Greet Like a Ginsu

Post by Frances Cole Jones, contributing Women On Business writer

If you missed Part One of this post, you can read it here — Greet Like a Ginsu – Part One.

In my last post I talked about ensuring your physical space is clean and welcoming. It’s also important to be very clear with the people manning these areas about personal items displayed, dress code, hold music, and how they answer the phones and/or greet visitors. Herewith, then, my list of do’s and don’ts:

With regard to personal items, family photographs, calendars, etc. are fine. Stuffed animals, miniature garden gnomes, and birthday cards with headlines along the lines of “Yo, bitch,” are not.
Scantily clad co-workers in any area of the office are distracting. Scantily clad reception staff leaves visitors wondering what your business might be a front for.
A warm hello when visitors arrive is appreciated. If the receptionist is on the phone, s/he should be directed to acknowledge visitors’ arrival with a smile and eye contact. Instead of having them hold one finger in the to indicate your need to wait—far too reminiscent of grade school admonishment in my mind—I recommend having them interrupt their phone conversation to say, “I’ll be right with you.”
Decide on a policy of if/how phones will be answered if there are people are arriving while phones are ringing. My personal feeling is that the receptionist should pick up the phone, say, “May I put you on hold for a moment?” then attend to the 3-D guest.
Being on hold is already irritating. Being on hold while listening to rap music or something that sounds like a soft-core-porn track is going to leave you with a lot of cranky/bemused customers. Pick something that is appropriate for your product/business.
• Offering visitors directions to the ladies or men’s room is always kind. Asking if they’d like to use the “little girls” or “little boys” room (Yes, this happened to me) is consternation-inducing.
“My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” are preferable to “No problem,” or “No worries” (One smart business I know even taped this tiny reminder to the phone cradle.)
Should you have an after-hours phone message, please don’t go with the general, “Call back during regular business hours,” as these differ from business to business (and time zone to time zone.) Instead, say, “Please call back between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Standard time.”

As you can see, thinking through welcome guidelines for your staff, can go a long way toward a dazzling first impression.

Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 25-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored ten books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).