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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Our Receptionist is really rude on the phone!

71 replies

fanfan18 · 31/07/2018 12:20

I'm looking for a bit of advice really or to be told IABU and should just ignore it!

We have a receptionist at my office and her way on the telephone is awful. She has been here longer than anyone else and to be honest she is quite scary. She answers as though she is in a terrible bad mood, one word answers, blocks calls from clients who then call my mobile a bit irate.

I just had a customer put through to me this morning who said "what on earths wrong with the receptionist, she's damn rude!". It was quite embarrassing. I'm not her boss or line manager or anything but also don't particularly want to raise it with a Director (we are only a small company so most of us report to a Director). She can be quite aggressive but she is also very very sensitive so i'm at a bit of a loss.

I don't want the customers put off or get a bad impression but she isn't the kind of person I could just casually mention this to. I think she would be angry.

Any advice?

OP posts:
Eliza9917 · 31/07/2018 13:10

15star Tue 31-Jul-18 12:29:46
Don't raise it directly with her she could say you are bullying her etc. If you aren't her manager it's really not your place to say anything to her directly. You would need to report it to her line manager. You don't have to complain just say you are getting an increased amount of clients having issue x,y,z and let her manager deal with it.

This ^.

Leesa65 · 31/07/2018 13:12

Report her OP

God, I am looking so hard for jobs, and receptionist is one ..
I would be bloody grateful and pleasant , not a total cow like she seems to be.
Plenty of unemployed would happily take her job and make a good go of it.

Original poster
fanfan18 · 31/07/2018 13:12

Thanks everyone, okay I won't email her / speak to her directly. I'll drop a factual email to the Director who she mainly seems to report to.

@howiwishyouwerehere - that's definitely part of it. But the director who hired her in 2000 is long retired now!

OP posts:
Original poster
fanfan18 · 31/07/2018 13:14

On second thoughts I am going to wait until I can speak to him face to face, she has access to all of our emails!

OP posts:
jelliebelly · 31/07/2018 13:18

Raise it as customer feedback - stick to specific facts

PuppyMonkey · 31/07/2018 13:22

Well, if she sees the email, that might not be a bad thing...Wink

YearOfYouRemember · 31/07/2018 13:25

It's funny how bossy aggressive people are also sensitive. Catch all so they aren't pulled up on their behaviour.

Original poster
fanfan18 · 31/07/2018 13:35

It's funny how bossy aggressive people are also sensitive. Catch all so they aren't pulled up on their behaviour.

She's is the first person I have met who is like this. She seems so assertive, confident and well, aggressive that it shocks me how upset she gets about very small things. I guess you never know whats going on in someones mind.

OP posts:
YearOfYouRemember · 31/07/2018 13:38

Probably fake so she's not pulled up on her behaviour.

sprinklesandsauce · 31/07/2018 13:43

I agree that you need to take it up with management or she could say you are bullying her. If you are not her boss then it is not your job to pull her up on this. Her attitude could lose your company clients so management should do something about it.

It sounds like she needs retraining in customer relations skills, but management will need to handle it carefully so that she doesn't have a case against them

Jaxhog · 31/07/2018 13:52

You must raise it with your Director, and tell him/her what your customer said. Although it's hard to imagine he doesn't already know.

Original poster
fanfan18 · 31/07/2018 13:52

It sounds like she needs retraining in customer relations skills, but management will need to handle it carefully so that she doesn't have a case against them

What kind of case could someone have in this instance though?

OP posts:
BoneyBackJefferson · 31/07/2018 13:55

If she has access to all your emails is she "just" the receptionist?

soupforbrains · 31/07/2018 13:59

'cases' can be made up of a lot of things. for example she has been working at the company for x number of years has always conducted herself and her work activities in the same manner, if her performance was unsatisfactory why was she not informed/ re-trained sooner?

There's a lot that people can draw upon in their defence when they want.

HectorlovesKiki · 31/07/2018 14:01

The most important person in any organisation is the receptionist, the person who has that initial contact with the customer. Goodness only knows how much business she has lost them over her years of poor performance. Defo report her.

