You’re busy. I get it. And your email provider allows you to have one of those autoresponders. I get that, too.
There’s nothing wrong with an autoresponder to let people know you may not get back to them for a few hours, or that you check your email on a specific schedule.
It sets expectations. Good work.
But there’s a limit.
There is such a thing as coming off like a pretentious and pompous ass. I point you to Exhibit A, received from a lawyer to whom I had sent an email earlier in the day:
I receive approximately 75-100 emails per day. It is often impossible for me to respond the same day or within a week to the emails I receive. As such, please review the following disclaimer:
If you are an attorney:
Please note that due to the volume of emails, I cannot accept service or notice via email and if your recent communication is an attempt at such, please call my office immediately to notify my staff of your communication. (xxx) xxx-xxxxIf you are a current client:
IF you are in need of a response in a quick manner, please call my office and let my staff know that you have an urgent request. If they are able to assist you they will, if it is something that requires my attention, they will contact me and notify me of your concern. We strive to respond promptly to our clients, however do so in a “triage” format where emergency matters, time sensitive matters and court matters are addressed first. We appreciate your understanding and patience to this protocol. You may always call the office and have a telephone conference call scheduled to discuss your concerns, if you are unable to wait for a response.If you are a potential client:
Please note that unless you have retained our firm by signing a fee agreement and/or paying a retainer, I am not able to give legal advice and will likely not be able to respond to your email questions. You are more than welcome to call the office and schedule an appointment.
Here’s how I translated this email in my mind:
I get a lot of email, and I don’t feel like reading and responding to it. I don’t feel particularly inclined to hear from clients or potential ones by email. Please don’t send me anything unless you’re OK with it being ignored.
Have someone read your autoresponder and give their opinion of what it says to them. Don’t take the chance that your clients, colleagues and friends will think you’re just another one of those self-important lawyers.
If you hate email, don’t give out your address.
Image credit: RambergMediaImages
I’m sure the potential clients just pour in after getting a response like that!
John Skiba recently posted..Billy Graham Encourages Seeking God’s Guidance Before Filing Bankruptcy
This looks like someone who is just not comfortable with technology. Instead of learning to use the autoresponder, he would have been better served by learning to filter the email into individual matter folders. That keeps the inbox clutter and noise to a minimum. Hope he is one of my competitors!
“If you hate email, don’t give out your address.”
Very well said.
Giving the lawyer the benefit of the doubt…Assuming that he just does not know any better…
I view the comments as a professional who may in fact be “good” at his profession, but is not so good at marketing…
The assumption is that he is in business to provide excellent service, get paid for it and to get as many referrals as possible.
No one in their right mind would talk to a client or prospective client in this manner and expect to get any new business.
Part of the aire of negativity comes from telling someone what they can’t do, before telling them what they can do. E.g.:
“You are more than welcome to call the office and schedule an appointment. Please note that unless you have retained our firm by signing a fee agreement and/or paying a retainer, I am not able to give legal advice and will likely not be able to respond to your email questions. ”
Far from perfect, but not as off-putting. Giving someone a new positive course of action prior to telling them the course they picked can’t work is usually more effective then admonishing them for a screw-up and then telling them to fix the error.
The thing that makes this dumb is that he has one e-mail account where he has to sift through everything. I have separate e-mail accounts that are used for opposing counsel, for current clients, for new client intakes, and business/vendors.
For existing clients, expectations should be set at the start of the relationship as to how quickly you will respond to e-mail. In my field (personal injury), there are few time-sensitive matters that require an immediate response to clients, so I promise a response within 2 days and explain that they will get a thought-out composed response as opposed to something that is dashed off. I also avoid getting into back and forth e-mail chains where it is like chat.
You can get sucked into looking at e-mail all day long, and I have found that doing things this way helps me keep control of my e-mail and my day.
I personally see nothing wrong with the message.
“If you hate email, don’t give out your address.”
I don’t give out my work email because clients abuse it. We do a volume practice. It is too easy for a client to drop a quick “What is the status of my case?” email, which takes more than a moment to address. Thus, I prefer a phone message.
Receiving automated responses are discouraging enough much more if the response sounds something like that. I understand as well that people are busy and they can’t read all their emails at once. It is important to develop a response that will not give clients a bad impression like not feeling welcome.
Helen recently posted..DTS Home
Though I can accept lawyers not being good at marketing, I don’t see any reason how they forget to provide a little sensitivity in their auto replies. Auto replies should be well written and edited especially that they can affect others impression and perception as well.
Carol recently posted..how to get a girlfriend