Receptionist shouted at me and flounce off job

[Waytooearly]

I'm trying to run a department with very little admin support.

We have loads of time-sensitive work and we get sued if it doesn't get done on time. We had a couple crises arise today. It's fulfilling work but you can only manage if you're super organised.

Our main receptionist has a bad habit of ringing me when randoms drop in. Fine, ring once, nice to see if I'm free, but usually I'll have to say take a message or book him in later. I can rarely come down for "just a sec". We don't see people without appointments.

Lately I've had to talk to her manager because the calls are becoming like:

"This lady dropped in..."

"Yeah, got this bundle due at 4,sorry,book her in on Thursday?"

"Yeah but she said that you said that she could come in any time..."

"Yeah really no, okay bye"

"Yeah but she has kids with her and they took the bus..."

I even get calls when I'm with clients.

Today she rang because a current client stopped in for a "quick question". I said "No, sorry, urgently getting something done before my 4:00 appointment," She rang again ten seconds later, saying again, "Yeah but he said that you said that he could just pop in?"

I said, "Well now I have to come down because you're doing this in front of him. When you do this it means my work doesn't get done and I have to stay late."

Of course the person popping in pulled out paperwork and wanted to have a sit down so that happened. I just shrugged and thought, " Fine, late-ish night at office" and resigned myself to it.

I left the impromptu appointment to find the receptionist flouncing about the lobby shouting that she was quitting because I had talked to her like shit. There were clients in the lobby. My colleague and I got her into a room and made soothing noises to shut her up.

She still left. I'm pretty sure it was a drama quit because her things are still here.

Our manager isn't here today.

What's the appropriate response from my manager here? She is very good friends with the receptionist and they socialise outside of work. I fear therell be some placating response so they don't have to hire a new admin.

Can someone coach me on how I navigate this?

We used to have this at a HA I worked for. Most things would be appointment only, but people still dropped in hoping it meant they could bypass procedures ie get on the waiting list quicker, or get a repair done straight away.

They'd also either misunderstand something said to them over the phone, or just make up that 'so and so' said they could do it their way, which was a pain as calls weren't recorded.

I think it's fair enough if she tries once to see if you're free, but if you say no she should then book an appointment like normal.

It sounds like she either struggles with the 'gatekeeper' side of saying no, or she doesn't understand that she should.

So did you imply they could pop in or not?

OP - do you tell clients they can pop in???

Until I know the answer to this I cannot give an opinion.

If people are dropping in and telling her that you said it was ok, it is not her job to mediate your relationship with your clients.

of course it is. Even if it might be ok to drop in without appointment, people still have meetings or are out of the office! Saying "no" is part of the job....

Sorry, to answer your question , you/her manager need to figure out whether it's because she cant say no or she doesn't understand. If it's the former then that's a capability issue as it's obvious part of the job. If the latter, then the expectations need to be set out clearly.

I literally said in my OP : "We don't see people without appointments".

I've never told clients to just pop in! They're lying and chancing it. She and I had that conversation many times.

That’s not the same as ‘I have not told these people to just drop in’ though.

Ok. Cross post.

But more than one person has told the receptionist that you told them to pop in.

That doesn't mean you - or your team - aren't telling people to drop in, though.

I literally said in my OP : "We don't see people without appointments"

And then you literally gave an example where you did. It all sounds a bit unprofessional

In that case OP she needs to learn how to do her job and how to say no to clients. Otherwise she is useless to the company.

And does she have a security guard down there? If she's down there on her own with a desk that's easy to reach over and grab her by the throat (and I'm not exaggerating, I've seen that happen), she's going to be feeling extremely vulnerable acting as your gatekeeper.

Are you a conveyancer by any chance OP?

If she is aware of it, then she's not doing her job properly.

I would suggest a meeting with you, her and line managers, to set out/reinforce expectations and find out why she isn't following the process of booking apts.

The more times shes done this, the more clients will expect to be seen as and when they come in. So now you will have the issue of 'well I didn't need an appointment last week'

It might also be worth sending out some literature in the form of 'service updates' to clients to reiterate it's appointment based only.

Customers will always try it, as they think well it's only 5 minutes (it never is).

Waytooearly
I literally said in my OP : "We don't see people without appointments".

Can someone coach me on how I navigate this?

Put a bloody great sign up behind the desk that says

We don't see people without appointments

Put it in all of your literature and make sure at the end of each session say that you will see them at their next appointment.

And if a client ever complains that your receptionist told them "No" you make sure that the receptionist knows that you have their back.

Also give her a script

"X is fully booked and doesn't see anyone without an appointment, their next free appointment is Y, would you like me to book you in?"

You could also instead of caving, say that you will call the customer back instead within a timeframe. Atleast it sets an expectation

I think this is on you OP. You’re sending very mixed messages. You say we don’t see people without an appointment, but then you did, and that’s not the first time, and you’re also taking calls whilst with a client (unprofessional and rude btw) and somehow lots of these clients seem to know to say “X told me to pop in”. Either lots of your clients are chancers and all somehow know to say the same thing or you and others are telling them to pop in.

You need to decide whether you do or don’t see people without an appointment and then stick to it. No nipping down when they pop in and no taking calls when you’re with a client.

You can also remove the intermediary from the conversation.

"Let me speak to them"

"I'm sorry Mrs Bloggs, but I'm not available today. By all means make an appointment and I will see you then"

How many seconds did that take?

Yes I answered the phone when I was with a client because I couldn't imagine why the receptionist was ringing me in the middle of an appointment. I thought something was on fire.

The woman with kids who'd taken the bus had been told by a referral agency to pop in. Which was ridiculous of them.

I literally have in my client care letter that they need to book an appointment to be seen!

The man I did end up seeing without an appointment that day, I honestly felt hustled into it by then.

Yes, we've had this conversation many times.

When I am not expecting any one at all, the only reason I answer the phone is she's alone down there and I don't know if there's really a crisis going on.

You've never told these clients to just pop in but somehow they're getting that idea - who is giving it to them, if not you? Do they see other people in your office at other times who would say that? Is it the receptionist herself suggesting it?

I agree that, going forward, it needs to be made BLOODY clear to the clients and the reception staff that Nobody Gets Seen Without An Appointment EVER.
Big sign on the desk, as PPs have suggested. Another one on the wall. Another one in front of the receptionist.

And stop answering her calls when in the middle of a meeting with another client!

Also do not give in to the blackmail tactics she is using. She shouldn't be saying those things in front of clients, that's desperately unprofessional as well - but stop letting her get away with it.