The restaurant business is an especially challenging business model. There is so much money at stake, and so many things that can go wrong, it’s no wonder that so many restaurants fail. And yet, when you get it right, a restaurant can be remarkably profitable.
Customers come back again and again, word-of-mouth brings more business, and before you know it, you’re hobnobbing with the culinary elite. Or something like that.
In a way, a law practice is like a restaurant. You’re in the service business. You have to get a lot of little details right. Your menu is similar if not identical to the menu offered by the lawyer next door. If you want your customers to come back, you have to please them. If there’s a problem, you have to fix it.
When a restaurant insists on being right, they often win the battle and lose the war. Charging an extra $1.50 for a slice of cheese on a burger, or being overly aggressive in pushing customers to order appetizers or dessert, may earn a higher profit on that customer’s visit but it may also be decidedly shortsighted.
When a customer comes into your establishment, as the owner of that restaurant your primary goal shouldn’t be to earn as much as possible from each transaction. Your primary goal is to make the customer want to return.
Running a law practice is no different.
Even if you predominately have one-time clients who never need your services again, you should bend over backwards to please them because each one-time client can send you referrals. And they will, if you treat them right.
Opening a law office requires only a fraction of the capital investment required by a restaurant. Your investment comes later. Each time you give your clients more value, you are investing in their return and referrals.
I hear tales of lawyers arguing with their clients over a $100 billing issue. That’s silly. Let them win, even if they are wrong, even if they are taking advantage of you. In most cases, your investment will pay off.
No, don’t be a sucker. If a client fights you over everything and is making you and your staff miserable, you have to draw the line.
Tell them to try the restaurant down the street.
How to handle billing issues like a pro
