Rants of a Receptionist

Receptionist Humor

Does this sound familiar? Can you tell me how long Mr. X will be on the phone? Can you walk to his office and let him know I’m calling?

Why is it everyone that calls into an office thinks the receptionist has ESP and knows every little thing about everyone in the office? The receptionist cannot see through walls. They do not have any extra minutes in their day to time each phone call every individual makes during the day. No, we do not know how long the person you wish to speak to will be on the phone!

If a person does not come in or out of the office through the door at the receptionist’s desk, the receptionist has no idea if the person is still in the office, if they've ever been in the office that day, if they are out of the office or when they will return to the office. We can page for each individual if you would like, but we cannot guarantee the person you want to speak to will answer the page. Plus each time we page, we are interrupting the work of everyone in the office.

Yes, if a person in our office does not want to talk to you, we (as receptionists) will tell you they are away from their desk, they are in a meeting, or they are out of the office even though they may be standing right next to us. We will offer you the use of their voice mail. Please use it. If you leave a message with the receptionist, we will only call their voice mail and leave your message there anyway.

We do not see everyone every day. We can go days without seeing some people because they never come through the front doors. The only way we know some people are even in the office is when we call them to tell them you are on the phone.

Please respect the receptionist when you call. She is just doing her job. She is not a baby sitter or a hand holder. Usually she is the busiest person in the office because she has to open and deliver all the mail, answer and route all phone calls, some do the purchasing of all office supplies, some have to make sure the conference room is always in perfect order, some have to send out faxes, some do a lot of Word processing or spreadsheets for others in the company that either do not know the system as well or do not type as fast as the receptionist. She is busier than you can ever imagine if you have never been a receptionist. Give her a break! She knows how much you want to talk to a certain person, but there is nothing she can do about it if the person is on another call, away from their desk, doesn’t want to talk to you, or is not in the office.