How Would Your ‘Customers’ Rate You?
By Dan Murdock, OBA General Counsel

One of my compact discs got stuck in the CD player in my car last week. My choices were clear. It was either the radio, the same compact disc all the time or quiet time. I certainly enjoy the quiet time but every now and then I like to choose my own music. My broken compact disc made that difficult. I will admit that the stuck compact disc was one by Jimmy Buffett, a favorite of mine. I stopped by David’s Stereo on North May Avenue in Oklahoma City for assistance. I just wanted to have the disc removed from the player. I specifically refer to the business not for any commercial reason but because of what happened there generated my thoughts in this missive. The older I get, the more I like and recognize service when I shop, go out to eat or purchase a service. I do not think that I am someone difficult to please in these areas and, after almost 19 years at the OBA, I have a pretty good idea about what people seeking services from those in the legal profession want, expect and deserve. My experience at David’s was what I wanted but certainly not expected and probably not deserved. I had done business with them before but not to any great extent. I was what you might call a casual customer who liked to check out the new car stereo equipment and other electronic gadgets that I didn’t know how to use, did not need and couldn’t afford.

I was a customer. For some time now, I have tried to determine the difference between a “customer” and a “client.” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster Inc., defines “customer” as a person or business that purchases a commodity or service. I think that a commodity is a product or good, such as a compact disc player. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © 2006 Random House Inc., defines “client” in several ways. The first one is probably the most common, “a person or group that uses the professional advice or services of a lawyer, accountant, advertising agency, architect, etc.” If you review the additional definitions you will find that of “a customer.” If you are learning Spanish, the word for customer is “cliente.” It does not take much thought to note the similarity. The etymology (like that word?), or origin of the word, can be traced to where it meant “one who leaned on another for protection.” I think that is really what this is all about. The only difference I see between client and customer is that one sounds awfully more important than the other but that is not really the case. Remember that those clients are really customers, just people who ask us to render a service and who lean on us for protection.

The following paragraph is from one of my old articles, but I think it fits in well today. I hope that you agree.

Not all of our clients will remember us and not all will remember what we did for them. We will, however, have our own special memories. We will remember our special relationships. Maybe that is why we refer to them as “our clients.” They are not customers. They don’t just stop in for a nominal service or for a nominal time. A relationship is developed. Maybe a relationship that exists a lifetime and even beyond. Most of all, a relationship of trust, a relationship wherein the client discloses all secrets and personal feelings and puts their lives and financial worth in our hands and seek our help and guidance.

Maybe that’s why they call us “their lawyer.”

Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal January 12, 2008 - Vol. 79; No. 1.