Relativity Fest 2017 Review – Part I
The Popsicle Moment
This is the first in a two-part review of Relativity Fest 2017. Part two is titled – Relativity Fest 2017 Review – Part II – The Rise of The Machine. Subscribe to ESI Gladiator to receive notification when it's published tomorrow.
Introduction
The verdict - TWO
THUMBS UP!
This was my very first Relativity Fest! That’s right, I went kicking and screaming
into the den of the dragon I have somehow avoided all these years. Avoidance of Relativity has not been by accident. Like other old industry war horses, I’ve used
virtually every “eDiscovery” application that’s hit the market over the past 25
years, but not Relativity. Not until past few years. I am no
different than the average consumer – I have my favorites. My favorite historically has not been
Relativity, for reasons that are unimportant here.
Like many service providers in the industry these days, the company
I work for offers clients options. A few
years back, a client pulled us into both Eclipse AND Relativity. That law firm client has an even mix of Relativity
and Eclipse cases. Even though we have
our own review software, Recenseo, and highly
advanced “predictive analytics” application, Envize, we had to bring in the
technology the customer wants. Of
course, we believe our technology is just as good as those other guys. Yet, we now support substantial matters in
all three review tools. Clients have
choices. We are not alone; many
providers now offer multiple options.
FTI, one of the largest companies in our space, recently announced that
it has rolled out Relativity and spoke about why during the keynote speech at R
Fest 2017. Yes, that’s the same FTI that
bought both Attenex and Ringtail. More
on that in Part II.
We are rapidly reaching the point where you can get a wide
variety of technology on any street corner.
So how does a consumer differentiate between “providers”? Service – create those Popsicle Moments. What the heck is a Popsicle Moment? Read on.
There was a very
thought-provoking “moment” at the conference.
Chip & Dan Heath were keynote speakers. They just published their 4th New
York Times best seller – “The
Power of Moments”. I’ve attended
dozens of these talks over the decades. I’m
not known as a reader of self-help books.
In the legal technology business, there isn’t much time for sitting on
the park bench, smelling roses, and reading self-help books. This talk and this book, however, was
different. I was so moved by the two
brothers that I read the book on the plane home.
The Heath brothers
cover a lot of ground. If I had to sum
it up with one story and theme, however, their message is about creating “moments”
for your clients/customers. In
litigation, all cases have peaks and valleys in terms of the experience,
especially when dealing with ESI and technology. There have been many studies over the years
(discussed in the book) that show that consumers (even lawyers) are more
focused on the overall experience than the valleys. If you create “peaks” in the client’s experience,
the valleys tend to be overshadowed and the overall client experience is
positive. The brothers provided a
perfect example.
The Magic Castle Hotel
How do you create that magic for your clients and customers? Those “peak” moments that they will remember? The brothers used a very specific and mind-boggling example. There is a “hotel” in LA called the The Magic Castle Hotel. It is award winning. It is one of the “three top-rated hotels in Los Angeles over competition like the Four Seasons Hotel at Beverly Hills and the Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles.”
Their customer reviews on Travelocity and Hotels.com are, well, remarkable. Out of 3,129 Travelocity reviews currently, 85% rate Magic Castle as very good or excellent, with the clear majority rating them as excellent. Customers that booked through Hotels.com rates the hotel a 4.6 out of 5! If you want to stay there, you need to book well in advance during peak times.
By comparison, the Ritz-Carlton does carry a high rating, but far fewer reviews (633) and a Travelocity rank of #3 in LA – just BEHIND Magic Castle! The Ritz is known for creating a unique customer experience at 3X the rate of Magic Castle. Yet, as the brothers point out, Magic Castle creates a customer experience that beats the Ritz at their own game.
The Magic Popsicle & Free Stuff
So, what’s so
remarkable about Magic Castle? It’s a
MOTEL! Yes, they do have “Hotel” in the name,
but it’s essentially a two-story motel.
Painted bright yellow with a pool no bigger than most backyard
pools. Yet, reviews of the “Pool” are “GREAT”.
