Today is National Receptionist Day and in honour of those unsung heroes we caught up with Jane Streat, Head of Client Services at Lexington Reception Services. Here she gives us her top five tips on how we can create a world-class welcome.
It doesn’t take much to realise that the levels of expectation placed on us, as service providers and customer facing individuals, is ever increasing. It’s a case of innovate or die. Customers know what they want and with so much competition in the marketplace today customers will simply walk away if they aren’t in awe of your service. And they will be walking if you fail to get the basics right.
What is it that lays the foundation for the creative and innovative ideas that take our customer experiences to the next level? That cut above the rest, those defining characteristics that make us stand out above the crowd? There are many, but here are my top five:
Be aware
Self-awareness is key. We’re all human and we all have good and bad days, but the customer should never see that. Being a service professional means even if you are having a bad day you need to look and act like the professional you are and always offer a warm and friendly welcome to your customers.
Take control
One of the biggest frustrations for customers is being pushed from pillar to post. They demand you take ownership of a situation – it may not always be your role but you are there to help and find someone else to help if required. It also important to take ownership of yourself – the way you look, the way you feel, the way you present yourself. Basic – yes, but so often forgotten about. Presentation is key.
Make people feel good
So you’re aware of your emotional state, you’ve taken control, now it’s time to do the same for your clients. You need to be able to read people quickly and faultlessly – know what they want and work out how you can provide the service they want. You need to take control and ownership and make them feel good about dealing with you.
Be authentic
It sounds obvious but there are so many occasions where I’ve felt I’m being given lip service. Authenticity is vital if you’re going to bridge the gap between you and your customer. Showing a genuine passion to be there, talking to them and helping them is quite possibly the foundation of all foundations. You also need to be passionate about your brand, the company you work for and the product or service you sell. If you don’t get that magic triangle then authenticity goes out the window. And that brings me nicely to my final tip…
Be the expert
By understanding everything you need to know about your brand or service, the company you work for and most importantly about the customers requirements you become the expert that the customer looks to for help, the one they feel they can trust and rely on to get what they need.
My top tip, remember the basics as well as trying to lead the way, without a good strong foundation your creative ideas to deliver over and above will fall.
