Introduction Or Preface
It’s rough being a consumer these days. Companies we deal with seem indifferent to our needs. Salespeople have abandoned traditional values such as honesty and trust, and most could use a refresher course in basic manners. Fewer and fewer transactions rely on personal relationships as businesses (and government agencies) become bigger and more bureaucratic. When we have questions or complaints about products or services, it’s often impossible to get a response, much less a reasonable, courteous one. Gone are the days of the mom and pop shop. Gone is the motto “The Customer Is Always Right.” We are not in Grovers Corners anymore.
Many ordinary retailers who would once have been neighbors or friendly acquaintances are now part of multibillion-dollar national or international organizations. We buy cars, clothes, food, furniture, and nearly everything else from nameless, faceless salespeople at companies that sell to millions of other nameless, faceless customers. These businesses have absolutely no interest in our individual satisfaction (although some of them fake it pretty well). Even the smallest businesses that we regularly deal with—perhaps a landlord who owns an apartment building or a service business with a few hundred customers—don’t seem inclined to deal with customers who might take up time and money.
I have practiced law for thirty years. My clients have the same problems with retailers, service people, hospitals, airlines, schools, and employers as everyone else. But they deal with them differently: They hire me. And I get responses for them—usually the responses they were hoping for—every time. Is there something
special about me? Or about my clients? Honestly, no. The reason lawyers get responses is that we know the right buttons to push. This book won’t give you a law degree, but it will teach you how to push those buttons yourself.
Lawyers have three ways of getting their points across to people they are trying to influence: talking, writing letters, and filing lawsuits. Of these, letters are by far the most effective. Talk is cheap, as the saying goes, and in the sorts of situations most people face today, it can take forever to find out the right person to talk to about a particular matter. Talk may be useful once a letter gets someone’s attention, but it’s rarely of any use before that occurs. Lawsuits are time-consuming and expensive. They are a hassle that everyone wants to avoid, and reputable lawyers reserve them for large disputes in which an amicable settlement cannot be reached.
Letters are ideal for most matters. They are inexpensive (unlike lawsuits), they create a paper trail, and they have a good chance of landing on the right desk (unlike a phone call). Even letters that are not sent by lawyers can have a legal sting. Most people are surprised when I tell them that more than half the letters I write for my clients are not sent by me, but by the clients themselves. I suggest the words for such letters and sometimes even write the whole thing, but the clients send them on their own stationery. The recipients of these letters can usually tell that my clients have either spoken with a lawyer or are aware of the legal consequences of the matter. This will be the case with your letters. And because most people want to keep away from lawyers, most recipients of your letters will want to resolve the matter without further ado.
IT IS THE MONEY
It makes the world go round. It talks. It changes everything. Keep it in mind because “it” is the most important thing in getting others to respond to your demands—money. The old saying “when someone says it’s not about money, it’s about money” is absolutely right. In nearly all situations involving business, money is the only consideration you face. What about reputation andgoodwill? In my experience, these are important only when they affect money or power (which usually leads to money). When a lawyer is on the receiving end of a dispute (where I have been about half the time), clients don’t pretend that things other than money—or things that generate money, such as jobs or election results—matter at all. You might like to think that people care about integrity and principles, but unfortunately, this is rarely the case.
Clients of mine who’ve received demands don’t ask me, “Do you think she has a good point?” or “What do you think would be the fair thing to do here?” They ask, “What do you think is the cheapest way to get rid of this guy?” or “If we ignore them, will they have any sort of a case?” The bottom line is, I’m afraid, the bottom line.
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