About

When I started my new job, the first thing I needed to do was work on the interior decor. It was dated and generally unprofessional. My job has many customers that come through my door each day. Customers approach a service counter for their needs. This interior counter are was very uninviting and actually had a very inexpensive look about the area. It was crying for a makeover.

It’s funny how I used to want to be a dental hygienist as I grew up, especially considering that my son’s wife holds that occupation at this time. Perhaps I was just obsessed with the idea of helping others make their smile (and health in general) a priority while beautifying the entire mouth region. Similarly, I’ve always cared about beautifying the places in which I work.

Anyway, one holiday weekend I’ve closed up shop and strip down the customer lobby and counter area of all the items that were making this area look unprofessional and very inexpensive. From the kitchen curtains that were hanging as a cutesy, to the bold in your face bright blue walls, to the Wall as a sign of patriotism I assume? The bulletin boards were stripped down, the walls were prepped (tape remnants from all the walls were removed) and holes were patched.

Priming the walls with Kilz brand paint was a must, To cover the dark blue and change to a bright white. This color change was absolutely amazing for this front counter entrance area. It immediately felt professional, it felt clean, it felt light and bright and welcoming. Removing the cuteness was also a huge change for this area. Kitchen curtains are truly a thing of the past, and they never had a place in a professional customer environment in my opinion.

The counter area was coming to life. My husband helped me with some of the harder things in the remodel. He replaced the paneling in front of the counter with blackA sheet of black formica, Wow what an inexpensive change that gave the most professional look. Next he helped me box up all the forms and manuals and placed them in a variety of metal storage racks that fit the forms perfectly. This allowed a neat and accessible way for customers to retrieve what they needed.

Lastly a general cleaning of the area took place. Window washing, floors stripped and waxed, wood surfaces were polished and the entire remodel finished in just three days. It would literally be years that customers would comment on what had changed in our lobby in front of the counter area. They couldn’t always put their finger on it even years later but I believe they were remembering how unprofessional it looked in the past.

So if you want to boost revenue, boost customer confidence, consider a remodel of your Foyers, your counter areas, because first impressionsAre huge. First impressions set the tone for all sorts of thoughts that go through your customers mind, consciously and subconsciously. Maybe you need only to paint, maybe you need only to uniform the area or maybe you only need to declutter and add someProfessional storage? Whatever your case is don’t put it off any longer look for that long weekend and tackle the project you will be amazed at how much your customers will appreciate it.