Dan Pinnington advises lawyers to avoid doing things that annoy clients the most and recommends things like:
Establishing a policy for returning client calls within a specified period of time
- Ensuring clients don't spend a long time waiting in your waiting room
- Realistically assessing deadlines
- Documenting advice to clients about outcome
- Meeting with clients in person to explain changes in the bill
- Acknowledging mistakes
You can read all of Dan's excellent advice here.
From the ABA Journal, Patrick Lamb provides his 13 New Year's Resolutions for Client Service. They include:
- Spending more time looking at client relationships from the client's perspective
- Asking clients to define unacceptable, acceptable and outstanding outcomes before billing on a matter
- Embracing the idea of focusing on the service provided to clients
- Spending more time talking with clients on the phone and in person, and communicating less via email
Here are a few quick tips of my own to improve your client service in 2013
- Make bills easy to understand - write in full sentences, and use words clients understand
- Make it easy for clients to pay - accept credit cards, offer online payment options, sned clients a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your bills
- Explore clients' expectations, not just for the outcome, but for service as well; find out how, when, where and how often they prefer to communicate
- Discuss budget and fees with the client at the intial consultation and throughout the engagement
- Anticipate clients' concerns, and address their anxiety not only about outcome, but about the legal process as well
- Ask clients for regular feedback
What are your best client service tips for 2013?
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