ShotsFired · 31/07/2018 14:02

Is your contact the sort of person you could ask a quiet favour of, i.e. "can you send me a quick note about the receptionist" (as if they were emailing you proactively and asking you to directly ass on the complaint). Or add it as a PS to a normal work email if you want to be subtler.

That way, it's out of your hands and you are just passing it on as requested by a valued customer of the firm.

FolderReformedScruncher · 31/07/2018 14:09

Wow. Up to a year ago we had a receptionist like this at ours. She only worked until 2 and at five past the phone would go berserk as everyone was ringing to avoid her. The bosses knew but were making so much money they didn't give a shit. She was so spectacularly rude and if called on it went into a sensitive huff for a fortnight! I hated working with her. She is retired now thankfully.

misspops · 31/07/2018 14:25

I teach customer service as part of my job. The number of dragon breath receptionists out there is unreal. As per a PP said, a receptionist is the first point of contact, both over the phone and in person for most businesses. They are the face and voice of the business and first impressions are vital.
I train people to always, always answer the phone with a smile. Being pleasant and friendly should not be a chore if you are in the right job.
She is clearly, clearly in the wrong role currently. Customer facing roles require approachable, sociable (yet professional) characters.
We have telephone training cards to help people, give them 'prompters' of how to behave when on the phone, even if you are having a bad day.
I would approach her boss, and your boss, with your concerns, as this is affecting your/their business and it cannot continue. Maybe she needs re training, she certainly needs some kind of training. Sadly some people are too stuck in their ways and a new person more appropriate for this type of role maybe be required ....if they can get rid of her.

misspops · 31/07/2018 14:27

Some of her behaviour may be seen as Gross Misconduct if she is losing the company business and not conducting herself according to the role requirements.

sprinklesandsauce · 31/07/2018 14:50

I mean if they don't approach it properly then she might be able to quit and have a case for constructive dismissal. Like soup says, if she has always been like this why is it a problem now? If it has something that has got worse, then she could be picked up on it.

You would be amazed what people can make a case out of. This is why you shouldn't approach her or it could be seen as bullying. I went to a HR seminar once by a firm of solicitors, they cited a case where some employees had been sacked for theft, but because the company did not follow proper procedures they had a case and got compensation! Totally ridiculous but happened.

This is what HR is for though, it is not your problem OP, it is up to HR and management to sort this out.

Original poster
fanfan18 · 31/07/2018 15:12

Is your contact the sort of person you could ask a quiet favour of, i.e. "can you send me a quick note about the receptionist" (as if they were emailing you proactively and asking you to directly ass on the complaint). Or add it as a PS to a normal work email if you want to be subtler.

Yes, we do have that kind of relationship. Next time I see him or speak to him and think its a good moment, i'll mention it to him.

OP posts:
soupforbrains · 31/07/2018 15:12

I would suggest that you verbally consult her line manager as a first instance here. Then, if there are recurrences ask the line manager how you can put in writing a record of further complaints/comments you receive from clients. (Ordinarily this would be an email, but obviously if she has access to the line manager's emails that's not ideal), but once an initial complaint has been raised you will probably be directed to log further issues with HR in any case.

Original poster
fanfan18 · 31/07/2018 15:17

If she has access to all your emails is she "just" the receptionist?

I don't think I referred to her as "just" a receptionist. It is a vital role hence my concern about her being rude to people.

To be honest I think because she has been here so long, when technology and email were really ramping up in business everyday she was the main point of contact for everything. The permissions for most things within the company are controlled by her PC on the front desk.

OP posts:
detdet · 31/07/2018 15:25

I was a temp at a place like this and was offered a permanent role. She really put me off. I mean the thought of dealing with her as she was so bloody difficult.

I asked for advice on here and got told I was clearly the bitch Grin

Anyway, our manager obviously dealt with her, as she bucked her ideas up. She's still pretty horrid, but I'm permanent now and never pull rank, but she knows she was in the wrong.

GreatDuckCookery6211 · 31/07/2018 15:35

There must be more than you thatnhas noticed her behaviour? Go and see the director and tell him she's upset a customer and that and others find her unprofessional and rude. Saying that the director must know already what she's like! Still go and see him.