1. 24 LSJ I SEPTEMBER 2015
HOT TOPIC OPINION
W
hen it comes to
computers, phones
and music, Apple is a
phenomenon. It has
become the world’s biggest company
by disrupting and transforming entire
industries and the world’s banks now
are on the back foot worrying about the
Apple Pay application.
Apple’s killer success secret is, simply,
that before starting development on
any product or service, it asks one
key question: “How do we want the
customer to feel?” What has this to do
with client experience satisfaction in
law? Just about everything.
I recently had cause to deliver some
feedback to a legal provider I considered
to be “my firm” as I’d used its services
on a private client and commercial basis
for almost seven years. As I preferred
not to speak directly to the solicitor I
had worked with, my approach was to
call the firm to find who would best
answer my questions. I was surprised
to hear the firm’s receptionist sound
confused by my request, and, trying
to be helpful, she said: “We don’t have
anyone here who deals with feedback,
but we do have a partner who deals
with complaints”.
Given my feedback was well-
intentioned and could not be described
as a complaint, I was taken aback by
her response. Nonetheless, I decided to
take the partner’s details as he wasn’t
available at the time.
The complaints partner did not make
himself available to me in the next
week. This prompted a polite email to
the firm’s managing partner. A few days
later I received, in error, communication
meant for the complaints partner.
Unfortunately for the firm, the email
contained a question from the managing
partner to his colleague which read:
“Should we take this client seriously?”
See the world as your clients do
For many purchasers of legal advice,
your service is one item on a shopping
list that may include securing the
best value home insurance, dealing
with a bank or an accountant, buying
groceries and grabbing a coffee. Does
speedy and innovative service from my
bank affect the expectations I have of
my law firm? Yes. Do I compare the
instantaneous download of a music
track from Spotify with the slow email
response by my solicitor to a legal
question? Yes. What about the friendly
and efficient delivery of my morning
espresso in comparison with the call I
make regarding an update to my will,
coffee in hand? You may suppose there
is a big difference between a barista
and a barrister, and, of course, there
is. However, insomuch as there are as
many coffee shops as law firms, my
choice of coffee provider is based on
how their service is brought to life, not
necessarily the quality of the grind.
The client-focused firm in practice
Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain exclaimed, “I
don’t care how you feel, as long as it’s
about me”, or you may prefer Dennis
Denuto’s summation from the film The
Castle: “It’s the vibe of the law … I rest
my case”. The world’s most valuable
companies are placing an increasing
value on understanding customer
sentiment and client expectations.
In a recent report, Best Global
Brands goes as far as to say we’re now
living in a new service era, which is
described as “The Age of You”. So we
might reasonably ask what the impact
of this new horizon is on law, and, in a
new age of “big data”, question whether
all the “little things” that define service
excellence are still at the heart of the
matter. We know successful brands are
those actively engaged in customer and
client insight.
CXINLAW has just completed a mystery shopping investigation
of 55 Australian law firms. CARL WHITE explains why lawyers
need to rethink how they make their clients feel.
Client
experience:
The new frontier
for law firms
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