“91% of users felt that they received a good service”
“92% felt that their provider acted in their best interests”
“92% were satisfied with the outcome of their matter”
“Nearly all users said that they found it very or fairly easy to choose a provider”
“85% said that their provider kept them very well or quite well up to date with progress”
“…..personal contact was regarded as essential for progressing matters”
“Overall 86% of users said that they would be likely to recommend their provider”
The above-detailed quotations are from a research document commissioned by the Government which looks at Consumers’ experience of dealings with members of a certain profession. So at a time when “good” news stories are scarce why has there been no publicity? Could it be that the Government doesn’t actually like the findings of the survey? Maybe the answer is in the profession itself? Exactly who could these paragons of virtue be?
How about Surgeons, Nurses, Accountants……surely not Politicians or Bankers?
The answer controversially enough is Solicitors! An answer which the Government does not like at all because, of course, Solicitors as we all know are money grabbing “fat cats”. Which is why the Government is keen to “deregulate” the provision of legal services and to allow the likes of ……..the Banks to play an increasingly large role in their delivery. After all they have been conspicuously successful in their core business of banking haven’t they.
So in order to measure how wonderful its plans will be in practise the Government through the Ministry of Justice commissioned it’s “Baseline survey to assess the impact of legal services reform”*. Presumably, this was meant to give a benchmark of how dreadful Solicitors are and thereby provide a baseline against which to measure the advantages that the Governments friends in “big business” must surely bring to bear going forward. Looks like a rather tall order now. Exactly how will the likes of Co-op legal return even higher levels of satisfaction? But don’t worry Honourable Members as you well know “big business” is very good at convincing people that a mediocre service is in fact very good. Through the power of advertising and “brand” positioning the public can and will be duped into paying more for less. Now that’s what we call progress!
Seriously, how do we preserve the current high levels of service in the face of this folly? The answer is in the survey itself – if you need decent legal advice do what everyone else apparently does – ask friends and family who they would recommend. Good advice we think especially since you can safely assume that unlike “big business” they don’t trouser “referral fees” or “kick-backs. In fact they probably have your best interests at heart……just like your Solicitor.
* Ministry of Justice Research Series 3/10 March 2010 (Finch et al)
