I have written before about the art of story telling with your marketing. It seems like a tough thing to do, creating a story for your firm that others want to pass along and talk about. In reality it’s the little interactions, relationships, and handling of delicate situations that create stories your legal clients tell to others.
As an example, I have a story to tell you. A group of my friends had an experience at a bar this weekend that is a perfect example of customer service gone wrong. The management screwed up on so many levels that it makes for a great story to tell….unfortunately not the kind of story this bar wants floating around.
The Scene
A group of my friends (Michigan Alum) went to a bar to watch the Michigan vs. Purdue game on Saturday. There were about 10 people in the group. One friend of mine, Dan, lives near this bar and has gone to watch football there the past 5 Saturdays in a row. He wound up recruiting a larger group and spreading the word that the specials and atmosphere were worth while. The bar had been running a special, half off all food and drinks, through the college football season to help bring in customers. The promotion worked and the bar was steadily filling with more patrons each week.
When my friends arrived, the waitress came to take everyone’s order. She let the group know the special, half off of all food and drink. Everyone ordered and all was well. Due to the special that was being offered, people were happy to purchase shots, food, and drinks, running up a good tab along the way.
The Tab Arrives
The game ends (mercifully for us Michigan folks) and the waitress brings the tab. $500, no discount. Dan calls over the waitress and asks why the special, half off all food and drink, was not included on the tab. The waitress grabs the manager to address the situation.
Where It All Starts To Go Wrong
The manager arrives and lets the group know that the special that had been going on the last five weeks in a row was no longer being offered this week. They had discontinued the special because it was “only a winter-time special” (which doesn’t make sense since winter isn’t here yet, but that’s what he said). My friends let him know that it was a bit confusing that the special suddenly had ended but also that the waitress had told them the special was still going on. It was because of this special that the group had ordered as much as they had. The manager’s response was “We are firing the waitress, this is her fault.” A bit perplexed, my friends asked how exactly this helped them with their problem.
A stand-off ensued where the manager refused to grant the special to the entire group of people. In turn, the group offered to either pay half of the tab or nothing at all since this was clearly an internal issue at the bar. It was at this point that others in the packed bar began taking an interest to the escalating situation. Another table close to the group had the same waitress and said they thought there was a special as well (which she mistakenly told them too). They threatened to walk out as well or pay half.
The Aftermath
Finally, after continually refusing to grant the patrons the discount, another manager came over. Smarter heads prevailed and the discount was given. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done.
My friend Dan who had recruited others to come to the bar, was ticked. He is telling everyone he knows the story and to stay away from this place. This is the same individual that was acting on behalf of the bar actively getting them more customers. I assure you the other 20-25 people directly involved are doing the same thing.
The bar stood to lose $250 that day. How much money are they actually losing now?
This is obviously an egregious example of poor customer service. However, in the legal world your reputation is everything. People tell stories about their experiences with you. Even small, seemingly trivial situations. It’s important to think about how you structure your interactions and the types of things you are doing to take care of your clients. It isn’t always about being right, but rather understanding the situation and striving for improvement. Taking a bad situation and making it a positive will be one of the strongest selling and branding tools that exists for your firm. It creates a story….a good story that will get told to other people. That builds relationships, referrals, and more business.
Photo by Squiggle
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Hi Jeff- you are right on point. Telling stories are key.
When attorneys create video to market themselves I always recommend telling a story about a client they helped. This includes describing the legal issue the client faced, what the general facts were, and how you, as the attorney were able to help solve their legal problem.
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“It isn’t always about being right, but rather understanding the situation and striving for improvement”. That is absolutely true. In life, you can be right, but not win (as all lawyers know quite well), and you can have the truth on your side but not get justice (as all lawyers also know quite well). The amazing thing is how otherwise intelligent people have not learned these truisms and how it happens every day, especially with businesses that depend on good word of mouth and referrals.
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