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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School reception was rude to me

315 replies

Avalaura · 14/05/2019 09:08

Do I have the right to be angry?
My son moved school and today I forgot to give him some money for a stall were they will be selling buns. So i went to recpetion to see if anyone could give the money to him because they always did at the other school. And she just said " I haven't got time for that I'm afraid I've got other things to do " and then when I walked away she said to other people in the corridor that she has other things to do not bother with that. Then I waited for the reception door to open because it's a lock one. Then she said the other woman that she said she could take it up for her but she can't bother with silly things like that. Im so angry should I complain?

OP posts:
LolaSmiles · 15/05/2019 19:12

pink / debra
That's interesting. All but one secondaries I've worked at have had a cut off or a window for things to be dropped off (other than medical) and collected.
Teachers don't do any delivering either. Theres always been a focus on personal responsibility. Students have to go to reception and collect the items at break or lunch only.

Are you in smaller secondary Schools?

Mymomsbetterthanyomom · 15/05/2019 19:23

Yikes,how odd!!I probably wouldn't say anything but how incredibly rude.
I have only dealt with 2 secretaries that seemed to be "put out" when I was at the school.I "killed them with kinds" and made them cookies frequently.

SadOtter · 15/05/2019 19:35

That does seem rude, at my school if the office staff are busy they will stick the child's name on it and get the next teacher/TA to be heading that way to take it up or do it when they have a minute, might mean the child does't get it straight away but assuming the bun sale wasn't right at the start of school that doesn't matter.

Dieu · 15/05/2019 19:40

I work in a primary school. The office staff are constantly busy and work their arses off, but I honestly can't imagine them not passing on the money to a child in this situation. I personally don't think it was too much to ask.

practicallyperfectwithprosecco · 15/05/2019 19:41

In our school kids forget stuff it gets dropped into school office and at some point brought to class or if they are really busy ring up to part of school to get message to child to send them to office to collect whatever. No hassle no big deal and no need to be rude!

Shootingstar1115 · 15/05/2019 19:42

At my sons schools the receptionist prefers to grab forgotten items from parents and take them to the children herself. Rather than having loads of forgetful parents walking in and out the school at times where the children would get distracted!

Not sure what her problem is tbh! Why is she working in a school when she has that attitude?

Original poster
Avalaura · 15/05/2019 20:00

I have no idea why she does still work there. I'm probably not the first she's been rude to. I should be sympathetic though could be a bad day on the late menopause ha

OP posts:
Aquilla · 15/05/2019 20:11

Yes, that is rude - surely it's one of their jobs? Was it in a named envelope though op, or were you just shoving a grubby 50p at her?
Because I can see how that could be annoying.

Original poster
Avalaura · 15/05/2019 20:14

It was in a brown envelope

OP posts:
ASauvignonADay · 15/05/2019 20:29

I think her response does sound a bit rude.

But, receptionists are often incredibly busy and doing a million things at once. Schools are reducing staff and there may not be someone to cover reception or to do the errands.
I'm in secondary and it is a nightmare running around school to deliver messages and collect keys and give money etc. We do it, because it seems unreasonable not to, but I think it'll get to a point where we say no because capacity is ever reducing!

EllenMP · 15/05/2019 20:32

The receptionist at my son’s school does this for parents very cheerfully. When I have gone in with a forgotten item I always offer to deliver it myself (I have a CRC on file at school for helping in class) and she always says she is going up anyway.

justrestinginmybankaccount · 15/05/2019 20:34

She sounds horrible! I’d hate to deal with someone with a god-complex on school reception.

GeeksCanBeMumsToo · 15/05/2019 20:42

YANBU she was totally rude. If she didn’t want to take the money, she could have said that, but she could have offered to let you go or just said sorry I can’t do that. She didn’t have to be a moany bitch. I don’t think I’d complain though—just don’t take her shit if you need anything from reception again and point out her unprofessionalism and rudeness to her face.

Original poster
Avalaura · 15/05/2019 20:43

👍🙂

OP posts:
PavlovaFaith · 15/05/2019 20:45

You go home and think "well she was a cow" and forget about it. Who are you going to complain to? The school receptionist ombudsman? Hmm

vincettenoir · 15/05/2019 20:50

YNBU. Not only were they unco-operative, they were unnecessarily rude.

Original poster
Avalaura · 15/05/2019 20:51

I did exactly that PavlovaFaith. I was over it that day but there's alot of responses. Nice to see that people agree with me. Because it's the truth she was a "cow"

OP posts:
Angel2702 · 15/05/2019 21:18

Wouldn’t be a problem in our school, they phone the Classroom and get the child to collect it or they get one of the year six monitors to take items to classroom.

daffodillament · 15/05/2019 21:21

I think they were very rude. After all, you just wanted to hand some cash over to help raise funds for their school. In my school we get this all the time. Forgotten lunch boxes is a popular one and it's never a problem to dash over the childs classroom.

riceuten · 15/05/2019 21:22

I work with schools regularly, and very occasionally, receptionists and admin staff are short and stressed. It comes with the territory, you don't know what kind of day they've had, I would move on if I were you.

nonamesleftatall · 15/05/2019 21:25

It’s a really odd thing for the receptionist to have done. Just yesterday I dropped a pack lunch/ snacks in to my children and she took them willingly. She’d buzzed me through the front gate and even came out to greet me. My kids (both primary) get the bus home on a Tuesday, my Mum meets them from the bus but as their gymnastics time has changed they went straight from bus in to car to gym. I was merely taking food for the bus journey and she was great! I regularly drop in booster seat for bus as I’ve forgotten or ballet/football kit as grandparent picks up on a Monday and they go straight there. I would have a word with them.

manicmij · 15/05/2019 21:27

They were rude. However, you say 'the other school always did this'? Does that mean you were always forgetting stuff for your son? If so, perhaps you need to organise yourself a bit better so that you don't need to ask staff to do errands for you.

U2HasTheEdge · 15/05/2019 21:32

YANBU.

I have had to do it on a few occasions. No one has ever minded to my knowledge. If they did I wouldn't much care as it is a part of their job.

ddl1 · 15/05/2019 21:35

I think it was a bit rude of her to refuse you so curtly, but we don't know what else may have been going on, that they were having to deal with. Maybe they did have more urgent issues to handle right then. However, she should not have moaned about you to other staff in your hearing. That takes the rudeness to a different level.

Original poster
Avalaura · 15/05/2019 21:35

Manicmij
It was the first and only time I'll ever ask them for anything again!

OP posts:
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