subject: Your Waiting Room Showcases Your Professionalism To Your Clients [print this page] You, as the professional, were there in the beginning, before there was even thought of a waiting room. Maybe you rented an empty shell that needed to be built out, or maybe all the walls were in place so you could just move in and let the business begin after a few small changes to make things just right. In any event, when you walk in your office now, you are already biased as to how it looks. Chances are, you think it looks great because that is how it was when it first opened. You might need to think again.
Of course you know that a few months after you opened for business one of your clients had a pesky kid that drew on your wall with permanent marker. You tried to get it out and paint over it, but to no avail. You know you covered it up the best you could even though it shows through that paint a bit. In addition, you see the dark stain on your nice carpet where a salesman spilled his coffee trying to open the door to get out. In your mind, these are separate incidents and when you look at them you remember your frustration over having to deal with that issue on top of the billions of other things that need to get done in your business, but you know when the time is right, you will see to it they are taken care of.
Unfortunately, a client doesn't see things the way you do. When a client walks into your office, they are already scanning it to find the front desk, a good chair to sit in and if there are any undesirable people in there that they'll want to avoid. During this scan, your client will take everything in, including the stain on the carpet and that permanent marker that was painted over, but is still bleeding though the paint.
In one instant, your client assesses you as a holistic healing professional based on your waiting room. They will not consider you will fix anything that is wrong when the time is right. Therefore, you want to know how your client views your waiting room so you can fix anything that is less than desirable. Satisfy your client before they even meet you by providing them with an outstanding waiting room.
One of the best ways to find out how your clients see your reception room is to tour it from their viewpoint. Come in through the front door and go through the routine that your clients would, whether it is signing in at the front desk, or just sitting down and having your receptionist bring them paperwork. Whatever you have your clients do, go through those motions. Do this for a new client and then do it for an established client.
By doing this, you will see if there are fingerprints on your front door. You will also see if your magazines are out of date, sticky from little fingers, ripped up, or inappropriate in any way. Most important, you will see any problems your clients see as they wait for you.
Be sure to spend the same amount of time in your reception room as you have your clients spend there. Don't cheat! The longer you have them wait, the more things they will find that aren't quite right and you want to be sure you find them too! If your client is bored for 20 minutes, they will see the stain on the carpet that you tried to hide by moving around your furniture. They will see where that child used your wall as a piece of paper and you never figured out how to fully get rid of it. Yes, they will eventually find everything that isn't quite right while they wait.
Here is a great bit of information to remember... "Your clients will never give you points for what is right, but they will always take away points for what isn't right." Everything can go awesome with your visit with a certain client, but if one thing is wrong, they may take enough points away to never see you again.
You owe it to your clients to take that tour and then correct what you find that they may see as unacceptable. Just think, is it worth it to hire a professional to get that stain out of the carpet to keep those clients that would otherwise leave? Remember, what you may find acceptable your clients may find repulsive. Your clients may relate the fault they find in your reception room as a lack of attention to detail. Then your clients may wonder if you pay full attention to taking care of them! Don't let that happen. Retain your clients by becoming a client in your own office and fixing anything you see wrong!
You've worked hard to build your office to where it is now. Keep up the great work and give your clients every reason you can to let them stay!
