Satisfied clients the apple of our eye
Communication is key, whether you need a legal question dealt with or you’re the genius behind Apple, says Denise Mckenzie
Ihave told this story so many times over the years and yet its impact remains the same. About 15 years ago, I had an old G3 White Apple laptop. That was when Apple was a relatively small company, not the global success it became and is today. Indeed this was pre ipod, iphone, ipad, i everything.
Unfortunately, my laptop stopped working so I took it to a local shop in Edinburgh to see about getting it fixed and was told the hard drive had gone and it would be cheaper to buy a new laptop as the repair would be very pricey. I was furious! The laptop hadn’t been cheap and was about two years old so I was really disappointed it had broken so quickly.
I called Apple and was told it was a month out of warranty. A month! I was incensed and kept asking to speak to someone higher up until someone very nicely told me it was out of warranty – end of discussion!
Never one to give up, I managed to find an e-mail address for Steve Jobs, and duly sent him an e-mail. I honestly didn’t expect anything to come of it, thought he probably received hundreds of e-mails a day and most likely had someone filter them all for him.
The e-mail I sent was a nice email, simply explaining what had happened to me and expressing how bitterly disappointed I was as I had always thought of Apple products as being excellent quality and in a different league to the products made by its competitors.
The very next day, I received a call from Steve Jobs’ PA in the United States to say Steve had received my e-mail, was impressed I had taken the time to write to him in the terms I had and had authorised a full repair free of charge! WOW. Now, remember this was about 15 years ago, Steve Jobs was not then as well-known as he subsequently was.
It’s not surprising then that I have, and always will, remain very loyal to Apple, not only because they do actually make very good products, but because they listened to me as their customer at a time I needed them to and responded to my e-mail quickly and dealt with the issue without any hesitation.
At Morton Fraser, we know that communication is key and we work to a Charter we created to ensure clients receive the best possible service.
We work hard to ensure communications from clients – phone calls, e-mails or letters – are responded to within a certain timescale. We recognise there is nothing more frustrating than sending an e-mail and tapping your fingers waiting for the instant response, wondering why it hasn’t come through or pondering if a response ever will be received.
This approach is not rocket science is it? We all have choices to make in life – be it deciding which bank, which dentist, which plumber or which lawyer to use. They all cost money and they are all necessary at times.
While many lawyers can prepare a Will or assist with buying or selling your house and while the end result may largely be the same, it is the journey and the experiences you have along the way that can ultimate- ly shape the loyalty you have towards a company.
Just in the way I have remained loyal to Apple, I often encounter how loyalty can run in the family, surviving generations. In fact, many of our clients will tell us that they’ve contacted us for help simply because another member of the family has done so in
the past and has valued the service they have received.
Family means a lot to us. It’s why we’ve created the Mortons and the Frasers. They are a family typical of a lot of our clients, a family who want to be listened to and experience a positive and tailored legal experience. We like to think that what we offer families makes some of the difficult parts of life a little bit easier.
If you’d like to know more, have a look at our video or follow our blog; you’re bound to identify with one of the family. Denise Mckenzie is Head of Estate Agency, Morton Fraser www.mortonfraser.com/ourfamily