You’ve probably heard me talk about the three things people want when they do business with you but regrettably I think they’re often overlooked. Just as a refresher they are:

1. Make me feel welcome,
2. Be interested in me, and
3. Solve my problems.

Where they are most overlooked is when people are dealing with a stream of new clients or customers every day. For example, in a large medical practice, one of which I had occasion to visit the other day as a new patient. It was my first experience at that centre but, of course, I wasn’t the first new patient the reception staff had seen that day… I was just another person to be processed.

My welcome was a perfunctory “Yes?”

So I explained why I was there and without acknowledgement or further comment the receptionist looked up my name, handed me a pen and paper along with the instruction, “Bring this back when you’ve completed it”.

Not what you call a great welcome! Probably a fail on rules 1 and 2 and not getting me any closer to rule 3.

However I survived the disdain with which they treated me and, upon returning the pen and paper, was then handed a name tag with the instruction to “Wear this and wait for somebody who will be along soon”.

The name tag hardly did anything for me either… it had my surname first then my never used first name and some other details like my date of birth and health fund level, neither two of which I would want displayed to other people. Totally ignored was my expressed preference to use the name Winston which is what I like to be known by.

Fortunately the medical care was better than the treatment I was shown upon arrival.

Which brings me to ask how well do you and your team observe the three rules of making visitors to your business feel welcome? I promise to reflect upon what we do here in my little corner of the world too.