Front Line First Impressions

Your front line team members make or break the first impression a client has of your business. They are your most important line of contact. They will be celebrated or scrutinized online in today’s social world of reviewing and sharing of real-life experiences.

Her name was Sarah. She was at the front desk of the restaurant we had reservations at in Key West. Our reservation was at 7:00pm and we arrived at 6:50pm.

When my husband went up to the front desk, she told us in a very abrupt manner that our reservation was at 7:00 and to “go wait at the bar.”

The bar was noisy and packed with people, little did we know, it was happy hour. Sarah neglected to mention that to us.

I approached the desk and asked if we could please be seated now. Her response was like a military drill sergeant “7:00 o’clock ma’am.”  Just past 7:00pm, our guest walked up to the front desk and grabbed a business card. Sarah reached over, grabbed the phone and in a confrontational tone of voice said: “Would you like to speak to my manager?”

Dinner was a disaster before it had even begun.

Contrast that to a beautiful new hotel, only two years old called H20 that came highly recommended to us as a place to stay next time we were in town. We were out walking and saw it and I suggested to my girlfriend that we should check out the lobby and see what it was like.

We walked in and to our dismay, there wasn’t much of a lobby. Most of the space was taken up by the front desk.

Shawn from Nashville TN was behind the desk and he quickly came out from behind it with a huge southern smile and asked how he could help. When I told him we were just checking the place out he immediately offered to show us the rooms, the gardens and to bring us to the rooftop pool.

He walked us through the property explaining the concept behind the design and how they valued using as much space as possible for the rooms and the garden area so people really enjoyed staying there.

He told us the hotel is number one on Trip Advisor right now and that they are doing everything to keep it that way.

He showed us what to expect at the pool bar, including free drinks at happy hour.

He made a fabulous first impression and we are already planning our next trip to stay there.

Contrast Sarah to Shawn and ask yourself…

Who is your front line first impression?

How does your business make new customers feel welcomed when they are assessing whether to do business with you?

Are you creating a #1 impression or one that makes your business the one place people will never return to?

Every person in your organization, as well as every automation tool you have in place, is an extension of your brand.

Seek to delight and retain your customers, not tick them off before they spend their first dollar. It’s one of the best marketing strategies you can invest in during a time where word of mouth is everything.