Be Positive
No matter how bad your day is, do your best to be positive
when you are working with clients. Your
problems are not their problem and your attitude will affect their entire visit
to the office. Be friendly and
courteous, think of the clients as a guest in your own home. How would you treat a guest? Like an inconvenience or would you be a
gracious host?
Smile on the Phone
If you smile while you are talking it changes the way you
sound. Smiling while you answer the
phone makes you sound more inviting and gives the person on the other end a
sense of ease. Try it and see!
Candy, Candy, Candy
When I started, the front desk candy basket held just a
couple of hard candies that no one wanted.
I decided to buy some chocolate and other candies that are popular. Soon our candy bowl became a prominent
feature of a client’s visit to our firm.
I paid for the candy out of pocket in the beginning but it was an
investment that was well made. Now the
firm pays for the candy and sees it as a valuable way to give back to our
clients.
Memorization
I attended some continuing education classes and one of them
covered the art of remembering names. I
put what I learned into action and found I could easily remember clients names
after not seeing them for over a year.
This impressed our clients and made them feel more important to us. The tricks I use are 1) say the person’s name
aloud while meeting them, “Hello Mr. Smith, nice to meet you”. 2) think of someone or something familiar
while talking to them. When you see
their face again that image will come to mind and you will remember the
name. Like meeting Mr. Conch, think of a
sea shell, when you see him again, you will picture the shell and remember the
name.
NO Gossip
Being in a centralized location and taking all calls to the
firm, you are in the unique position to get the dirt on everyone. Keep information to yourself, or even better,
don’t even let it register with you.
Gossip does nothing but stir drama and hurt productivity. Be professional no matter how sensational the
information might be. If it is something
that would harm the firm and your supervisor should know, share with them but
no one else.
Show Some Interest
Berberich Trahan & Co. is an accounting firm. I quickly realized I needed to learn about
accounting to really understand what our people do. I read some online articles, checked out some
books and so on. The more I learned,
the more I could understand what our people needed from me to get their job
done quickly and effectively.
Momma’s Gotta Be
Resourceful
I am a mom at home and I have found that often I am a
mini-mom to the office staff. I help
them find things that are lost, I show them how to use fax machine, and listen
when they have had a bad day. I also
keep essentials in my desk like Band-Aids, cough drops, cold medicine, tissue
boxes and granola bars. It’s fun to be
able to say “here, I’ve got what you need”.
Have Fun
Be professional, but still enjoy what you do. If you cannot have fun in your job then there
is nothing to look forward to each day.
Find ways to laugh and do things that make the day more colorful for
everyone. You will be surprised how well
your efforts are received.
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| These guys have the right idea. Office weaponry at it's finest! |
Well I hope this helps get you
started. Just remember to find joy in
everything you do, your positive outlook
will be contagious.
