Working as a Legal Secretary will often mean dealing with clients and customers. As is the case with any service industry, it is imperative to show these clients the highest level of customer service skills at all times, especially considering how handsomely they may be paying for their legal advice and support. Here is some advice to ensure that your customer service skills are always at their best.
Respect
Whatever your position within a legal firm, you should display the highest level of respect for your customers. Remember that they are paying your wages and they have choices elsewhere if your firm is failing to deliver. An open and empathetic attitude should be combined with a willingness to help. You need to make every customer’s experience with your firm as pleasant and smooth as possible.
Often it is important for us to remember why our customers have approached us in the first place: to acquire legal advice and support dealing with issues in which they lack expertise. This means we need to be patient with our clients and explain things carefully if they fail to understand certain procedures or concepts of law.
Politeness
When you communicate with customers, you must be polite, friendly and professional at all times. This means in all interactions, from face-to-face dealings to phone conversations and emails. If you are dealing with people face to face, make sure to wear a pleasant smile and use a calm tone of voice – this can make a huge difference to the customers and help them have faith in the firm. Also, try to answer the telephone with a smile on your face. Believe it or not, this can be detected at the other end of the phone and will put the caller more at ease.
Extending Your Skills to Colleagues
In addition to perfecting your customer service skills, you should extend these skills to your colleagues in the workplace. In any work environment, you should treat every person you encounter with the same level of respect and politeness.
One of the hallmarks of the best leaders is how they deal with their subordinates. If they treat everyone with the same level of respect and professionalism, they are definitely born to lead. However, if they treat their subordinates as inferiors they are poor leaders and should not be entrusted with positions of authority.
We live in an era where our customers are more discerning and aware than ever. They won’t think twice about abandoning our firm for one that displays better levels of customer care. You do not want to be responsible for losing a client.
So ensure you deal with every customer and colleague with the level of professionalism, friendliness and respect that your firm expects of you.