Brentwood Host Teams

I have the opportunity every month to talk to new volunteers at Volunteer First Experience.  During our time together I talk to them about something we value called Strategic Investment: worthy endeavors require worthy sacrifice—people give something of value to gain something of greater value.  Serving on Sundays will probably be pretty fun and may not feel like a sacrifice at all some weeks.  But the new will wear off and the time will come when it’s hard.  There will be a Sunday when you actually sacrificed something to be there.  There will be a day when it feels like a sacrifice to be friendly and actually engage in conversation with someone you don’t know.

And this is where I talk about vision.  If you don’t know why you’re there you won’t stay long and you won’t give it 100%.

On Host Teams we are in the business of hospitality and guest services.  But, the story that goes something like, “Hey guys, remember that time we had that guest and we walked them to the bathroom and they were happy and they said they’d come back?”  will only take us so far.   Great, we got them to come back… now what? why?  Is our goal really just to have a pleasant Sunday experience?

It’s important to get people to our Sunday gatherings and without Host Teams to remove obstacles and provide hospitality, that would be difficult.  But, let’s not forget why we want them there… We want people at our Sunday gatherings because that it is an environment where the gospel is proclaimed.  It is where a guest may hear for the first time that there is hope and healing. We want our guests to hear truth that asks them to die to themselves and go after the mission to make disciples.  We want people to tell their stories and be baptized.  We want people to be “all in” for global missions and local outreach.  That’s why we get there early each week and stay late.   That’s why we are intentional about every detail.  That’s why we take care of our volunteers and want them to stick.  That’s why we value excellence in every guest interaction.

We’ll never stop talking about WHY.   We know you’re giving up something to be there 100%, but we believe the gain is even greater.

Kevin Mahan, our connection pastor and social media wizard, tweeted this:

This one is for @TeecyChristmas and her volunteers who never sacrifice people: Nobody Cares About Your “Policy” http://j.mp/xSELeS

First of all, a collective thank you to Kevin for the compliment.  We hope we never do that!

Second, I love that story and the author’s point at the end, “Policies are there to help you do your job – they don’t help the customer. {guest}.”  I hope you’ll read the article.  It’s a short story illustrating the point.

Have you experienced this in your life recently?  I had a conversation with a particular cable provider that went something like this:

Me: I just talked to a representative earlier today who said you would send a technician out free of charge.

Customer service rep:  Oh, we can’t send someone out free of charge.  That’s not our policy.  Why would she say that?

Me:  Well, sir, I don’t know – but she did.

CSR: We’ll honor it but I’m sending her an email right now telling her to call you to work it out.

Me:  The phone call won’t be necessary.  It’s not my problem.  You will have to work this out internally.   {Thinking: Furthermore, why are you taking up more of my time explaining that you are sending an email?}

The conversation went on in this fashion for awhile.  I worked very hard to explain that, as a customer, I did not need to know how he was going to work out an internal problem.  Save me the details, honor your word, do the right thing, let me hang up!

Ok, in the Brentwood world of guest services and care, where do we have policies that we can bend when it makes sense?

Recently we had some very early arrivers at one of our campuses.  A volunteer pointed them out to me and I approached them. (The volunteer was busy with something else, but not too busy to notice and make sure they were taken care of…bravo!)  They wanted coffee but our coffee bar was not quite set up yet.  So, I explained where they could normally get coffee but that for today I would go get them some from another location (the volunteer lounge).   I offered to bring it back to them but gave them the option to come fix it themselves.   I hope I was able to inform them of the norm (the policy) but honor them as a guest by finding a way around it.

Have you had the opportunity to go against policy for a guest?

Our guests don’t care about our policies. They care about our hospitality, our service and their connection.  Do whatever it takes!

No one likes being ignored.  Right?  Because in that moment you feel unimportant, not valued, not seen.   Like one of my friends used to say when ignored,  “Should I use my invisible powers for good or for evil?”

But, on Sundays at Brentwood Church I like being ignored.  Let me explain.

I work with some amazing volunteers each Sunday.  Amazing and fun and interesting.  So, naturally we all want to talk to each other and enjoy our time serving.  We want to have a good experience as a volunteer group on Sundays.

I value the guest experience AND the volunteer experience but the guest experience is my priority on game day.   I know my volunteers value the same thing when they will walk away from me or turn their attention from me mid-sentence to tend to a guest.  It happened several times yesterday.

I also see it when they look over me while we are talking so they don’t miss an opportunity to interact with a guest.  (okay, now I’m realizing that might be a height thing…regardless…)

See, we know we can always return to our conversation.  And we’re all here for the same thing so we’re not offended.  But, we don’t want to miss our window of opportunity to surprise our guests.  Soon they will be seated in the auditorium listening to the speaker or driving away after the service.  When it’s over we want to feel like we spent our time with them well, like we made the most of every opportunity.

It never fails that I still walk away feeling energized by my interactions with other volunteers too.  It’s all important.  It’s just about timing and intuition.  So when I was ignored yesterday I was happy to know that my volunteers value the same things.  (Or could be I was just boring.  Let’s just go with the other for now.)

Jud Simmons, one of our Host Team campus directors, sent this quote out in an email to his team this past week.

