receiving customers

• always acknowledge and greet people coming into the office in a friendly and helpful way

• if unable to greet always acknowledge

Greeting customers effectively helps you to

- determine the capacity in which they have entered the office

- obtain information so you can direct them to the most appropriate person

> You should ask open questions when engaging with customers

• If you cannot deal with a query from a customer you should explain this to them

• You should take full details of the enquiry from the customer

• You should indicate who is the appropriate person in your agency to deal with the query

• You should try and make an appointment for a face-to-face meeting or arrange for a telephone call to be made to the customer

• If the appointment or telephone call cannot be made the customer should be contacted, given and explanation and a new time agreed

• it is important that customers are greeted as soon as they enter the office

• when greeting you should smile, say 'good morning/afternoon' as appropriate and ask if you can help

• the purpose of the initial greeting is to show your interest and to put them at ease

• you can acknowledge without speaking by using body language

• you need to make eye contact and smile

• if appropriate, you can use hand gestures or mouth words

• the purpose of greeting or acknowledging the customer is to gain information, so you can pass them to the appropriate person and offer them services you provide

• if you cannot deal with a customer, you should gather information about their query and explain who in your agency can deal with the matter

• if possible, you should make a face-to-face appointment to arrange for a telephone call with the customer

• if the appointment or telephone call cannot be made by the appropriate person, the customer should be contacted immediately with an explanation

• an alternative appointment should be made