When someone I knew launched her own online bingo site I was more than keen to try my hand as being a bingo chat host - after all I'd been a player, then an affiliate and all I had left to try, other than run my own site, was to be a chat host.
I will admit to anyone that when the site launched it was mostly a case of the blind leading the blind. We had all been bingo players but it really is a different kettle of fish being on the other side of the screen. We knew what we should be doing, and what we had really enjoyed about other chat hosts but putting it into practice was more than a little nerve wracking.
First Impressions
As a chat host ultimately you are like the receptionist in any normal business, you are the first person the customer is in contact with and therefore the first impression to that customer. I know on a personal level I wouldn't stick around long if I wandered into a bingo chat room to see a chat host cussing and swearing and believe me - I'm no prude!
Customer Service
If you went to purchase something from a shop and on walking in and up to the counter and the assistant ignored you, what would your response be? Try and catch her attention? If she then continued to ignore you, you would turn round and walk out. The same can be said of a bingo chat room and their hosts - chat is such a big part of an online bingo community. Not only is it a place to chat about everyday things but there is also the added bonus of the potential to win free money by participating in chat games.
To be continued......
Nickie Shute is a former bingo chat host, online bingo enthusiast and the webmaster at www.ballsupbingo.co.uk