Working With the Receptionist
Hi! I’m the receptionist. There are some things you should know about me and the ways I can, and cannot, help you.
First of all, I’m the low man on the totem pole here at my company. That means that I usually don’t have access to your confidential account information. That also means that I have absolutely no authority to help you. None. I certainly cannot agree to a deviation from company policy, even if you are the most special client we have. Even if you spend seven hundred billion dollars a year with us AND are on a first-name basis with the owner.
So don’t yell at me when I tell you that I can’t help you. I’m not being obstructive. I’m being honest.
Second, my job is very busy. I’m answering anywhere from 5 to 50 phone lines, and I have to transfer calls repeatedly throughout the day. While I try to be accurate, sometimes I may hit a wrong extension number. I AM sorry, and calling me stupid for transferring you to Mr. Smith instead of Mr. Jones is mean. Just so you know, their extensions are only one digit off. And once I’ve hit the digits, I usually can’t start over.
Add to that the fact that I probably have five or six calls coming in at the same time as yours. I don’t want to make you feel unimportant, but when I’ve got the call tones of five different lines ringing, things can get a little hairy. Especially if I am also dealing with a line of customers in front of my desk.
So be a little patient if I have to ask you to hold, or if I accidentally transfer you to the wrong person. Believe me, it IS an accident. I don’t have time to play stupid games or plan how to wreck your day. Really. I’d much rather get you happily off to the person you need, so I can get on with my to-do list.
Third, shocking as it may seem, I’m no superhero. I’m not perfect. I don’t know everything, and I don’t have x-ray vision. I don’t know whether Mr. Smith is in his office or not. There are at least two walls and a door between us. There might be an entire floor — or ten — between us. This is why my company pays for a voice-mail system. If I transfer you to Mr. Smith and he doesn’t answer, then he’s either not in his office, or he’s not taking calls.
If he’s not taking calls, I don’t know why, and it’s rude of you to ask. Maybe he is talking to someone else. Maybe he has a migraine. Maybe he doesn’t like you. I don’t know which — but if you are yelling at me about it, well, I might could hazard a guess. Whatever his reasons for not answering his phone, your best bet is to leave a voice mail. If you know his e-mail address, follow-up with an e-mail. But don’t give me a hard time just because someone over whom I have no control — because he outranks me (see my first point) — isn’t answering his phone. I can’t make him.
If the person you’re calling isn’t answering, calling back repeatedly over the course of several hours isn’t going to make them answer. It’s only going to make you look like a jerk. When you call me every five minutes for two hours, you just make my life more difficult.
When you demand to speak to a person, not a machine, you’re not making my job easier. Our company is divided into departments for a reason. Not just any person can help you. You need the person who is an expert in the area about which you’re calling. Sure, I could transfer you to any random extension, hoping you’ll get a person to answer, but that’s only going to make you AND them mad at me. Them because I wasted their time and didn’t do my job properly, and you because you’ll only get transferred around even more.
Fourth, don’t call people during the lunch hour. At my office, people begin taking their lunch-breaks at 11:30 a.m. Some people leave for lunch as late as 1:30 p.m. In general, if you call between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., you can expect to get voice-mail.
Finally, have some patience. If you left your first message this morning at 8:30, don’t call back at noon to tell me that you’ve already left a message and no one is returning your call. It won’t help you to leave six messages between 8:00 a.m. and noon, either. Give the person at least 24 hours to call you back. They may have a meeting to attend, or prior commitments to keep, and may not be in a position to check messages until late in the work-day.
I’m the receptionist. My job is to help you reach the person who can help you. And I can help you best if you help me by remaining polite, calm, and reasonable.