Our air conditioning is having some challenges. My wife called a few service companies. It’s been hot lately so they were all busy.
As she told me the story, I couldn’t help thinking about the parallel to calling lawyers. Clients, like air conditioning customers, often choose a lawyer based primarily on how they are treated on the phone.
So, which of these companies do you think we hired?
COMPANY #1:
- Abrupt, unfriendly, not compassionate
- Can’t come out for a week.
- Laughed and said,”good luck” when my wife said she’d have to call around
COMPANY #2
- Pleasant
- Can’t come today
- “We should be able to come tomorrow; call in the morning and we’ll give you a time”
COMPANY #3
- Can come today; gave us a 3 hour window and will call 30 minutes before to make sure we’re home (in case we need to run an errand)
- Friendly, patient, re-assuring, confident
- Gave us a price range: “Most repairs run between $x and $y
- Described the technician’s licenses and (extensive) experience
- Gave her name; “call me personally if you have any questions”
- Asked, “Where did you find us?”
- Mostly “5-star” reviews on Yelp
So, which company do you think we hired? And which one do you think we’ll recommend?
Plaintiff rests.
