Predictable routines can build more client trust than warm promises.

Evidence

When routines lead to predictability they may promote a degree of client confidence. As a public defender lecturing his peers on increasing client trust advised: “It’s better to tell a client you will see him in two weeks and then show up, than to reassure him by saying, ‘I’ll stop by tomorrow,’ and never show.” — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 740

Categorization

• APHORISMS: A piece of practical wisdom — reliable delay beats empty reassurance — applicable well beyond law.
• XREF: connects to: Trust rests on the trusted person’s commitments and incentives, not just expected behavior. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 74; Routinized trust shades into continuity expectations that guide everyday conduct. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 146

Broader Connections

• Routinized trust shades into continuity expectations that guide everyday conduct. #expands (0.80) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 146
• Trust rests on the trusted person’s commitments and incentives, not just expected behavior. #qualifies (0.75) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 74