The Waiting Room Vibe

Ever visited a company and spent time in the waiting room or in a chair in the lobby?

Of course you have.

One can tell a lot about a company by sitting and observing. I once arrived 15 minutes early for a meeting and spent time in the building's reception area. I had one of the first appointments of the day. The receptionist was on duty early and had duties which caused her to disappear from time to time.

As the employees filed in through the front doors to begin their work day, instead of the usual "eyes-front, do not engage" attitude that many of us display during our daily commute to our desks, I was unexpectedly asked by three different people, if I was being looked after.

Several others walked by, smiled and said "Good Morning."

Before my appointment began, I had the impression that this company was probably a good place to work or do business with. The attention I received seemed genuine and heartfelt.

Every acted like customer service was part of their job description.

Because it was.

This simple story serves as a reminder that your company is evaluated by customers, vendors and yes, even strangers by the interaction of each of your employees, whether they work in the Customer Service department or not.

Think for a second about the number of ways each of your employees interact with the outside world. Receptionists, Assistants, Delivery people, Service people, Sales people, Customer service. Every day, everyone is contributing to the public's perception of your brand.

If you were to undertake a customer contact audit and build a matrix of each of the positions in your company along one axis, and the situational opportunities to interact with the outside world on the other axis, the grid would be stunningly complex.

And yet some companies seem to pull it off. They understand that lifelong customers are made and retained by the last person the customer interacted with. A single great interaction with anyone, could cement that customer relationship.

The moral of the story?

Make customer service everyone's job and occasionally monitor that Waiting Room Vibe.