Price. Speed. Quality. Pick two. (Or in this case, pick ONE.)
We asked nearly 350 paralegals across the United States about how they choose a process service company. These are the results.
Who Gets to Choose?
Some law firms dictate to their support staff which company to choose. Perhaps they’ve negotiated special pricing with a national vendor. Or maybe they’ve worked out a trade deal with a local company.
Our participants told us that 55.66% of the time, their attorney or firm management dictates who they can use. The balance have the freedom (and responsibility!) to choose the process server:
Local vs. National
As a local process server (and former paralegal), I know that there are a lot of paralegals out there using the big box process server companies. But I wanted to know to what extent folks were relying on those companies. The answer? A whopping 72.34% of participants said they used a national company:
Personal Searches vs. Relying on National Company
When a paralegal needs to hire a process server for a job outside their state, how do they do that? A little over 67% said they just rely on their usual process server to find the right vendor. Other responses included the use of the NAPPS directory (which we love because we’re members).
Seek and Ye Shall Find
When paralegals take it upon themselves to find the right process server, a little over 50% of them use the NAPPS website. That’s followed up by a little more than 24% using a simple Google search:
The Crucial Quality
And what’s most important to a paralegal? A little over 45% responded “Customer Service — Responsiveness.”
As noted above, the truism in choosing ANY company or vendor is that you can have two out of three options: Low Cost, High Quality, and Speed. Obviously, all three of these things are highly desirable. But when your case hinges on proper service, QUALITY (or in this case, CUSTOMER SERVICE) is paramount.
We talked with one of our respondents about what Customer Service meant to her. “For me, great customer service is really about great communication,” said Karrie C. of Hall Booth Smith (in Arkansas). “We use a local process service company because we get great communication from them. They respond quickly. They get us lots of details about the servee. And we can call them and speak to them directly about anything.”
Here at Solid Serve Legal, we’re proud of our 5-star service. And we know our clients appreciate our diligence and attention to detail. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to hire a process server, be sure to read our post about Avoiding the Common Pitfalls.
If you have a story about excellent customer service from a process server, we’d love to hear from you. Please share in the comments below.
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