Whether selecting a lawyer, mediator or realtor, it never pays to be hasty.
Let me begin with a confession. Last week, Samantha Graff Benmor and I went for our biannual COVID vaccination. When we arrived, the pharmacist advised that they were all out of Pfizer, but had Moderna in stock. He said we can come back in a few days if we wanted the Pfizer shot.
As is always the case when I am given options, I cross-examined the pharmacist.
- Why don’t you have Pfizer in stock?
- Was there a recall on the Pfizer vaccine?
- Does this affect the immunity level?
- What’s the difference?
- How will our reaction differ?
He answered all my questions and indicated that the level of immunity is the same, but that if we take the Moderna vaccine, it will cause us more soreness, discomfort and recovery. But if we chose Pfizer, we would have to come back. So the bottom line is that if we accepted the Moderna vaccine, it would provide us with a similar result, just with a considerably inferior experience.
[Dear Reader: We took the Moderna vaccine.]
We were there. It was available. We wanted it done. And so, with the sophisticated decision-making framework of two astute professionals, we accepted speed, low-cost and convenience over a longer wait, added inconvenience and less discomfort. We accepted the immediately available option over the demonstrably better choice.
Which brings me to the selection process of a lawyer, mediator or realtor. Can two different mediators help a couple? Sure. Can two different lawyers help a spouse? Of course. Can two different realtors sell a home? Yup. Both options may get them to the same destination – just with a different duration of time, a different expense and a different experience. The difference may not even be the outcome. The difference may be in the overall experience.
One lawyer/mediator/realtor is available now. Closer. Cheaper. Convenient. The other may require a short wait, costs a little more, and is perhaps a longer commute. And so, just like Samantha and I, most assume the outcome will be the same. We think that the process is the same. We assume that there is no difference in skill. We believe that the data used is universal. We are attracted to less cost, less of a wait and less inconvenience.
But what the pro-convenience argument conveniently omits is critical: the process, the experience and the outcome. Legal advice, a mediated settlement or the sale of a home requires decades of historical professional experience and the skilled, empathetic, strategically guided expertise of a professional – who may not be readily available, the lowest cost or desperate for business.
This time, we made a hasty choice. We traded 3 days of waiting for 5 days of pain, fatigue and chills. It was not a bargain. It was a masterclass in poor judgment – the very poor judgment many clients make when choosing a professional lawyer/mediator/realtor.
When choosing a professional, clients should ask not merely who is available, but who is the very best choice. The short-term inconvenience of waiting a few days, paying a little more, or driving a little farther is almost never as significant as it feels in the moment. The long-term implications of choosing poorly, on the other hand, have a way of making themselves felt – sometimes for years.
PS. Samantha and I are fine now. Fine enough to laugh about it, and to write this article.
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