Changing of the Receptionist
The job of a receptionist is never an easy one. At any given time, it seems like there's at least two things you need to be doing: both the work that no one else in the office wants to do, and handling the influx of people both by phone and coming in the door. Not only do they have to handle this, but they have to do it with a smile on their face.
For this, you need two virtues: not only hard work, but patience as well. A very tall order.
It always displeases me when I see a receptionist sitting there taking an earful from a customer. Meanwhile, the doctor, lawyer, or other professional is hiding in their office, avoiding the confrontation and letting the receptionist act as the gatekeeper for this discontent.
I have a lot of delusions, and one of them is that maybe, one day, I'll be a VERY IMPORTANT GUY in charge of some VERY IMPORTANT THING, and I'll have an office, and so much work to do that I'll need a receptionist. When that happens, my goal is simple: have the receptionist do the work that is required of them.
But, as soon as an irate customer shows up, I don't use the receptionist as a shield. That's precisely the point at which I would step in and act as the shield. If a customer has a problem with something I'm doing, and they need someone to listen to, then it's probably my fault, so it should be me.
Or, if it isn't me, or if I'm really too busy to handle these kinds of things, then I'll make sure it's someone else. But not the receptionist; that shouldn't be part of their job.
For this, you need two virtues: not only hard work, but patience as well. A very tall order.
It always displeases me when I see a receptionist sitting there taking an earful from a customer. Meanwhile, the doctor, lawyer, or other professional is hiding in their office, avoiding the confrontation and letting the receptionist act as the gatekeeper for this discontent.
I have a lot of delusions, and one of them is that maybe, one day, I'll be a VERY IMPORTANT GUY in charge of some VERY IMPORTANT THING, and I'll have an office, and so much work to do that I'll need a receptionist. When that happens, my goal is simple: have the receptionist do the work that is required of them.
But, as soon as an irate customer shows up, I don't use the receptionist as a shield. That's precisely the point at which I would step in and act as the shield. If a customer has a problem with something I'm doing, and they need someone to listen to, then it's probably my fault, so it should be me.
Or, if it isn't me, or if I'm really too busy to handle these kinds of things, then I'll make sure it's someone else. But not the receptionist; that shouldn't be part of their job.