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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:
Nofunkingworriesmate · 14/05/2019 13:29

How hard is it to give a child some money so he can fund raise for the school!!
The op is no rude and the reception should always be polite, a child or teacher would have past by at some time and could have dropped to the child
Some if you are so mean

SunshineCake · 14/05/2019 13:31

Some people need to go back to reception. So many reading and comprehension skills lacking.

Myheartbelongsto · 14/05/2019 13:34

She could have helped the miserable cow

PompeyBez · 14/05/2019 13:35

The receptionist sounds rude, unprofessional and bitchy. If she was too busy she could have said no in a polite way and left it at that. She certainly shouldn't make personal comments to other parents! Maybe the money wasn't an essential item, but it would mean your child didn't feel left out, plus it's money for a school fund raiser. You weren't unreasonable to ask, but she was unreasonable in her response.

UndertheCedartree · 14/05/2019 13:36

How frustrating that she doesn't consider the children worth bothering with. She probably could have sorted it in the time she spent moaning!

At my daughter's school that would be no problem atall. Sometimes we forget things - we're only human! The receptionist would have cheerfully agreed to pass the money onto my daughter.

If that happened to me I would have been quite sad. However, knowing the way the school is I'm sure they would have found a way to include the childrenthat didn't have any money.

Strugglingtodomybest · 14/05/2019 13:38

I completely agree with MarieIVanArkleStinks.

Pick your battles.

Chloemol · 14/05/2019 13:39

No you don’t have the right to be angry you should have given your child the money before school. Get over it

EffYouSeeKaye · 14/05/2019 13:39

It’s fine that you asked, fine that she told you no and I can understand her being assertive about it because she no doubt gets hundreds of silly requests from parents.

However, audibly (or otherwise) commenting about your request to other adults standing nearby was totally unprofessional.

She only needed to say ‘I’m unable to accommodate requests like this I’m afraid’ and maybe smile with it.

Anyway, never mind. I’m sure you’ve moved on by now!

MaintainTheMolehill · 14/05/2019 13:48

She was rude. What's terrible is the school should be going out of their way to make your son feel comfortable instead they have made it worse.

TeddybearBaby · 14/05/2019 13:52

I think you’ve probably hidden the thread now op but I would actually complain if I had the guts! The way she continued to bitch about you to colleagues is grotesquely unprofessional. Awful. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with her x

horizontalis · 14/05/2019 13:52

In my experience, many school receptionists are jumped-up jobsworths who speak to parents in the same way they would talk to a disobedient pupil.

surreygirl1987 · 14/05/2019 14:02

I work in a school. I'd be appalled if the receptionist acted like this. I would complain if I were you, but make it clearer what happened, and make it clear that your complaint is about the rudeness and poor attitude.

AmICrazyorWhat2 · 14/05/2019 14:02

She was rude and unprofessional, OP. OK, she was busy, but she's in a customer service position (students and parents being the "customers) and she should always be polite and professional.

Our school receptionist is lovely and would definitely pass on a forgotten item.

I'd complain if I were you. Being polite to parents (or any visitor) is part of her job and she's clearly not doing it.

BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou · 14/05/2019 14:16

School administrator here. We can’t accept loose money but we always explain that it must be in an envelope clearly labelled with name, class, amount and what it’s for. We used to supply little envelopes but we aren’t able to any more so there is a pile of used envelopes available.

However until around 10am I really can’t leave the office unless it’s an emergency so I would have happily taken your envelope but it would usually then be put in the register to be handed to your child after lunch. If it was needed before lunch then I would walk it round to the class as and when I could. As it is SATS week my colleague is needed elsewhere between 8.30 and 11 so I am on my own in the office. Classroom telephones don’t ring ... they have voicemail for messages about collection arrangements and are checked 10 minutes before the end of the day. We do not let people into the school unless they are escorted so couldn’t have let you take it to your son yourself.

8.30 to 10 genuinely is very busy in an average school office even if there aren’t any people at the door. We really are NOT receptionists, we are administrators, office managers or business managers depending on various factors and dealing with ‘front of house’ is the TINIEST part of my job. Also is it possible that the person you spoke to wasn’t even office staff? Sometimes if I am dealing with a poorly child for instance then another member of passing staff may answer the phone or door buzzer and they don’t always know how to deal with all scenarios....

NannyRed · 14/05/2019 17:39

@boobirdblue sorry love but no raw nerves touched
1 my children are all adults.
2 I managed to not need to borrow money to get my children through school,
but nice try at making an adequate parent feel inadequate. Fail, but nice try
I presume your defensiveness is because you were a poor parent?

boobirdblue · 14/05/2019 18:01

@nannyred who borrowed money to get their kids they school, certainly not the IP.

May just be worth your while reading the thread to gain an understanding!

Nice try but you've shown your self to not have understood spectacularly.

GrinGrinGrin

Megs4x3 · 14/05/2019 18:03

@viques - no need for that. I was simply suggesting that the OP found out the policy regarding what can be passed on and what cannot. You may not have liked my examples and I could probably have chosen better - PE kit for example - but there is no need for you to be rude.

My daughter's school had a policy that NO medicines were allowed on school premises and if a child needed medicating during school hours a designated person had to arrive to administer it. No kidding. They had a rethink when a child HAD to have access to an Epipen.

NannyRed · 14/05/2019 18:05

Oh sorry @boobirdblue my mistake. I thought the sentence “ If anyone could GIVE the money to him” was a ^hint to borrowing some cash. Carry on with your perfect life, I’ll stop sharing my opinion on a public forum shall I? 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

darkskyclearing · 14/05/2019 18:09

Ok, only read first page but YANBU. My son's school will do things like this. Even if she really felt she couldn't she was extremely rude in the way she handled it. Especially that aggressive thing of speaking critically about you when you are clearly within earshot.

LimeKiwi · 14/05/2019 18:18

Where are people where they'd be let into the building to drop off stuff to the classroom after bell has gone and the school day's started?
The UK? As that's definitely not the norm, you have to be buzzed in via speaker just to get into the reception at primary, and they definitely don't let you drop stuff at high school either!
YANBU, even if she didn't want to drop it off which is fair enough, she didn't have to be rude about it, especially talking about you within earshot.
We have one receptionist who is so snotty and patronising at ours, but the other one's lovely.
Sounds like you have one the same so I feel your pain.

boobirdblue · 14/05/2019 18:29

@NannyRed you made a mistake??? As did OP by forgetting to give her DC the money. Touché.

To err is human and actually you seemed to be preaching about being perfect not me.

You'll also note it was not just me who was struck by your rude attitude.

boobirdblue · 14/05/2019 18:36

I’ll stop sharing my opinion on a public forum shall

If you like 🤷‍♀️

surreygirl1987 · 14/05/2019 18:48

@nannyred yes I'm with @boobirdblue. Your rude post is laughable, especially as you completely misunderstood what was going on 😂

mrssoap · 14/05/2019 19:20

I get why your annoyed, but I'd just let it go and just remember not to rely on them getting it to your kid. :/ I am always forgetting stuff and handing it in at reception and they never ever have a problem getting it to my child. We're only human, it's easy to forget stuff.

user1511042793 · 14/05/2019 19:27

How mean and rude. My children’s school would have done it.

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