Associate Insight: You don't get a second chance to make a first impression

In an age of technology and automation, law firms are increasingly looking to engage with clients and potential clients in a more personal manner, emulating the five-star experience of the finest luxury hotels, to enhance the customer service experience and set themselves apart from their competitors.

Entering the lobby of many top-100 firms, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were in a swanky west-end hotel. Enormous floral displays compete with works of art by Turner Prize-winning artists to intoxicate the visitor while they sit in plush be-cushioned sofas or Bauhaus-style chairs with a plethora of glossy magazines and newspapers from around the globe to entertain or enlighten them.

To achieve this superior standard of service across non-core aspects of client service, there is a trend to outsource functions such as front of house and telephony services to specialist providers whose workforces are drawn from the hospitality industry and who have five-star customer service refined to a 'T'.

You don't get a second chance to make a first impression, as the saying goes. Often, after the website, the humble telephone is the first contact a client has with a firm. And that contact can make or break the relationship.

A firm's switchboard operators, says Andrew Try, managing director of switchboard support service ComXo, are the "guardians of the first
impression of your business" and your "brand guardians".

There can, he says, be a disconnect between the five-star walk-in experience and the less impressive call-in experience. "Phone services can sometimes be pretty mediocre, especially out of hours, with some organisations leaving it to the security guard to answer calls in the evening," he bemoans.

In an environment where international clients demand 24/7 access to firms 365 days a year, this approach no longer cuts the mustard.

The switchboard, says Try, is the first entry into an organisation and clients are, from the first instance, gauging their level of trust and confidence. Callers, he insists, do not want to speak to robots or human answering machines, but want a personal service that reflects the culture of the business they are dealing with.

Clients of top law firms are used to the highest levels of service when travelling, dining out or sojourning at top hotels. They want and expect a personal service, where they are recognised, greeted appropriately and where their needs are met. This should be the experience when calling their law firm.

But, says Try: "The expectation of the experience is very low, so when you do it right, it adds value". And it can save money. ComXo estimates that employing an individual within the firm to do the job costs five times more than its own outsourced specialist service.

"Our mission is to bring the five-star service experience to the switchboard function," he says, to help callers simply and successfully enter and navigate their way into the organisation whatever time of night or day.

Law firms, he says, have become complex organisations, with people working in different offices and jurisdictions, working remotely or hot-desking.

"We enable the caller to get to the right person every time," he says and equates it to the 'Waitrose experience'. "If you ask any member of staff in Waitrose where something is, they take you to it."

The latest technology enables specialised switchboard providers to identify previous callers and make them feel more valued, adding the special touch and little extra that makes the service special.

When calling a law firm, if the required person is not there, the operator, says Try should be "empowered to take control" and ensure a message is delivered or the appropriate action taken. The operator, says Try, should make the caller feel confident to leave the matter with them, secure in the knowledge that they will do something about it and escalate the action appropriately.

But, says Try, switchboard operators are not just human answer phones, they perform other tasks to help free-up lawyers' time and enable them to focus on their job of lawyering. Whether it be booking conference calls, taxis and meeting rooms, accessing facilities and IT, or booking travel arrangements and restaurant reservations, the switchboard operator will do it.

Based in Windsor, Berkshire, ComXo has been providing telephony services for 25 years. From three people, the business has grown to more than 80 and works with 40 of the top-100 law firms, says Try.

Taking its lead from the hospitality industry, the company puts a strong emphasis on recruitment and training. "We hire for attitude first," says Try, noting that they train people to practice the concept of five-star service. To reinforce the point, all off-site training is done in five-star hotels. "We want all our staff to understand what five star service means - it's about personal customer service and anticipation," he adds.

They are trained in the company's values, says Try - "the four Ps - politeness, professionalism, proficiency and personality".

All staff come from the Windsor area and, he says, speak in "accent neutral, educated voices" and are trained in "nuance, vocabulary, tone and smile".

Callers, says Try, need to have confidence in the voice they hear. "They need to feel the warmth, smile and integrity".

As with everything, he suggests, it's the last 1% that makes a difference between an acceptable and a five-star service.

When clients get to the stage where they enter a firm's building, it is companies like Rapport that take over. Set up three years ago, Rapport provides front and back of house services, including reception and client meeting rooms.

"Gone are the days when receptionists just sign people in and give them a badge," explains its managing director, Greg Mace. "It is about creating an environment that enhances the experience of service" and makes each individual who enters the firm feel special at each point of their journey.

Rapport's strapline is "welcome, engage, impress" and Mace takes the concept of excellent hotel-standard service to the next level, even referring to a law firm's clients as 'guests'.

The company, explains Mace, aims to provide a "personal, intuitive, seamless, first impression" of the firm to its clients. It takes the best from the hotel industry and applies it to the corporate world.

"If you stay in a hotel and request a firmer pillow, the next time you stay there you will automatically be given a firmer pillow - that's what we're doing," he says.

An ex-hotelier who has worked at top-notch venues The Connaught and The Dorchester, Mace eschews the notion of five-star service. "What does that mean in a world where you have six star and now even a seven star hotel in Dubai?"

Rather, he says, it is about 'differentiation' - using non-core services to differentiate themselves in their marketplace.

"We look at all the touchpoints from when guests first enter the firm. It starts with the security guard at the entrance, the reception and check in, meeting room facilities, lounge area and amenities," he says.

"It's about remembering how they like their coffee or that they like Diet Coke and telling them the wifi code before they have to ask for it and thinking 'what can we do to delight our guests?'"

This, says Mace, "is not five-star service, but intuitive and personal service - the next level up".

His staff, whom he calls 'ambassadors', endeavour to 'wow the guest' and anticipate their every need. They are perceived to work directly for the law firms, and are their ambassadors, explains Mace. Attention to detail in the smallest things, he suggests, engenders confidence that the same level of attention is given to the bigger areas dealt with by the rest of the business.

Again, training is crucial. All of Rapport's ambassadors come from the five-star hotel or premium airline industry. "They have the quality that says 'I want to look after and delight you', and who will go the extra mile for guests coming through the door," which can make all the difference.

Lessons from the hospitality industry:

1. Anticipate the needs of your client before they realise them.

2. Training, training, training.

3. Dissect and understand exceptional customer service. It requires a lot of thought to do it well - document it, train it and test it.

4. For all the technology used, it is the people who make a service. Invest in your staff and make them feel valued.

5. Ensure staff are engaged with the culture of the business.

6. Attention to detail - it is the smallest things that make the biggest difference.

7. Do not stand still - have an innovative spirit that seeks to improve, adapt and anticipate change.

 

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National Telephonists’ Day – 10 March 2015

In 2014, ComXo and Rapport launched National Telephonists’ Day to recognise the importance of professional telephone operators who deliver exceptional customer service.

The day will be celebrated on 10 March 2015 across many law firms to which ComXo and Rapport provide their services.

Take part and recognise your staff at: www.nationaltelephonistsday.com.

For more information, call 01753 710 430 or email ntd@comxo.com.