Comments on: Real Life Marketing Lesson: Are You Charging Clients Like American Airlines?

By: David Fuller

David Fuller — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:15:15 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly. It seems that fees create a lot of nervousness for both practitioners and clients. The flat fee eliminates a lot of those issues. My question, however, is if you are practicing in a jurisdiction or practice area that requires you to break out fees – i.e. client pays the filing fee in bankruptcy – how best to communicate that although the fee is broken out between services and cost of litigation, it is nonetheless a flat fee and they aren’t being nickeled and dimed.

By: David Fuller

David Fuller — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:15:00 +0000

By: Mark Britton

Mark Britton — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:26:31 +0000

Carolyn – This is a clever post. Having a long history with the airlines, I just shook my head when I heard this. But, I really had to chuckle when I read your post. I JUST received a bill yesterday where a service provider added a 10% service fee. I had never seen this before, so I asked them what it was. They said it was for faxing, fedex, etc. Considering that we do almost everything by email, I couldn’t help but feel abused. For all the private practice lawyers out there, take it from a client (and soon American Airlines): Don’t try to look inexpensive and then nickel and dime. Pick your price and give the best service you can for that price. Your clients will love you for it. My 2 cents.
Mark Britton
CEO, Avvo
http://www.avvo.com

By: Mark Britton

Mark Britton — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:26:00 +0000

By: Ed Poll

Ed Poll — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:47:35 +0000

On the other hand, could one consider this policy an “unbundling” of sorts? The airline has agreed to fly you and one carry-on bag; did it agree to also fly your entire closet of clothes? If they are charging for flying baggage, they are not charging others who can fly “lighter” and thus consume less resources ….
Just a thought to consider, before we lump them into the “nickel and dime” category. Just because it’s different doesn’t make it wrong.

By: Ed Poll

Ed Poll — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:47:00 +0000

By: Susan Cartier Liebel

Susan Cartier Liebel — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:25:09 +0000

Carolyn,
When I practiced I NEVER nickel and dimed clients. But I would make it a habit of indicating I did work on the bill with a large N/C (no charge) next to it.
First, it made them aware I did not nickel and dime them (because I did not want them to be afraid to contact me w/information I may have forgot to ask or simply something they remembered) and:
Second, it gave them significant pause before they questioned the bill (which only happened once…and fees had to be argued in court and the court found my charges more than reasonable).
I never failed to profit…I just eliminated headaches, did not give the impression of squeezing the client and it positively impacted the attorney/client relationship.

By: Susan Cartier Liebel

Susan Cartier Liebel — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:25:00 +0000