To report this receptionist?

Tbh, if I were in a queue at the GP surgery and needed something important within a set time frame, I would say, "excuse me, I need to get the X am bus to the clinic for my bloods and need the required bags immediately, so please give them to me now."

If there isn't the required response, repeat, louder, as many times as necessary.

She’s a receptionist in a GP surgery - very busy and under pressure

she’s not working the front customer service desk at the Ritz

so yes go ahead and report her for failure
to wear a pleasant expression 😳

Working as a GP receptionist is very different to working as a receptionist in most places. They get constant abuse and being told "If I die its your fault" is a daily thing. They are overworked, understaffed and blamed for all the policies and procedures the partners put in place. Yes, they should be happy and smiley but you don't know what she may have just dealt with.

I covered on reception at my surgery today, at our small satellite surgery. We have minimal staff there. A man came in with his wife feeling very unwell. The GP needed him to go to hospital but the ambulance was a 14 hour wait so they rang a taxi. We had no nurse in today and the GP needed to get on with other patients so I was asked to sit in another room with him and his wife whilst they waited for the taxi as the GP didnt want them left alone (if he had stayed with them the other patients in the waiting room would have kicked off).

He went into cardiac arrest whilst I was sat with them. GP came through and dealt with it whilst I called the ambulance. I then went back onto reception. Three hours later we got notification he died - I still had another 4 hours to work on reception. I got on with it, being shouted at by a number of patients because their prescriptions weren't ready. And then someone wanted to complain to my manager that I wasnt particularly smiley or happy!

You have no idea what that receptionist may have just had to deal with before you came to her counter. Yes - they should be smiley and nice but sometimes they deal with more than you can every imagine.

Cut the receptionist some slack. Complain about the system not the people.

You can't report her for not smiling and the other things are beyond her control.

😂

I think its fine to complain about the system but I certainly wouldn't complain about the individual. The fact you couldn't get the bus is on you and not the receptionist fault. By any chance when the receptionist was pulling this face was you standing their huffing and puffing. Also people can't really help how their face looks, you said it took quite a while do you know how creepy she would look with a fake smile on her face for that length of time 😁

You could be nice, and cut her some slack. She's probably feeling stressed and has stuff going on that she has to deal with as well as a paid job. We've all been there.

I would complain about the system that means you have to go to the surgery before going elsewhere to get blood drawn. Also about the queueing system in the surgery.

That is the problem. It isn't the receptionists fault and she's probably fed up of it too because she probably gets the brunt of people's frustration.

The whole experience sounds stressful, and with that I sympathise, but you seem to have taken the most issue with how this receptionist has arranged her face. Sounds like she was concentrating and you're already complaining about being held up and maybe she was trying to get you through as quickly as possible.

Sounds like they're being screwed over by the system as well, and she doesn't know nor is responsible for your travel arrangements, and if the system is that disjointed, and she needs a colleague to help find what's needed then that points to either a new member of staff still learning or a shit system - which she's also not responsible for.

Tbh sounds like you've made her and her face the scapegoat for the entire experience, which isn't fair. The experience was shit indeed, so if you must complain then complain about the whole disjointed system that's causing the issues, rather than your perception of someone's face.

If you complain about the receptionist, you are letting whoever designed this system off the hook. Surely labelling information can be transferred between the two places without you carrying bags around?

Put it this way - the current system is difficult for patients with chronic health issues, especially anything affecting mobility. It is putting pressure on receptionists too.

I wouldn't necessarily complain as such, but I would give feedback to say public transport links between the places in question are poor, the surgery is obviously under pressure producing these bags and hoc, and you'd hope they might be able to find a more efficient and accessible solution (while understanding the pressures they face).

This place sounds similar to my sister’s GP. Poorly run, no system in place and soured faced receptionists.

OMG what a fucking shit show!!! You poor thing.

I'd report to the local PALS - your surgery will be part of an ICB or a CCG or something like that - used to be a health authority, then PCTs. There'll be a new name for it next year (I'm not even kidding).

PALS stands for Patient ?Advisory? Liason ?Service? of some such rubbish. Anyway send complaints there, but as a previous poster suggested, reporting someone's resting bitch face isn't a great idea, but certainly you can comment on their attitude and inability to function efficiently.

Could you not have gone for the bag earlier? It sounds like you didn’t allow any wiggle room in your schedule and therefore missed the bus .

The system itself sounds farcical.

There were two other staff members Sat who were only taking prescription requests or arriving people in for their appointments but were mostly sat without any patients.

That system sounds more worthy of complaining about imo. The surgery sounds like they need bringing into the 21st Century. They should have a screen where people can register their presence themselves, and the prescription request should be done on e consult, or a form popped into a box, for that purpose.

She works in a poorly managed environment and probably is miserable, having to.be the face for such a badly organised outfit.

If I were to complain, it would be to the practice manager about their appalling attitude towards the sick people who pay their wages.

I am always stressed and busy at work but as I work in a customer facing role with vulnerable, anxious and scared people part of my role is putting a smile on my face, being kind and reassuring. It is an essential skill for my job and it should be for medical receptionists. If they can't handle stress whilst also carrying out their basic duties and also providing an appropriate service they should not be working at a doctor's surgery.

I don't see anything negative in her actions. She isn't commercial customer service.

Nobody owes people a fake smile and cheery disposition. She did her job.

Your schedule and bus issue isn't in her control. She isn't in control of how many people come for service at the same time.

I don't think you are actually being unreasonable. And I think you should complain that she was rude and inefficient. But you also should complain about a system that requires you to attend two different health centres for a very routine procedure.

No I wouldn't report her.

It sounds like it must have been very busy as you queued for a while. She was probably stressed and rushed off her feet. Doesn't sound like you had a brilliant experience but not smiling or apologising for the wait is not complaint worthy imo.
.

You can give feedback to your local Healthwatch, either online or via email

For what?

No. You'll sound ridiculous.

Mind you, the whole system sounds ridiculous but reporting the receptionist for having a sour face won't make any difference. Who would you report her to?

Was there a reason why you could not get a cab to where you needed to go?

If her colleague had to help her maybe she wasn’t smiling because she was stressed about her job. It probably had nothing to do with you. And she couldn’t have known about the bus so you can’t really blame her for that.

you are being ridiculous,
you have to take some responsibility