How would you handle this?

[katzee]

I'm a legal admin, been with the same firm for 10 years and love it. But this problem has plagued me all this time. As everyone knows, attorneys charge large fees--$120 to $150 per hour  . We are very open about the fees with the clients and are required to state up front what the hourly fee is and how each client will be billed each month. We send each client a letter stating EXPLICTLY what the hourly fee is and give each an estimate of out-of-pocket expenses for things like filing fees, service of process fees, doctor depositions, etc. For percentage based cases such as personal injury or workers comp, we require both the client and the ATTORNEY to sign a written agreement about the fees. Still, every so often, I get a call from an unhappy client. I, as the office manager, field those calls. Some are legitimate--mistakes made in the client's account, etc. I am more than happy to help and immediately correct those problems--waiving accrued interest, setting up  payment schedules, etc. I got a call today from an irate client mad as he** about a bill. O.K. I've handled these before. But this lady was different. Went into a story about how she had NEVER authorized the attorney to do such, such and such. I KNOW this lady is not telling the truth--I was present at the initial conference and prepared the letter to this client stating the terms of service. Not even this bothered me--most clients do not realize how fast time builds against their account, so I explained the billing procedure again and very politely told her that she would need to talk with her attorney about the fee arrangement. {Since I knew all the charges to her account were legitimate, I could not waive anything--the only the attorney himself can do that}  NO! she screams, she doesn't want to talk to the attorney, he might charge her for the time she talks to him! (Not so--billing questions are NOT part of our billable hours) She wants ME to talk with the attorney and then call HER back and let her know what HE says. "I know that since you're just the secretary, I won't be billed for YOUR time."   THAT GOT ME. I said I'd speak with the attorney and someone would get back with her and ended the call. (The attorney himself called her later, but nothing short of writing off the complete bill would satisfy her and he was unwilling to do that). I'm not "just the secretary" and while the attorney does not bill the client for my time, I am a very important part of the process. I hate being put in the middle--trying to keep the client happy and trying to keep the attorney from getting upset about the backhanded way the client is acting. Is there a tactful way to tell the client to not do this and that they should just pay their bill? Sometimes I feel like yelling at them--"Good thing I don't charge for MY TIME because I'd charge you double what the attorney does  just for putting up with you!" or maybe just slamming the phone down   (I have only hung up on someone once in my entire career but that person was calling me, the attorney, the other partner, the other secretary, even my DOG, really vile names) I refer the irates to the attorney--odd isn't how people are very relucant to scream at an attorney, but perfectly comfortable screaming at me! I feel like there should be a more professional way to handle this and that it would be better to not always "pass the buck" (pardon that unintended pun) back to the  attorney. Any suggestions? Many thanks for letting me vent.



Kat  

[bethalize]

Kill them with politeness. Just do what you have been doing, always be polite and refuse to budge. I always get a lot of satisfaction from being ultra-polite whilst they are screaming at the end of the telephone. I always pause before answering their rant, to make it seem as though I've been listening (I have of course).

I wouldn't try and protect the attourneys if something like this happens. I would say: "I do not have the authority to waive *these* charges as they are legitimate under our fee structure. You will have to talk to the attourney. Would you like me to put you through?" If she goes on about you talking to him, say "I do not think that that would be appropriate in these circumstances. Would you like to speak to him now, or may I ask him to call you?"

Although I understand that you want to be effective in protecting the attourney, who is protecting you? Thirty minutes of your time might bill the same as three of his, but it would probably take that difference in the amount of time for them to deal with the irates.

You seemed to do everything right. Sometimes you just have to swallow it, and  come and vent to people who understand (us at TAA!). You can only do so much until they make you God, after all!



Liz

*it's my turn to be God next*

 

[mlm668]

Katzee,



Is there a section of your billing structure that covers administrative costs?  If so, that is where your time comes in and you can politely point that out to the client.  



I used to be a legal secretary when I first started working.  I loved it too.  The best direction I ever got was that I did not under any circumstances have to deal with a client being unpolite to me over the phone or in person.  I quickly learned the best way to deal with any person who does is to calmly tell them that when they are ready to speak to me in a normal tone of voice, I will be more than happy to assist them and to please call back when they are ready to do so.  Then I just tell them goodbye, hang up and tell bossie what happened and what I did.  I've only actually had to do that once or twice, but I was never criticized by a boss for doing so.  Under no circumstances should you have to tolerate verbal abuse from anyone, even a paying (or in this case, unwilling to pay) client.



M



P.S.  This strategy works with bosses too.        

[laundryhater]

I would say keep passing the buck to the attorney. You don't get paid enough to handle irate people. The attorney is getting big bucks and knows how far he/she is willing to be flexible on bill collecting. Also, irate callers are more cooperative when they speak to attorneys/bosses vs. secretaries/admins.



It's really sad, no matter how well we know our jobs and receive respect from our bosses and collegues, customers always seem to think of admins as no brain peons they can use as doormats. Some things in this modern world never change.