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| The rooms are unremarkable. Clean, with just the basic amenities inside the room.
Hotel
management has obviously figured out how to create those “peak moments”. Here are just a few of the clever customer
experiences they create. I’ll then relate
that to the legal business. There are
many more than these, so these are just examples.
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| 1. Snacks and drinks are free. That’s right, free. No catches. |
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| 2. Laundry.They do your laundry every day, returned to your room, pressed and folded. |
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| 3. Ice cream! Self-service ice cream machines. Who doesn’t like ice cream! |
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4. They Celebrate YOU. If the staff knows about a birthday or anniversary, you are surprised with gifts in your room upon arrival.
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| 5. Actual Magic. Many of the hotel staff are magicians and entertains guests across the complex, and there are formal magic shows in the lobby – hence the name “Magic Castle". |
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6. Magic Popsicle. But, those are not the crowd favorite amenity. By far, the most mentioned, most popular amenity is the Popsicle Hotline.  
Smiles. Happy customers. That Popsicle Moment they will always remember. That stopped up toilet on day two is long forgotten.
How to Create those Magic Popsicle Moments
In the
Litigation Support world, those on the front lines are the Paralegals, Project
Managers and other staff in supporting roles.
We support trial lawyers. Those
jobs are among the most difficult jobs on the planet. Ask anyone in LitSup and they will tell you
just that. Lawyers are our clients
and customers. But, we are not a
hotel! But wait, many law firms and
corporate legal departments do in fact already provide soft drinks and coffee,
although some have mused that there is a reason that caffeine is free, but I
digress. At our company, we have ice
cream, Popsicle, drinks, snacks and the like.
Studies show that “creature comforts” can dramatically improve morale and
attitude in the work environment.
Early in my
career, I spent a decade or so bouncing around the country supporting trial
lawyers at trial. Like many paralegals today, my responsibility was vast. I
was responsible for all logistics inside and outside the court room. Everything from making sure all demonstratives
were ready and presented at the right time during trial. Helping prepare Q&As, assisting during examination. Outside the courtroom, I was responsible for making
sure all those “creature comforts” were there so the lawyers could focus on
their work and that next witness. I was
the gate keeper and the client handler, responsible for making sure the firm’s
client was taken care of, but didn’t interfere with the lawyers' trial prep. One great trial lawyer I used to support was
made happy when he had four things at the end of the trial day:
1) Document
Chron of exhibits;
2) A bottle
of good wine (intake managed by me);
3) A good
cigar; and
4) A nice
dinner, but not too heavy to avoid a sleepy lawyer who will need to prepare
most of the night.
Before I
went to trial with a lawyer for the first time, I made a point to find out what
they liked and disliked. I made it my
mission to make sure they stayed focused and didn’t have to worry, or even think
about anything but the case. I ran interference for all access to whatever lawyer was “on” with the next
witness. Nobody got to that lawyer
without going through me. I delivered to
their room, so they didn’t waste time coming down to the war room. Without really realizing it at the time, I
was creating “Popsicle Moments”. Project
Managers that support a wide variety of “clients” are those with the best
opportunity to create those memorable moments and do so all the time. At least, those organizations that are highly
focused on “customer service” do. Great
PMs are there when you need them – whatever you need. Great PMs are focused on making sure you are
trained to do things yourself if you want, or doing whatever you need for
you when you can't. They “show up”. There is always “free stuff” with any great
service provider. They don’t nickel and
dime you for everything. A customer centrist provider won't consume you with the same questions over and over. Great PMs make it their mission to determine your
likes and dislikes and execute. You trust them. When
your supported by the right provider, your service level is the same whether you
are sending them a million dollars of work, or a thousand.
Conclusion
As “eDiscovery”
pricing becomes a commodity, and profit margins of service providers continue to
shrink, it is easy for an organization to make up the difference by cutting
wages of workers. When an organization
does that, the obvious result is a less qualified staff. “Free” project management might be a sign
that your service with that organization may not be what you expect. Nothing is ultimately free.
What are you
doing to create those Popsicle moments? Is your service provider creating Popsicle moments for you?
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