There is nothing as essential to the feelings of a guest and the all round experience of staying in a new hotel as the first impression. The first impression of the lobby and the personnel at the front desk should never be the cause of doubt and hesitation. It should instill confidence that the guest made a good decision and should be happy with the decision that they made because this hotel is nice and clean, well maintained and staffed by a courteous and helpful group of workers.
The workers of the hotel should be clean, well maintained and trained to help the guests. They should know what they're doing and have the ability to handle nearly every situation that arises. When a staff member has to call someone else off premises to find an answer to a question or to handle a problem, it takes away the confidence and trust that the guest has had in the establishment.
It quickly saps away any confidence that the staff is capable of handling the situations that may come up. It also undermines the belief that the staff on hand is able to make the final decisions and casts doubt on their ability to solve problems. Problem solving aside, what individuals really want when they walk into the lobby of a hotel is for a friendly staff member to greet them in a courteous manner and to quickly and efficiently get them situated in their hotel room.
This process can be quick without feeling as if it was rushed and a staff member can be friendly without seeming fake. It just takes the right person to do it. That is why when you are staying at smaller, family owned establishments, you will find that the person working behind the counter is almost always a family member of the owner. That is itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, but because it is a family business, and they weren't necessarily looking to hire a person for that particular job, you are often left with somebody that the job doesn't suit.
It takes a certain kind of person to handle the fast paced customer service that is required to run the front desk in an efficient and friendly manner. Too many things can happen to change a person's mood, and only certain people have that personality that doesn't let little things bother them to the extent of showing it to the guests. That is why looking for the right person and training them to do the job is much better than just plugging in whatever warm body happens to be on the premises.
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