Tag Archives: Customer Service

The Hazards of Voice Mail–Don’t let the “Easy Way Out” Turn off Current or Potential Customers

Customer Service, Marketing / Communication,

Voice Mail is not new, and with the advent of increasing email and website usage, phone traffic is on the decline. The telephone still remains, however, a viable means for our customers to connect with us, and , now, when customers call, they have something important to state, or an important question to ask.

If you, or a reliable person in your office, is not available to respond, the customer may become frustrated, or worse yet, angry and disappointed. I have found in the three offices which I operate as a Massachusetts title attorney that putting the customer through an endless series of prompts and instructions will,  in the long run, lose business for me and my firm.

Think of it this way. You are the professional. You know your business better than the customer. The customer is often looking for reassurance or the answer to a simple question. When the customer hears your voice, the customer almost always calms down. The customer has asked for service, and you are providing service.

What if the customer is calling to ask you a question that you don’t know the answer to, although you have been researching the matter?  What if the customer is asking to see his or her HUD-1 Settlement Statement although you have not received “final numbers” from the Lender? My experience has told me that there is no harm in telling the customer that you do not have the answer or the HUD-1, but you are “working on it”. Isn’t that better than having the customer call 4 or 5 times and then decide that you really don’t care enough to even speak with him or her?

I try to stress upon every person in my firm the necessity of actually speaking with the customer, not putting the customer off. There is nothing any of us does that is so unique that another person cannot replace us. Letting the customer know how important we think he or she is, by trying as hard as we can to speak with them when they call, can make the difference between our success, or failure, as real estate professionals.

–Demonstrate your commitment to your customers–An “E” for effort matters!!!!

Customer Service, Marketing / Communication, ,

A while back, when I was just starting my practice, I read an article about a survey done in Missouri (not my home state) concerning impressions that clients had of attorneys whom they had previously retained. The point of the article was that most respondents said that their attorneys were competent; they knew the law. What made most people decide whether an attorney was good or bad, at least for them, was the clients perception of the amount of effort that their attorney was devoting to their matter. Did the attorney specifically ask his secretary to “hold all calls” during our first meeting? Did the attorney make a phone call or phone calls while the client was in the office after a first meeting to demonstrate that this is an important enough matter for him or her to get started on, right away? Did the attorney send copies of ALL correspondence to the client, so the client was kept informed on progress on his or her matter?

We now have tools which speed up communication. it is easier to keep clients informed with emails and cell phones. But, have these means of communication really assisted us in communicating? The answer to that question depends on the professional. We can do a better job of communicating now, and show the effort that sets us above the ordinary, if we are not lazy or hesitant. People use our services because we are experts. The way we show this is by representing them imaginatively and consistently. It doesn’t help if we have a cell phone if we don’t return calls. What good are unresponded emails?

After more than 40 years of practicing law, I am just beginning to get it. Your clients and customers want to feel important. They want to feel cared for. You have the tools; you need to apply them and let your clients understand just how very talented you are and why they are so lucky to have you on their side.