Solutions

Life is full of surprises, and not all of them are pleasant. What do you do when guests are visiting and simply everything goes wrong?

Anyone often in one-to-one contact with customers and business partners knows the scenario: the customer is there – but the boss isn’t. All the seminar attendees have taken their seats – only the speaker has failed to arrive. You go to pour a guest some coffee – but slip and spill it on his hand. The negotiations are taking their time; lunch has been ordered – but the caterer shows no sign of arriving. A customer appears out of the blue – and you know for sure that your boss really can’t deal with meeting him right now.

Expect the unexpected…

The bad thing about difficult situations is that you cannot prepare for them. When something goes wrong you feel rushed and stressed – and are then supposed to react authoritatively and appropriately.

The main thing is to stay calm. You can’t say it aloud, but feel free to think “shit happens” – it will calm you down. The other person is sure to have made a mistake or suffered a mishap before. And the chances are that he will react to your emergency with understanding.

To return to the example of the spilt coffee, apologise – not just with a limp “sorry” but in more detail: “Oh, I’m so sorry; I do apologise. I slipped. I’ll bring you a cloth straight away.” Then get a clean tea towel. You will not make the situation any better if you now mop at your guest in a flutter, bright red and apologising repeatedly. Instead, hand the person the towel and offer to help. In the worst case you will have to buy him a new shirt. And then let it drop. You cannot undo your mistake. If the guest is short-tempered the best thing you can do is to withdraw and ask a colleague to step in for you. If the source of his anger is no longer in sight he will probably find it easier to calm down. Later, write him a letter apologising once more and enclosing a small gift.

Deal with other crises in a similar way: explain what has happened, apologise and ask for their understanding. Stay calm. If you radiate uncertainty, it is almost asking for people to jump on you and make you the scapegoat – whether you are responsible for the problem or not.

Surprise!

Someone appears unannounced and would like to speak to your boss. What now? Anyone following the motto “I was just passing by on business and thought I'd pop in on the way back” should not be surprised if their spontaneous idea is less than successful. After all, your boss cannot spend the whole day sitting in his office waiting for unexpected visitors.

If you do not know the surprise guest, first ask his name and ask what matter he would like to see your boss about. Offer him a seat out of earshot and tell your boss about the unexpected situation. If he does not want to meet the visitor, let him know in a friendly manner: “I’m sorry, Mr Rogers, but Mr Brown is just getting ready for his next appointment and needs to leave in a few minutes.” Act in a friendly yet determined manner, even if the unexpected visitor stubbornly tries to change your mind, e.g. with the words “Oh, come now: I just wanted to say hello quickly and I'll be off again straight away". Your boss does not want to be disturbed and that takes priority. Reassure the visitor that you will be happy to pass on a message to your boss.

Words truly fail me…

You are to pick up a new customer – Mr Stuart – at reception and take him to your boss. As it is the first time you have met, naturally you introduce yourself: “Good morning, Mr Stuart. I’m Sue Summers, Mr Brown’s assistant.” You don’t let his abrupt “Good morning” put you off and continue: “We spoke briefly on the phone yesterday. Welcome to Brown and Co. I’ll take you to see Mr Brown now. After a few steps you ask politely: “How was your trip?” But all you can get out of your guest is a gruff “Fine”. Still you don’t give up. “You were lucky, then – at this time of day the traffic is usually terrible here." Mr Stuart enters the lift with an indifferent “Sure” and you follow him, feeling rather uncertain.

Did you do something wrong? Not at all! You introduced yourself to your guest commendably and even tried to coax him into conversation with open-ended questions.

Mr Stuart simply does not want to talk. You will have to accept that some people like to communicate and others do not. Bring the conversation to a close, even if that means you are forced to stay in silence, but keep up a friendly demeanour.

First come…

…first served. That’s all very well, but what can you do if, for example, a presentation is to take place in your company and shortly before the start four of the twelve guests invited are still missing? Should you wait until everyone is there to start the programme?

On the one hand it is not good etiquette just to start the presentation without the missing clients – on the other it is not polite to make the other guests wait. So come to a compromise: put off the start of the meeting for a reasonable period (fifteen minutes) and during that time try to find out when the latecomers are likely to arrive – keeping your guests happy by offering them a cup of tea.

At the very last minute…

...your boss remembers that he is unable to keep the appointment planned with a customer at 11 a.m. – something important has come up. Before you can ask what to do next, the door slams behind him. Great! You glance at the clock – just before eleven. Unfortunately you can no longer get through to the customer on the phone; he is already on his way. What are you meant to do now?

Stay calm. After all, you are not responsible for your boss’s priority-setting. Give the customer a friendly welcome and apologise in a calm, factual manner for the inconvenient situation. Try to find out – if you have not done so – when your boss is likely to return. If the customer is willing to wait, offer him a seat in the meeting room. Provide him with magazines, tea and biscuits; it will make the wait easier for him to “swallow”.

There is no one answer to the question of whether you should keep your guest company as he waits. If it is a reliable customer of many years, or if you get on well, a nice chat will be sure to help the wait pass. With monosyllabic loners like Mr Stuart from the last example it may be a better idea to leave him be.

On the other hand, if the customer is not ready to wait and leaves in a bad mood, assure him that your boss will get in touch. Whatever happens, don’t blame yourself! After all, you are not the scapegoat for your boss’s mistakes.

Image source: snygo.com