Hey, Would you like to have a glass of Water ?

How often does you get an offer like this from the reception/front desk ? If any sales person is reading this article they would answer- not too many ! I have done quite a bunch of coldfield meetings , scheduled meetings and i can bet you that normally this is one question which the person whom you are gonna meet might ask , but not always from the reception !!!

It was just like an ordinary day where most of the companies didn't allow me to see the HR's but with this one question from a lady called #Margaret a front office team member of a company that i visited last before i had to head back to base, changed the entire day. The empathy she had shown by asking

"hey vinayak, do you mind if i offer you something to drink ?"

You don't know the positive vibe you get when someone asks this, it made my day. I replied

"Thank you so much for asking , a glass of water would be just fine"

She politely asked me "Can you wait for a while vinayak, i'll just check with the HR and see whether he is available" as i was walking towards the couch a quick question from Margaret

"but hey its 4pm, i will order a cup of coffee would it be fine? "

I can't express the happiness that i felt, when someone was so kind to do this.Whenever I go for a meeting i carry a lot of expectations, sometimes you might seal the deal sometimes you don't but that's how just sales work ! But these smaller instances of empathy motivates me to be more positive for a meeting.

What Margeret's involuntary action gave me was a positive vibe to wait for theHR,mostly after 25-30 min of waiting, there is point where you might get a bit agitated ,but to be frank that was the only time that i never even checked my watch. Soon after the meeting was wrapped up, i went near to Margaret and thanked for this gesture that she had shown and her reply was again one of a kind "Thanks vinayak, hope your meeting went great and take care"

This is for all who sits in the front office as an Admin or as Receptionist you really don't know the power within , "YOU" represent the organization's culture for a total stranger, you have a responsibility and your persona will add value to the system that you are part of !

For all those corporate houses, without having someone like a Margaret in your company you will lack the positive vibe a front office team brings into the system.so when you make the choice of getting a front office staff it should be as clinical as recruiting an executive, make sure you pick some who can empathize not for the sake of it but can portrait what compassion really is !

"Would you like to have a glass of water" might sound a simple thing but that's the important question that people tend to forget.

Thank you Margaret !