Where do parents get off being rude to school staff?

[JackandDiane]

How do they think it's acceptable to ring up a receptionist to rant and swear and demand action. To threaten staff that they'll come down and find them if staff don't ring back by a certain time?
I simply can't imagine speaking to anyone like this. Particularly a stranger that you want to help them.
Do you shout at school staff? What do you think it will achieve ?

Someone not sommeone

Someone not sommeone

To my shame I have shouted at a GP receptionist. I had been ringing for weeks to get an appointment and couldn't and my antidepressants had only 1 day left. I did get an appointment the next day.

I did write to apologise after.

Not that is justified it but it was only 2 month after I had taken an overdose and my MH was all over the place and I was extremely anxious about running out of the tablets that was helping me.

No-one would mess with our receptionist

SnowFairy do you work at the same school as me? We are all bloody terrified of her!

To be honest Piper. I can see how in your situation. How you lost your temper. It's very frustrating when you can't get hold of GP your GPS surgery. The Receptionists at our Doctors as lovely as they are, but my God they are docile when it comes to answering the phones.
Well done for being humble and apologising

I understand that MrsDeVere and probably derailing the thread even more, but at my first smear test the nurse was a little rough and I gasped in shock and, I suppose, without wanting to be crass my vagina just 'closed up.'

The smear couldn't be completed.

That's IT. I promise that is all that happened - yet my medical notes state 'became hysterical, refused smear.'

If you hadn't been there you would think I was screaming and wild and crazy.

For some reason, people seem to think that once they're through a school door, they can do and say as they please with no consequences.

It really pisses me off that I can be waiting in the Health Centre, Post Office etc and see signs that there is a zero tolerance policy towards their staff and yet nothing like this in schools.

Don't know if it's up to individual Hts, but I'm sure if they reported parents for breach of the peace/threatening behaviour it wouldn't happen very often.

Too many school have an over-friendly, namby pamby open door policy which many people abuse

I don't think they do, belinda, I've known far worse in hospitals than in schools to be honest.

I've been angry about things at school but I would never shout at the school staff, far better to stay calm and state your case clearly.

I've never shouted at school staff but I've heard other parents at my dc's school doing it.

I've heard parents being spoken to as though they were five by teaching staff. Why?

ipissed you seriously need to calm down.
Yes you're angry about your child but you do sound unhinged from your posts.
From one thread about rude parents you have decided it is about you?
You are not the only rude parent out there!
Yes, your comments did sounds threatening.
You hear assertive, others hear threatening which won't help you!
Receptionists are there to to answer phones, take messages, pass them on etc but NO, they are not there to take the flak!
It is not their fault if the head didn't call you back or do what you wanted. It is not their responsibility!
How would you like to be shouted at or threatened because of someone else, when you are only doing your job? It is not nice, nor fair.
It certainly won't help you in the future if your child stays at the school as it's guaranteed the receptionist won't go out of their way to help you.

BelindaBagwash I agree with you in the fact that why is it in places such as hospitals, post offices, doctors surgeries, even on public transport notices warning people not to be threatening towards staff, yet nothing in schools? ( off point but could do with those signs in retail! )

latte it's gave it with both barrels, as in a double barreled shotgun!

I know my rights!

No receptionist should ever be shouted at for something out of their control, but I do see a lack of professionalism from some teachers (and heads) that wouldn't be accepted in a corporate workplace. I've seen instances of receptionists begging teachers to call back a parent because they are copping it as the parent isn't getting contacted. The teacher thinks they can make excuses and avoid it until it can't be ignored anymore. Parents don't want to feel ignored, and to them, their child is the only one that matters so they don't see the 100 other issues you are juggling at the same time. Whilst you can't drop everything straight away, I've always sent a text during my next break: 'I have received your message, I'm in a meeting after school, but I will call at 7pm, let me know if that time doesn't suit' or an email to the same effect which goes a long way to calming down a situation as they know they won't get a call back in the next two minutes, but have a time frame they will hear from you. It also helps to give them a call back as you can get any documentation in front of you that you need to address the issues.

Fortunately the principal we have now is pretty hot on 'customer service' so to speak. If we can't get back to a parent straight away we can send the receptionist a message to let them know when we'll contact the parent and they'll call them and let them know that. Our receptionist is pretty scary and our principal takes no nonsense, so if it isn't done, then the teacher will get pulled up on it.

I'm a bit amazed that parents don't have direct access to staff via voicemail and email. They do at my school and no, I'm never snowed under with parents' enquiries.

While rudeness to anyone is never OK, being able to leave a direct and traceable message is by far the best way to avoid heightened emotions.

I am too echt. But then I suppose there are many schools where you are not a 'valued customer' and many schools with arsehole parents and shitty incompetent staff. I'm so, so glad mine is not like that.

Parents have access to our emails, but we have no school voicemails anymore, email is highly encouraged. So emails come straight to the teacher, but phone messages go to the office. To be honest, I get very few calls these days. Unless it's an urgent matter, most parents send an email asking me to give them a call outside of classroom hours. This works best for me as I can sit down at the computer and work through my emails and make the phone calls with all my documentation in front of me that I need to address the reason for the phone call.

And most 'urgent' matters requiring a phone call can be dealt with by the office anyway and I don't need to speak directly to the parent - last minute doctors appointment, forgotten lunch, etc. Even then, the office will just take the message and let me know via email (we're a very tech-centric school, EVERYTHING is online).

I get emails direct from parents which I think is a good idea and sometimes filters the demands.... Generally speaking 99% of parents are reasonable and understanding that I am a human being and not a robot.

Its the 'newbies' that make me chuckle eg year seven parents who demand things .... Little Annie left her pe kit somewhere can ALL staff look in their classrooms as receptionist was very rude and wouldn't go and look' love annies mum

Oh weird emails are a whole new topic. In capitals. After 8pm

Once had a very funny one to a colleague accusing them of incompetence and letting their kid down. Colleague sent a very tempered polite one back explaining all the different times the kid had failed to come to lessons or extra sessions.