate and make your staff feel valued. Half an hour a week before the shop opens (just like the old days) should do it.