How one minimum wage employee can bankrupt a company.

I entered the lobby. It was nine fifty five. I had a ten o’clock with the Chief Executive Officer. I approached the receptionist. She was answering telephone calls; “XYZ Incorporated, how many I help you?” The phone kept ringing, she continued to answer every call.  She seemed unable to see me standing in front of her.

I took out my cell phone, began capturing her on video for the next twenty seconds, then, stepping away, rang my secretary. She in turn would call the C.E.O. and tell him: “Sir, the Consultant is in the Lobby but unable to see you as the receptionist refuses to acknowledge. Could you be good enough to go down to the Lobby?”

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It is a typical problem; so typical, that when I rang my secretary I simply said; “Keisha”, my name for a receptionist who is fascinated by telephones. The reason why this company was losing business was that clients who phoned were given priority to those present.

I saw the C.E.O enter the lobby before he saw me. I didn’t need my video to prove the point. He stood aghast as a line milled around reception desk while she kept answering the phone. He watched people leave in disgust. But it’s perfectly understandable.

You are a Japanese businessman who has flown in to discuss a multi-million dollar deal, you are ignored in the lobby for one minute, you walk out.

No one will do business with a company which ignores them. The entry point to your business must be welcoming, at least acknowledging. The client who is present must always take priority over those on the telephone. It is such a common mistake a consultant can virtually collect his or her fee going no farther than the lobby.

My task was very simple.

All I did was request copies of the appointment books from all departments going back two months, notated with how many had not been kept. It seemed evident the large number of “no shows” had actually shown, but reached no farther than the lobby. The C.E.O. was incredulous. He never imagined performing an audit on how many appointments were not kept.

This company lost millions of dollars because of a minimum wage employee. ‘Voice mail’ or “Automated Answering” is not the solution. Many potential customers or clients are not going to listen to a long “If you want to speak to our technical department press one, if you wish to speak to our…”

Either they push “0″ (to speak to a human) or hang up. Those who go through the rigmarole, might, at the end of the recording, appreciate that their request can not be answered, press “0″, while others might make errors and have to start again. Why bother?

Imagine an overseas client searching for a local representative. Surely he would not want his business handled by “voice mail”. It is wiser to have a call answered by a human who can differentiate between callers. Some calls can be routed to automated systems, but some must be immediately sent to senior personnel. It is not wise to “cut down” on costs by having the receptionist be the telephone operator unless she is capable of appreciating that the person in front of her takes priority over the one on the telephone.

Minimum wage is not so onerous that one can not afford that extra operator. In most cases, Voice Mail gives the impression the company is not economically viable, (it can’t afford a minimum wage operator).  However, the problem is not the client on the line, it is the client in the room.  The one being ignored.

It doesn’t take five minutes to advise all employees that the person standing in front of them takes priority over the telephone call. Of course, if this were done, I might be out of a job.