“We only do private”
That statement earned me the biggest single consultancy contract of my career, providing training and coaching for Boots Dentalcare between 2000 and 2003.
It all began 15 years ago (ouch) after reading the dental press and discovering that Boots had opened a practice in their Manchester, Arndale Centre flagship store.
I was fascinated and dragged my youngest son (then less than 10 years old) into town one Saturday morning to walk in and take a look.
Ascending the elevator to the first floor, I spotted the reception desk and, behind it a well-dressed, mature lady.
I approached, wearing jeans, t-shirt, trainers and dragging said child behind me and asked:
“do you have any information I can take with me please?”
Her reply (and the assumption that I was riff-raff) has become the stuff of legend.
I contacted my friend Chris Potts, then Clinical Director at Boots, to report the experience.
“We only do private”
Soon after, a meeting with the Boots Executive in Nottingham saw me hired to run workshops for the following 2 years.
I owe that receptionist a debt of gratitude.
By jumping to the conclusion that I couldn’t afford what they were offering, she was doing her best in the absence of system.
So that was back in 2000.
I wonder how much progress has been made generally in the area of front desk communication and how well your people are doing day by day?
The solution back then (and now) is to create a set of brand standards (not a script) with a requirement that certain Frequently Asked Questions have agreed answers but also that a team member can use their discretion and initiative where appropriate.
Developing those brand standards is another task on your list – as is the regular rehearsal of those questions and answers in team training sessions.
A smart move is to hire an external consultant (not me – there are experts out there) to facilitate those sessions, thus eliminating either apathy or disagreement.
My Boots lady fell at the first fence and opened a door for me.
You cannot afford to invest lots of money in branding, web sites and marketing and then hire untrained gatekeepers.