I reckon, service complaints are possibly the worst part of any solicitor’s job.

There is nothing worse than an unhappy client, right? After all most solicitors enter the profession wanting to help people, to use their knowledge and skill to assist their clients. But sometimes unfortunately, no matter what you do, with all the best intentions in the world, it just doesn’t seem to happen – there’s always one client that is just never satisfied…

Sometimes it can seem like no matter how hard you try, nothing seems to go right, there is just no appeasing the situation. The gods seem to be conspiring against you and there is nothing you can do right.

It can appear that no matter what you do, everything you say seems to have the adverse reaction, even just answering the phone and saying ‘hello’ seems to annoy them. When you try to help, you just feel like you’re digging yourself further into a hole…

Ring any bells? If we are truly honest with ourselves, most solicitors at least 2 years PQE, will have experienced at least one situation where they have encountered a disgruntled client. We are only human after all!

The issue is more often about how we handle a complaint. As solicitors we feel that we should know the answer but sometimes we don’t…

Often when we receive a complaint the natural response is to send an email because:

• By putting it in writing that means that you have a worded account of what was said, right?

• Writing it down means that you have the opportunity to amend whatever it is that you’re going to say before you send it, to make sure that it is accurate and correct.

• You will be able to think about what you’re going to say and take your time to draft a response.

But what really is happening, is we’re opting for what we perceive to be the easier option – we don’t want that uncomfortable conversation. After all no one likes confrontation. And then there is the fear of admitting we’ve done something wrong, we might trip ourselves up, if we speak to the client.

I get it – it’s not pleasant. But how many times does sending an email resolve the issue?

Is it not the case that more often than not, you end up receiving an email back, that is slightly more aggressive, slightly more hostile and the tone… perhaps a little more terse? And as a result you feel compelled to respond again by email because of all the same reasons before. And the cycle likely repeats to an unsatisfactory conclusion.

Instead pick up the phone, speak with the client. Listen to what the issue is, don’t assume that you know what the problem is. Let them vent – get whatever the problem is off their chest. Ask what it is that you can do to put whatever the problem is right.

It may be an uncomfortable 5 minutes granted, but the chances are it will resolve the situation a lot quicker and more swiftly than sending endless emails back and forth over days or weeks. And you never know, they may even be grateful to you, for taking the time to pick up the phone and speak to them, rather than hiding behind a keyboard.

For help in managing and dealing with client service complaints check out our virtual complaints handling services on our website here.