Destroyed luggage and the Land of the Lost Pre-Trials

Running a client first company, I’m always on the lookout to see how other companies measure up and if they are Client First.   So, what could destroyed luggage and lost pre-trial summons possibly have in common, well let me tell you…

When I started 360 Legal, I had over 20 years of experience in service-oriented industries.  Which means – at least to me anyway, that we exist for and because of, our clients!  Recently, I went on a trip out west for a few days to recharge the batteries and relax.  I booked a round trip with United Airlines, checked two bags.  After my return flight, I went to pick up my two bags at baggage claim.  The first bag made the trip back unscathed.  The second bag was destroyed.  While I did not see the actual destruction, it appears to have been damaged by dragging the bag for some distance across the tarmac in Denver before it was loaded on the plane for the trip back to Tampa.  The bag was destroyed, the contents were damaged as well.

So, after I recovered from the disappointment of my property being destroyed, I thought this would be a great test to see if United Airlines is Client First.  After all, I was “Flying the Friendly Skies”, right?  In about 5 minutes, I was very disappointed.  Which is unfortunate, because there are so many opportunities for company like United Airlines to excel as a Client First company and earn my business on the next flight.  It is obvious, they have the personnel, service, and technology infrastructure to provide a good, positive Client First experience and separate themselves from their competitors. First, my bag is tracked via the bag tag barcode and connected to my UnitedApp.  United could have used this to immediately notify me of the damage to my bag and create a damage ticket or even to just communicate to me that my bag had been damaged, then inform me of the procedure for initiating a claim.  At the very minimum, just notifying me and telling me we are “sorry” that your bag has been damaged.  None of that happened.  It’s too bad.  They missed the opportunity to be Client First.

Companies large and small struggle to compete in the marketplace.  It seems that the default is to always compete on price.  The Airlines are notorious for offering cut rate fairs with little or no service.  But as a traveler, is that really what you want, a low fair with 22.5 inches of legroom and one carryon?  Their philosophy seems to be, offer the customer a lower price and they will choose you over their competitors.  But as a client or customer, what do you lose when you select a vendor solely based on the lowest price? I would argue a great deal.  Vendors that compete on price consistently are stressed and often cannot afford to take a Client First approach.  They just don’t have the operating capital or honestly the Client First mindset.  Why? Because they are only concerned with the price of their service, not the client experience or the customer service, just offering you the lowest price.  They never invest in Client First, it’s all about the price.  Service isn’t a factor, they offered, and you accepted the lowest price.  You want great Client First service with that low price, sorry.

Clients deserve more!  In the legal service industry, I see this every day.  I hear it from our prospects, I see it from our competitors.  It’s amazing honestly.  Everyone jumps to offer a discount without even thinking how that impacts the quality of what is being offered.  As recently as a month ago, I was speaking with a prospect and they expressed their frustration with one of my competitors, for our purposes we will call them, ProSuit Process Servers.  Evidently, ProSuit had filed a substantial number of pre-trial summons, but never bothered to go pick them up from the clerk.  The clerk ended up calling the client to let them know that their summons were setting in the Clerk’s office waiting for ProSuit to pick them up.  Can you imagine, the one thing that a Legal Services company does is process your legal documents, ensure the chain of custody, and get them served in a timely fashion.  ProSuit failed before they ever got started.  When the client enquired with ProSuit, they didn’t kick into gear and go get them, everything just stalled, and the excuses started flowing.  Honestly, this is like Starbucks running out of coffee, but that is a story for another time.

Obviously, I cannot control how United Airlines handles your luggage heck, I can’t even control how they respond to my damage claim – oh, wait, they haven’t… or how my competitors issue and serve your legal documents.  But I can promise you 360 Legal will always operate in a Client First fashion.  We will always interact with our clients in accordance with the 360 Legal Client Code.

If either of these situations sound familiar, drop me an email, give us a call at (888) 360-5345. 360 Legal, will make the insanity stop.  You don’t have to settle for Client Eventually ProSuit customer service, there are other options in the marketplace.  We will show you the difference working with a Client First vendor can make for your firm.

You, your firm, your clients, and your staff deserve better! Call Us (888) 360-5345.