Unleashed | A service like every other

The sound in the attic was a bit like an approaching tornado or an earthquake. It was, to be honest, rather scary. The loud rumbling seemed to be a precursor to something worse and, as my house is over a 100-years-old I was to say the least a bit worried.

I squeezed into the attic up a rather antiquated ladder and could see that I would have to squeeze through an inspection hatch where the rumblings were coming from. There were three tanks, one extremely old, rusting and grim and two others. One was leaking and the other seemed to be vibrating.

This was beyond my rather meagre, do it youself skills and Googling Plumber I came up with a well known London Plumbing firm who have amusing number plates on their vehicles. Their website was pretty transparent. Pricing was at its cheapest during the day, at a more expensive level in the evening and really rather expensive at the weekend when the charging out rates matched those of my junior solicitors.

The Plumber arrived the next day. Not to fix the problem "it was too large a problem for me to patch-up", but to give me the grim news as to how much it would cost. Including VAT it was goingto be just over £7,000. "a five day job & I will have to bring an apprentice to help me". Essentially he was going to fix a new boiler, put in seven radiators and pop in a few new copper pipes.

The job did take five days. The firm were very reliable and when the job was finished they tidied up after themselves. Most impressively when water started flooding through my ceiling the next day they came along within 20 minutes to resolder a faulty pipe. I was happy, they were happy and the story has a happy ending. So what do we as lawyers learn from all of this?

Firstly transparency on the website gets clients. This firm told you what they would be charging. They gave me a quote which (while expensive) they stuck to. There were no hidden extras. Clients hate it when you give them a bill which they are not expecting. Having paid the plumber £7,000, I would have been horrified if he had tried to charge me another £2,000, but sadly this is what lawyers do not infrequently.

Secondly, a good quality of service will make you recommend the plumber to your friends and most importantly you will return to them in the future, when, inevitably you have another plumbing problem.

Thirdly when the job is finished it really is not over. Clients need to be looked after at the end of a case just as much as at the beginning. Lawyers are notorious for devoting time to a case while it is ongoing and then ignoring the client when it is finished. These plumbers recognized that they had an ongoing duty of care and their speedy response was something to behold.

Fourthly, when giving an estimate at the beginning of a case it is a good idea to stick to it. It should be a realistic estimate of costs and it should allow you to make a profit. The plumber instructed by me was a bit expensive. A while back I had been quoted £5,000 by a jobbing builder. I was keen to have the job well done by a professional outfit and did not mind paying a bit extra. Our conveyancing department thrives on realistic fees based on solicitors of some standing doing the job and giving the client a quality service.

Neither plumbers nor lawyers are popular. We go to them in times of trouble. We use them because we have to and we have little choice. But we can make the process less painful. We can end up the client's friend. If a client enjoys the experience you may get their work for many years.

I liked my plumber. All he really lacked was a dog.