When you think of a law firm, you probably picture a quiet, professional office filled with lawyers and paralegals doing their best to help their clients. When thinking of a call center, there’s a decent chance you picture a more hectic environment with constant incoming calls, frustrated customers, and exasperated workers. Stereotypes we see in movies and TV can easily color our perceptions, and they may make it seem like call centers and law firms wouldn’t have much overlap. This simply isn’t the case, though. Call centers are great for lawyers and their clients.
Firstly, having an efficient way to take incoming calls is crucial for the success of a law office. Even though there’s no certain way to turn every caller into a new client, a call center still advertises the firm in a way, and well-trained agents can build a firm’s positive reputation. Still, it’s easy to doubt whether law firms and call centers should work together. Here are some of the biggest misconceptions about this.
Call Centers Lead To Impersonal Service
Customer service call centers get so many calls per day that it can be hard to imagine each customer getting personalized service or being remembered. This can be scary for potential clients at a law office. Clients often pay lawyers significant sums of money and may practically leave their lives in lawyers’ hands. The idea of not getting the best, personalized service is unacceptable.
According to an Orange County injury attorney, their firm offers individualized services and attention to every client. Potential clients will need to call in to schedule a consultation with an agent, but each case receives personal attention. A conversation with a well-trained agent can actually create a great transition into speaking with a lawyer.
Call Centers Are All The Same
It’s easy to think that if you’ve seen one call center, you’ve seen them all, especially if you’ve had bad experiences in the past. You might worry that a law firm call center will place you on hold and forget about you or that you’ll have to deal with a recording for most of your time on the phone. The truth is that every call center is different. Some take calls for multiple businesses across many fields, while others focus exclusively on one field. Considering the complexity fo legal service, law firms are likely to select call centers that can give their clients their full attention.
Call Centers Put You On Hold
Since call centers generally take a high volume of incoming calls, it can be hard to believe you’ll get immediate service. This thought is especially frustrating considering that people generally have less time than ever to spend on phone calls. With ServiceNow call center software, law firms can ensure customers are always assisted and can reach call resolutions quickly. AI solutions can handle simple questions and tasks while intelligent routing can connect more complex calls to the most qualified agent for the job. This eliminates customer wait times to provide the smoothest possible experience.
Call Centers Hurt A Firm’s Reputation
Considering the negative connotations that can surround call centers, law firms might worry that call centers can hurt their reputation more than help. Call centers can quickly become convenient in customers’ eyes depending on the services offered. For example, an omnichannel routing system would let clients contact a law firm through their preferred means, whether that’s a call, text, email, or other supported channels. What’s more, they could even seamlessly switch between channels if the need arose without losing contact with their agent. Offering services like this can make your firm stand out in a positive way.
Call Center Employees Are Irritable
Some customers don’t like call centers because they’ve had bad experiences with agents before, or they think the stereotypical call center environment makes agents hard to work with. This doesn’t have to be the case at all, and with the right technology, call centers can be as convenient for law firm employees as they are for clients. With unified desktops that offer easy access to tools and keep track of calls and customer information, law firms can offer the best possible experience for everyone involved.