Being A Perfect Hostess

Hospitality is the relationship between guest and host, or the act or practice of being hospitable. Specifically, this includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Dictionary.com defines hospitality as "...the quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way."

The goal is to make others feel good - about you, a guest of honour, a product, a company, but mostly about themselves and the time they give you. That does require some planning and work, but that's part of the gift you give your guests.

Part of having good etiquette entails maintaining an environment that is welcoming, clean and comfortable for others. Frontline staff must maintain a professional reception area. This means they should keep things neat and clean, provide magazines for visitors to read while they wait, offer guests coffee or water, and greet people appropriately.

Here are some tips:

• Welcome each guest personally. Make a point of warmly greeting and welcoming each guest. “We’re so glad you’re here”, and “Thank you for coming”, make a great personal impression. Approach guests with a sincere desire to meet all their needs and expectations.
• Smile! A smile can go a long way: Not only does it show that you love what you do, it helps ease tension in busy or difficult times as well. A smile is a universal sign.
• Another thing you can do is to offer a seat to the person while he/she is waiting for you to see the contact is ready to meet him/her.
• When leading someone into an office, the receptionist should always take the lead to ensure the guest that his/her presence is allowed and to save him/her the embarrassment of not knowing where to go.
• All visitors should be offered coffee, tea or water and should be made to feel welcome. In the winter months, offer to hang their coats for them.
• When you announce the visitor, always use Ms. or Mr. and try to give a certain level of importance to the name of the guest. Flattery will make most people want to come here again and that’s what you really want to help build solid relationships for the company you work for.
• Be gracious. You will probably encounter people who are impatient, curt, and downright rude to you. Consider the fact that they might be nervous about their appointment at your office or dealing with some tragic matter in their personal life. Treat each one with kindness, whether they deserve it or not.