What Expectations Are You Setting?
Imagine a scenario with me, will you? You’re out to dinner with a group of friends. It’s not a particularly huge group of people, but it’s not a small gathering either. Let’s say that there...
Category: Guest Services
Inactivity Does Not Equal Inadequacy
We are not a waiting people. We don’t like to wait. We’re not hard-wired for it. Whether it’s DMV lines or Disney rides, test results or Taco Bell drive throughs, waiting is not something that...
You Need to See Harder.
In our neighborhood we have one of those “free library” book boxes where people can drop off used books and pick up a new one. My seven year old makes regular pilgrimages to the box,...
A Tale of Two Post Offices
The United States Postal Service has taken some significant hits over the years. Rising expenses and dropping income, the delicate balance between not-really-a-government-agency and definitely-a-government-agency, the rise of email and the death of first class...
Christmas at DPAC: It’s Not For Us
(This is a modified version of a post that originally appeared on December 9, 2014.) We’re neck-deep in last-minute planning for one of the largest events we do all year. Christmas at DPAC takes months of...
The Seven Deadly Sins of Guest Services
We know that it’s easy for culture to leak. It’s easy for our vision to lose it’s stickiness. If we’re going to continually transfer DNA to our staff and volunteers, we must continually come up...
Is Your Face Hurting You?
Middle school Danny was always a big fan of the is your face hurting you? question. If you’re not familiar with 7th grade boy jokes, let’s dig in: Is your face hurting you? Because it’s killing me!...
How To Serve Guests When You’re Just Not Feeling It
No matter how much you love people, eventually the day will come when you literally can’t even. (Do the cool kids still say that?) The weather is too bad, your mood is too off, your...
Beware the Bare Minimum
If you’ve ever had the sublime privilege of parenting a middle schooler – any child, really – you’re familiar with the following scenario. [4:30 PM, as they walk through the door from school] Parent: “Got any homework...
Take a Second Look
If there’s a common fault of most guest services teams in most churches in most of America, it’s the curse of familiarity. We execute ministry week in and week out in the same facility, surrounded...
