Enhancing Your Client-Facing Waiting Room

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From time to time, we may ask clients to wait in our premises. Perhaps they arrive early to an appointment, maybe they're arriving as part of a clinical practice, or perhaps you're scheduling interviews in order to find your next best application.

Sure, a relatively simple seating arrangement can work well. But it's true that while you're asking someone to wait for you, even if it's early, it's nice to make sure they feel welcome and properly accommodated. For this reason, designing a client-facing waiting room properly can speak to your standards and be an indication of how you'll treat them going forward.

Many businesses had a chance to think about their waiting room environment when the pandemic hit, as all of a sudden new and essential requirements were put in place in order to enhance safety. This also gave business owners a chance to consider how to renovate and redistribute their waiting space after those requirements stopped serving as a necessity. 

In this post, we'll discuss a worthwhile first place to begin:

Quiet Entertainment
It's important to occupy your guests while they wait for you. Sure, they may just bring out their phones (in which case a guest WiFi network can be helpful), but a selection of magazines can be helpful. You'll also find that worthwhile entertainment, music videos and even corporate material properly edited and provided by loop.tv can help you give your waiting space a distinct visual flair; especially in areas where waiting may take some time before appointments are available.

Appropriate Refreshments
Appropriate refreshments can make a big difference regarding how comfortable your guests are and how long they're willing to wait. Of course, an open bowl of fruit or snacks on offer are not hygienic if not packaged. A vending machine may be appropriate to house within the space if necessary, depending on its nature. 

Certainly, a water cooler is worthwhile as providing fresh, clean water to guests is a legal requirement in many countries. Refreshments, if packaged, can be helpful, like fully-wrapped sweets or mints that someone can take at will. Be careful about the legal liability involved with offering them something that hasn't been directly cleared. For instance, discourage staff from offering guests teas and coffees, as you never know who might be allergic to a particular ingredient. A vending coffee machine can provide a suitable alternative.

Enough Space
It can be tempting to place so much seating within the waiting room that no one will ever be without a chair, but it's better to give clients some space from one another, improving how comfortable they are without offending their dignity. Furthermore, comfortable seating like ergonomic and comfortable cushioned chairs can be superior to hard shell chairs that provide little in the way of give. It can be nice to orient the chairs to face one another like in a big, open circle, so that guests that wait can strike up a conversation with one another where appropriate.

With this advice, you're certain to enhance your client-facing waiting room in the best way.