“Love is the accurate assessment and adequate supply of another person’s need.” Pastor Dick Foth

And really that’s what we do on Host Teams.  We assess guest needs and work to meet those needs.  We love our guests.  And everyone that enters our campus on a Sunday is our guest.

There are 43 spots on Host Teams right now across both campuses…that’s 43 opportunities to love people on Sunday who are attending Brentwood Church.

We would love for you to join our team.   Often when I talk to people about joining Host Teams the response is something like, “You need people?  I just figured you guys didn’t need anyone else.”  I suppose that’s because our teams do such a great job taking care of guests each week.  But when you sign up to serve you aren’t signing on for life.   As our people take seasonal breaks it opens up space and opportunity for new people to join us.  So, there is an opportunity for you now.   These spots will fill up, so don’t delay and register for the next Volunteer First Experience.  Check out our teams page and see which team you think would be your best fit.  Email me (teecy@brentwoodchurch.org)  if you have any questions or if you want to go ahead and get your name on the list for a particular team before spots fill up.

I love to look at great examples of guest services in other industries.  I can’t think of a better place to look than Walt Disney World.  I mean, it’s the happiest place on earth, right?

One of seven guidelines for Guest Services at Walt Disney World is Seek Out Guest Contact.

“It is the responsibility of every Cast Member to seek out Guests who need help or assistance.”

As “Cast Members” (That’s Disney-speak for employee) on Host Teams are we seeking out guest contact or waiting for guests to come to us?  Are we satisfied to have a Sunday go by with no guest contact?  Some roles on Host Teams provide more opportunity for direct guest contact than others.  But, no matter what our role is, when we walk through guest areas we should be seeking out contact with a guest.

Last week I met two guests as I walked through the lobby.  I saw them standing alone and stopped to introduce myself.  I asked how long they had been coming to Brentwood.  (I didn’t say, “Is this your first time?”  That can be an awkward question.)  They had been coming for several months.  So, I asked if they had been able to meet people and get connected.  They said, no, not really as much as they would like to.  That was my invitation to connect them to the next step.  That may be a serving team, Connect, Journey, or in this case, I directed them to Collide and College Life.   I don’t have those opportunities every week, but I want to be better at looking for them.  (Sometimes I have to remind myself to put my Guest Eyes on and not make a bee line to the next task!)

Just because your role is to greet at a door doesn’t mean you can’t connect with a guest in the hallway.   And just because you’re in the lobby as a “Connector” doesn’t mean you can’t connect with a guest in the parking lot on the way out.  And keep in mind, even when you don’t have direct contact with a guest, your role can have a direct impact on their experience at Brentwood Church.  Walt himself said, “Whatever we accomplish belongs to our entire group, a tribute to our combined effort.”

We are a friendly church…one of the friendliest!  And you’ve done a great job earning that reputation.  Keep seeking out guest contact and make a connection.  You get another shot at it in 4 days!

Additional reading on Guest Services at Disney.

Have you found your Host Team voice yet?  Speak up and tell us how we’re doing and how you’re feeling as a volunteer.  We value your feedback and we want to hear from you.   Your opportunity to take the Host Team survey is right here.

I would like for this blog to serve as a filter for great content that has to do with hosting and guest services.  So, once in awhile, I’ll post an article that will hopefully provide some ongoing inspiration and training and connection to our vision. 

One of the things we talked about at Vision Night is what Disney calls “Guestology” or the art and science of knowing and understanding guests.  We need to pay attention to how our guests are interacting with the environment.  But, who are our guests?  (We call everyone a guest at Brentwood, whether it’s your first time or you are highly invested, on Sunday, you are our guest and Host Team members are there to serve you.)  What do our guests want and need?  What are they looking for?  Why are they here? Answering these questions will help us better serve our guests.  According to this article there are 5 types of church guests.  Do you think we have each of these types of guest at Brentwood each Sunday?

Awhile back I wrote about the power of a personal invite.

Today I just wanted to give you a list of what I think are some great things to include in your invitation to serve on Host Teams.  So, if you are currently serving, hopefully you connect with this list and are excited to invite others to join you.  If you haven’t jumped in yet, maybe this will help you take that step…

• It is a great way to take the next step into deeper connection and ownership at Brentwood.
• You will have an opportunity to practice New Testament hospitality on a weekly basis.
• There is something for everybody.  You don’t have to have an outgoing personality to smile and say hello.  But, we do have some roles that do require more than a smile and will challenge even the most outgoing personalities to hone their interpersonal skills.  And, there is even work to be done behind the scenes, if you prefer.
• You will get to host with fun and interesting people.
• We love and appreciate our volunteers.
• Parents: Your children are taken care of by our wonderful Kids Focus volunteers while you serve.
• Singles: You know that cute guy/girl you’ve seen around but haven’t been able to talk to yet?  Well, they probably serve on Host Teams.  And if the price is right I will put you on their team and even talk you up when you’re not around.  I’m really good at doing that in a non-obvious way.

Leave a comment and let us know what you would add to that list.

If you’re reading this and are not on Host Teams, email me and I’ll give you more information and help you get started.  (teecy@brentwoodchurch.org)  Remember, all the volunteers who serve you week after week are busy people too.  So, don’t let that excuse or any other hold you back any longer.  Just take the next step and give it a try.