Publishers Get Few Accolades for Customer Service

Today’s WhatPC magazine has an interesting discussion of the high prices charged and poor service delivered by the major legal information companies, specifically naming Thomson (with its Westlaw and Sweet & Maxwell services) and LexisNexis (including the Butterworths and Tolley brands).

A few choice quotes:

“Although the sector boasts a lot about listening to customers, this is largely not so,” says one independent business information consultant. “Customer consultation is often just going through the motions because it’s expected or it looks good.”

“One key supplier introduced a new platform without adequately reflecting the needs of UK users and has been struggling ever since to change it to meet their requirements,” says a tax information purchaser at a large accountancy firm.

“Even the shortfalls in the content would not be so unpalatable if we were informed about them in advance, understood the rationale or had clearer information on what the content includes,” a librarian at a leading law firm adds.

“Downloads can be incredibly expensive. Mistakes can be even more costly,” an independent marketing research project manager says. She goes on to accuse one supplier of being “complacent in the service and support provided”.

Meanwhile, Sweet and Maxwell has acquired the French online legal information provider Juripro.

No stopping the big boys it seems

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