When someone walks through the door of the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), the first thing they encounter are the receptionists, the first point of contact for visitors and clients. They welcome people, answer questions and make the day-to-day work of companies, researchers and visitors easier. This task is second nature to Carme Mateo, who in her more than twenty years of experience at the helm has witnessed the growth and transformation of the PCB. She has borne witness to the birth and growth of an infinite number of projects, companies and scientific advances from a privileged position of contact with the people involved.

In these 23 years, what significant transformations have you observed in how the PCB and its community operate?

The change has been monumental. I have seen the arrival of all the groups from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the birth of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). The capacity and number of people working has evolved and changed a lot, but our role as receptionists, not so much: the tasks remain very similar, but adapted to the volume, as there are more people, more buildings and more meeting rooms.

What are the most frequent queries or situations you encounter at reception, and how do you handle them to ensure good service?

We are most often asked for directions to places, both by visitors and by the people who work here. The Cluster building has not changed much, but it’s a very big building very large and, especially on the lower floors, it’s easy to get lost. Managing meeting rooms also takes up a lot of our time. Fortunately, we have grown as a team and the figure of the audiovisual technician has helped us a great deal with all the technological aspects, which used to leave our heads spinning.

Surely there are users who only want to deal with you, or who expect you to always be available for questions, out of trust or even friendship, right?

Yes, this happens to me a lot, especially with older customers: they think I know everything. More than knowledge, I can say that I have a good memory, and many people take advantage of this to ask me questions, because they claim I have total recall. It’s like I’m a computer, I’m the archive! However, I always tell them that anyone can help them, not because of the workload, but because I think that the community should have confidence in everyone working reception.

Year after year, it is the highest-rated internal service each year according to the annual satisfaction survey. What’s your take on this, and what is the key to this success?

Honestly, it makes us really happy. I think we do good work, and we deserve it, and we have a sold team where everybody tries to do their best. We also feel like we have the support of PCB Management. The key to success is people, working as a team and, when you don’t know something, being able to count on the colleague next to you.

Over all these years, do any anecdotes stand out in particular?

I remember almost twenty years ago, a Japanese man came asking for a person at the PCB. I called the lab, where he was supposed to be, but the person who answered the phone told me he wasn’t there and to tell the Japanese gentleman to go to El Corte Inglés until she arrived. And I followed the instructions to the letter. After a while, the person in question came looking for him, and when I told him that I had sent him to El Corte Inglés, boy, did he let me have it [laughs]. And suddenly the Japanese man appeared, so happy, with a couple of bags from El Corte Inglés!