Being the Customer: A perspective

I find it is very valuable to spend time as a customer. I meet with hundreds of people every year in a setting in which I am very comfortable. I talk about legal matters all the time. This makes it easy for me to lock onto my own perspective about what it means to meet with a divorce lawyer.
I honestly forget what it may be like for new client who has never been in a lawyer's office before.

Of course, I have other opportunities to do things that I'm not as comfortable with. Such as, recently I got a chance to meet with a medical specialist about an issue that I've been having. I didn't really know where to begin when we had our first discussion. I also didn't know how reasonable it was to have the procedures that he recommended. So I had to do a lot on trust. 

As it turned out I followed the advice of the doctor and we did the limited procedure that he recommended. This procedure was a much simpler and more limited procedure than he could have conducted. However, it still was very costly. After the procedure we found no new answers to my complaints. In fact, after the follow-up I had with his PA, I learned that the doctor wanted me to conduct additional tests and perhaps return to have a more extensive procedure.

A big issue here from me is cost. Paying for most of my medical needs, even with insurance, is not cheap. I am sensitive to having to pay for something twice. I think this is a problem that many people have with their lawyers as well.

The additional tests that he now wants me to perform could have been done before the first procedure with little to no additional cost. Now, I've got to perform a test and possibly have to return for more extensive procedure that is certainly going to cost me more money.

I think this has a lot to teach me as a professional. My client's time and money is valuable to them. I can recommend as many different actions as I want to try to solve their legal puzzle. However, I need to be sure before I recommend something that it's going to be effective for my client. I don't think spending their money to do the same thing twice and something that they will appreciate.

I certainly know it's something I do not appreciate from the doctor.