I tell my clients that I am not always in the office and that they should not just show up unannounced. Then you get that one client who thinks because they are in the area they can just show up. I am not an office client at Telsec, I am a virtual office client. I will sometimes use a boardroom or meeting room there, but for the most part my office is at home.
Yesterday an out of town client flew into Toronto via Porter Air (at my recommendation), he figured that since my office was so close to the city centre airport that he could stop by before he went to his primary meeting. When he arrived at my office, the receptionist quickly realized that I was a virtual office client and told him I was not in the office at that time. She then called me on my cell phone and told me someone had showed up unannounced looking for me. She proceeded to tell me that one of the boardrooms was available in half an hour and asked if I wanted to book it. I told her thank you and called the client telling him I would be at the office in half an hour. He agreed to go grab a coffee on the fourth floor cafeteria and meet me when I got there.
While this is not normally the procedure, this was a one off situation that the receptionist was able to help me with. I tell my clients that I am not always in the office and not to show up unless we have an appointment. In this case the receptionist remembered that I was not an office client and only a virtual client, because the last time I picked up my mail, I thanked her and complimented on the good job she was doing. Being cordial and positive can sometimes go a long way (but that is a topic for another blog).