Client care or customer service?
The very term client care is somewhat strange– does it imply “you’re a client and we absolutely care about you”? — that might appear quite cheesy. It’s not a phrase applied by many if any, other types of companies besides lawyers and doesn’t seem to warrant a Wikipedia entry or dictionary interpretation.
A common situation is that a solicitor may first mention client care the moment the potential client indicates they like directing– “we’ll send you our client care letter today” is typically free throw line rehearsed. I imagine that most clients don’t really know what that indicates and think its terms and conditions.
Client care is not associated with client service, even though it incorporates service. Most client care letters discuss how the lawyer will bill, what the client must do and refer (as is mandatory) to a complaint’s procedure. Beyond that very little more.
So, what does client care imply and why is it essential?
The idea of client care for lawyers really stems from the Solicitors Conduct Rules, which control how solicitors must run. The guidelines are in depth as well as consist of amongst other materials, dealing with conflicts of interest, placing the client first and many other crucial guidelines which provide protection and assurance to the client. That regulation, in turn, connects overall guideline of solicitors which incorporates important elements including mandatory as well as very expensive professional compensation coverage.
So, actually client care is extra similar to client assurance than client service– assurance equates along with trust as well as trust is among the fundamental factors clients concern lawyers, to have assurance that a legal requirement or issue is being dealt with by experts who know what they are doing and who are managed so the client is protected.
Client service
Client service is obviously linked with the overall experience of making use of any service, but it is a various concept to client guarantee. Numerous lawyers are now alert to that understanding of clients about standards of, regularity and efficiency in interaction are frequently as essential as the quality of legal advice. To me, client services criteria are also about treating clients as equals and explaining everything in plain English. To the extent that the real meaning of client care appears to be a mysterious and dark horse to many clients.
