陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他正在跟美國同事Amy講話。

(Office ambience)

CH：Amy, 你有時間嗎？ 我又遇到了點兒為難的事。

A：Well, tell me what the problem is and I'll try to help.

C：有個很重要的客戶，今天下午要來公司見我。

A：Why is that a problem?

C：你也知道，我的辦公室特別小，看了也不是很體面。我怕會讓客戶小看我，以后不好打交道，所以有些緊張。

A：I see what you mean, but you have some options.

C：真的？那你快告訴我。

A：First of all, you can check with Mary Ann to see if the conference room is available.

C：是啊，我怎么就沒想到呢！我可以把客戶請到公司的會議室。這下問題就迎刃而解了。

A：That's right. Your client never has to see your office space or what is basically a cubicle.

C：好，就這么辦。

A：Not so fast. Call Mary Ann first. It may not be available. If not, we'll have to come up with another plan.

C：那好，我馬上給Mary Ann打電話。

******

不一會兒，陳豪很掃興地回到Amy的辦公室。

A：So how did it go? Is the conference room available?

C：別提了，會議室兩個星期前就被人預定了。

A：Don't worry. This is not the end of the world.

C：那我該怎么辦呢？

A：He won't even notice the surroundings if you pay attention to the details that make him feel comfortable and welcome.

C：我怎么做才能讓他覺得賓至如歸呢？

A：It's been raining so much that he may show up with an umbrella or a raincoat. Offer to take them right away and hang them up.

C：可是我的辦公室里沒有衣架呀！

A：you can ask one of your colleagues ahead of time to help you by taking them for you.

C：那我就先跟Jenny打好招呼，讓她幫我把客戶的雨具保存起來。還有什么嗎？

A：Be sure you have a comfortable chair in your office.

C：還有呢？

A：Most important, ask the receptionist to call you when your client arrives so you can go down and greet him in the lobby. Making the effort to meet him and show him to your office will make him feel valued.

C：對呀，我每次出去見客戶，人家也都會到大廳里來迎我，然后帶我到辦公室里去。還有給我倒水喝。Amy, 你能再從頭說一遍，我都應該注意些什么嗎？

A：Meet him in the reception area and escort him to your office. Take his hat, coat or rain gear so he doesn't have to worry about where to put them. And finally, never be late or keep your client waiting.