Communication, Group Management and Customer Service
The first ten minutes
Group management is won at the welcome. State your name, the plan, the timing, the meeting point, the toilet and coffee situation, and the rule for latecomers. Agree a visible meeting point and a buddy system for larger groups. Then keep the contract: if you said 14:30, leave at 14:30 - the group's trust depends on predictability more than on charm.
Communicating with the group
Face the group, use names where possible, and keep instructions positive ('walk on the left side' beats 'don't walk on the right'). Count heads at every boarding, exit and turn - three counts per movement is a good habit. Use the microphone for interiors and coach work, drop it in open squares where it destroys atmosphere, and respect whispering rules in monuments and caves.
Service recovery
When a guest complains, work through listen - acknowledge - solve - confirm - thank. Never argue publicly and never blame the driver, a colleague or the site in front of the group; take it aside, offer a concrete alternative, and follow up. Non-native guests appreciate plain language and fewer idioms, not slower volume alone.
Traps: answering a complaint with a lecture on how hard your job is; promising something you cannot deliver (an interior you have not booked); ignoring the quiet guest who is actually the one about to leave the group.
Worked example: a guest cannot find the group at Prague Castle - the agreed protocol is: return to the last meeting point, wait ten minutes, call, then rejoin only when you have notified the group and the driver.
Rule of thumb: count the group three times per movement, and deliver bad news early and plainly.