Don’t you hate that awkward feeling when you walk into a restaurant and you’re not sure what to do?

There’s no “seat yourself” sign, and there’s no “wait to be seated sign.” There’s something that kind of looks like a host stand, but there’s no one standing there to greet you.

There are people seated nearby and at the bar. They turn to look at you as you stand there looking perplexed, and you only feel more confused as they all stare at your awkwardness.

Is that what it’s like when clients show up at your office? Does it feel awkward? Do they wonder where to go, where to stand, and what to do?

How It Feels to Be Lost in a Lobby

I walked into a law firm the other day. As I came through the door, I noticed a woman sitting on a loveseat off to the side. She looked up at me quickly and then put her head back into her magazine.

There were a few other chairs and a desk in the reception area. No one was at the desk, and there was no sign, bell, or anything. I stood there for a minute wondering whether something was going to happen.

Then I sat down. I waited about three minutes and interrupted the woman across from me. I asked her whether she knew anything about where anyone might be (I could hear movement in the back). She looked at me like I was crazy (possible, I suppose) and shrugged. She put her head back in her copy of Garden & Gun.

Then I got up and walked down the hall to the noise. There, around a corner in what amounted to a closet, was a woman in front of a copier. She couldn’t hear me approach over the copier noise.

I said something, but she heard nothing. I tapped her on the shoulder, and she jumped and screamed.

Things were not going well.

Once my heartbeat got back to normal (and hers too), I explained that I had arrived for a meeting. She took me back to lobby area and seated me, offered me a drink, and told me she’d notify the attorney I was there to meet.

What a cluster-mess (I was going to use a different word there but decided to clean up my act).

From that point forward, things went smoothly. But that was a rocky start. Thankfully for the law firm, I was not a paying client. In fact, I was being paid to be there, so there was no harm, but that’s no way to run a railroad (or a law firm).

What happens when someone walks through your door?