I’ll Do Anything for a Legal Nurse Consulting Customer, But I Won’t Do That
If you know me, you know that for 35 years I’ve given my all and more to our CLNC® clients. I’ve missed weddings, funerals and birthdays all in the name of customer service. I’ve cut short vacations, ridden along in the ambulance to the ED and stayed long after classes have ended to listen to mental, physical and marital problems that would put any optimist (or psychiatrist) into a deep depression.
You also know I don’t like to whine and complain, but I do occasionally need to have a rant, so today here goes. Yesterday one client rudely demanded something she had absolutely no right to. You’ve probably seen someone like her in action – every concession just brings forth another demand, asking for more and more and becoming increasingly rude, demanding and often loud. The unfortunate staffer who had to deal with her could have gotten rattled or angry or rude herself but didn’t. Instead she stayed composed and professional and I commended her for it later.
Here’s what I’ve learned: Just like in life, in your legal nurse consulting business you won’t please all your attorney-clients. The sooner you accept that fact, the better off you’ll be. Contrary to what the experts say, you don’t have to please every attorney to be successful. In fact, probably no matter what you do (and I’m a believer in jumping through hoops for customers) there’s a small percentage of attorneys you won’t be able to satisfy – even if you’re bleeding out on their behalf.
LegalNurse.com has never been interested in attracting every customer. There are some people we don’t want as customers – the wrong attitude, the wrong energy, the wrong intentions – and we reject them outright.
I’ll always be gracious even to the rudest of people because I respect myself first and foremost. But life is way too short to let rude people rain on our parades.
Success Is Yours!
P.S. Comment here and share how you deal with rude attorney-clients.
2 thoughts on “I’ll Do Anything for a Legal Nurse Consulting Customer, But I Won’t Do That”
Luckily, I’ve never had a rude attorney-client. However, I have had many rude patients and certainly many rude doctors. In fact, I was always the one they would give the worst to, the ones no one else wanted or could handle. My tactic: respect. Most of the time, people do not feel respected and so they are trying to demand it of others, but in all the wrong ways. Once they feel respected and heard, they tend to relax. If that doesn’t work, I follow my mom’s advice (who was also a nurse): smile and soften my voice. The softer and quieter I get, the more they have to pay attention to what I am saying, rather than their own out of control feelings. If nothing else, I rest on my own integrity, knowing that at each moment, I give my best and that’s good enough for me.
My, you touched on a “nerve.” While performing a pro bono case, the attorney was extremely picky when reviewing the (narrative portion) reports submitted to her.
This was a forensic audit and after staying on the phone for over two hrs. explaining S.O.P. in billing/coding w/her, she wanted little changes in verbiage, e.g. please change “the” to these, etc. This was the third addendum report due to the provider attempting to repair his “invoices.” I finally reminded the attorney what was most important was the math in this instance and not these small changes in verbiage. The math and accounting had to “proof and pass muster.” There are times when the conversation, mood are turning really tense. I will request a “time out” and suggest we take up this issue or matter a bit later when cool heads can prevail. (Sort of like the old “Code” PINK” we used in the hospitals when a physician decided to take his/her frustrations or bad day out on a new nurse. One of us would call for a Code PINK and we would all stand behind the nurse to show support. The offender would get the msg. very quickly and sulk away. No mean words were ever exchanged.
Remember, we are there to assist the attorneys, staff, and/or clients. They, the clients, many times are still trying to deal with the critical changes in their lives and may not be handling their current situations very well and angry at themselves or feeling helpless.
So far, I’ve been fortunate not to have too many run ins with clients, attorneys or support staff. “You get a lot more flies with honey than vinegar” is a common saying where I’m from in KY/W.Virginia.
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*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
Luckily, I’ve never had a rude attorney-client. However, I have had many rude patients and certainly many rude doctors. In fact, I was always the one they would give the worst to, the ones no one else wanted or could handle. My tactic: respect. Most of the time, people do not feel respected and so they are trying to demand it of others, but in all the wrong ways. Once they feel respected and heard, they tend to relax. If that doesn’t work, I follow my mom’s advice (who was also a nurse): smile and soften my voice. The softer and quieter I get, the more they have to pay attention to what I am saying, rather than their own out of control feelings. If nothing else, I rest on my own integrity, knowing that at each moment, I give my best and that’s good enough for me.
Hello Vickie,
My, you touched on a “nerve.” While performing a pro bono case, the attorney was extremely picky when reviewing the (narrative portion) reports submitted to her.
This was a forensic audit and after staying on the phone for over two hrs. explaining S.O.P. in billing/coding w/her, she wanted little changes in verbiage, e.g. please change “the” to these, etc. This was the third addendum report due to the provider attempting to repair his “invoices.” I finally reminded the attorney what was most important was the math in this instance and not these small changes in verbiage. The math and accounting had to “proof and pass muster.” There are times when the conversation, mood are turning really tense. I will request a “time out” and suggest we take up this issue or matter a bit later when cool heads can prevail. (Sort of like the old “Code” PINK” we used in the hospitals when a physician decided to take his/her frustrations or bad day out on a new nurse. One of us would call for a Code PINK and we would all stand behind the nurse to show support. The offender would get the msg. very quickly and sulk away. No mean words were ever exchanged.
Remember, we are there to assist the attorneys, staff, and/or clients. They, the clients, many times are still trying to deal with the critical changes in their lives and may not be handling their current situations very well and angry at themselves or feeling helpless.
So far, I’ve been fortunate not to have too many run ins with clients, attorneys or support staff. “You get a lot more flies with honey than vinegar” is a common saying where I’m from in KY/W.Virginia.
Best wishes to all.