There's an article in the DF about being nice to the receptionist at a job interview

[fancyginglass]

Some rubbish article in the DF today but it reminded me of a conversation I had with a summer student who came in to work. He was at Uni and had massive plans to be a high flyer but he told me his mum had told him that you have to be nice to everyone at an interview including the receptionist. I said to him why would you treat the receptionist any different - no one is any better than anyone else. What a self entitled little prat who actually gave up Uni a year later. Does someone actually need to be told this stuff?

[EveryPlanetHasAYorkshire]

@PucePanther

I read the article. It didn’t say he was rude or unpleasant to the receptionist. It said he barely made eye contact and wasn’t interested in chatting. Maybe he was being dismissive of someone he saw as beneath him. Or maybe he had autism or other social difficulties. This is a typical example of an NT person assuming that because someone isn’t chatty they’re purposely being rude, which is not always the case. As someone with ASD I would treat the receptionist exactly the same. Not because I’m rude, but because I struggle with small talk and making eye contact regardless of who I’m talking to.

Yup. I have autism and I struggle with eye contact and small talk although I am getting better.

[andfurtively]

As a dental trainer every year for the past 12 years we have recruited new graduates. We have probably interviewed three or four hundred candidates in that time. Before each interview, the reception staff ( I consider that they have great people skills) give them an informal tour of the practice and ask casual questions trying to get honest answers when their guard is down.
I 100% will go with their judgement...
back when I was a lowly dental
Student I worked as a domestic cleaner in a hospital one summer, and couldn't get over the superiority and attitude I faced from some senior clinician staff. On one occasion I had just emptied a bin in a doctor's office, and he purposefully tossed another piece of rubbish at my feet expecting me to pick it up and deal with it.
All these years later, now being the one in charge, that episode sticks in my mind.

[EveryPlanetHasAYorkshire]

Plus not everyone is chatty.

[ThePinkGuitar]

It’s terrible but happens all the time!
People used to be really quite rude to me previous boss they used to assume she was a Receptionist/tea lady because she did everything same as rest of the team. Treated her quite different once they realised she was the senior Epidemiologist running the show. Happened at so many incident meetings.

[MrsMiaWallis]

@EveryPlanetHasAYorkshire

Plus not everyone is chatty.

I would hope the receptionist is busy enough not to want a chat tbh. A polite smile and a simple hello and thank you should be enough.

[ShinyMe]

Some people definitely need to be told this stuff. I work in a college, and we had some temps in last year. Some of them were likely to be in for quite a while, and we were keeping an eye out for anyone who had the potential to become permanent. One guy, a professional in his 40s, turned up for his first day and was really rude to our receptionists, so much so that they phoned my boss to let her know, and then he came up to our teaching floor and was rude to me as well. I think he though I was 'just' admin (I'm not, my role is more complex than that, but because I was around, I was trying to help sort him out with logins and door keys and things) and he was irritated that I wasn't laying everything out on a plate for him and being able to do photocopying for him immediately. He was then rude to some of our students as well. We didn't have him back for another day! We passed that on to the agency too, and as far as I know, several local schools and colleges had said similar about him. I just don't understand why people behave like that!

[chomalungma]

The Fail as behind the times, as ever, I see

Curious - because I have had loads of interviews in the recent years and they've all been face to face.

[BlackeyedSusan]

as a teaching student, we were told to be nice to the site manager (aka caretaker) In one of our magazines there was the story of the student who accidently used the deputies mug. Deputy was now on the war path around the school searching for his coffee mug. student was saved by the caretaker plunging the mug outt of sight in his cleaning bucket. I think the deputy was one of those who were a bit too aware of their own importance.

[chomalungma]

Yup. I have autism and I struggle with eye contact and small talk although I am getting better

True - not wanting to chat is not being rude.
Especially if you have a job interview and you are no doubt thinking about the interview, what you need to say etc

[PucePanther]

Also not everyone is relaxed enough to chat just before a job interview. I’d want to sit down and quietly take a few deep breaths, mentally review the answers I’d prepared, look through the company info one last time. I’d probably be feeling sick and shaky. Not in a mood to have a friendly chat. That doesn’t mean I’m rude or think I’m better than the receptionist.

[Whatwouldscullydo]

I wouldn't have thought sitting down quietly would be considered rude?

I mean at work I certainly don't feel the customers are being rude if they aren't up fir a chat. As long as they are polite when I'm.serving ie say please and thank you uts fine I dont assume anything at all.

[june2007]

I didnmt think he sounded rude.

[june2007]

If I were him I might be thinking better of out if thats what there like.

[LindaEllen]

There are lots of people in this world who take their frustrations out on the person in front of them, when a lot of the time the issue isn't their fault - so yes, they do need reminding.

I've been guilty of it myself if I'm honest, when phoning call centres, knowing they HAVE to stick to the script, but it's so frustrating as a simple issue takes so long to solve.

[MitziK]

God, I do this with new members of staff all the time.


You want your IT problems to be sorted out quickly, rather than left until the limit of the required turnaround time, don't you?

You want the wobbly desk to be fixed or replaced quickly, rather than added to the list of things that are on the list for the start of the next financial year, don't you?

You want the idiot caller to be told you're in a meeting but they'll take a message for you (rather than putting them straight through without any warning), don't you?

You want people to actually want to put themselves out to help you when something isn't working, you need something that isn't strictly in their job description or you're snowed under and would really benefit from some help, don't you?

[cologne4711]

People definitely need telling. For some reason they think more senior people are more important. They're really not, they get naked like the rest of us do.

I hate sycophancy towards senior people and have a lot more time for the people who are polite to everyone from cleaners to PAs to security staff to CEOs.

[SchrodingersImmigrant]

@PucePanther

I read the article. It didn’t say he was rude or unpleasant to the receptionist. It said he barely made eye contact and wasn’t interested in chatting. Maybe he was being dismissive of someone he saw as beneath him. Or maybe he had autism or other social difficulties. This is a typical example of an NT person assuming that because someone isn’t chatty they’re purposely being rude, which is not always the case. As someone with ASD I would treat the receptionist exactly the same. Not because I’m rude, but because I struggle with small talk and making eye contact regardless of who I’m talking to.

It dif say he was rude and his behaviour changed completely. Unless we are talking about different articles.

[chomalungma]

@MitziK

What you just said is so so true.

People remember how they are treated. And when someone who has treated you like shit suddenly realises they need you, then they can see how their life can be made just a little bit harder.

Actions have consequences

[Ginfordinner]

It’s depressing that people have to be told. I agree that you should treat people the way you want to be treated.

It has stood me in good stead job-wise over the years. Between the years 1981 and 2000 I never had a job interview because I was head hunted for each job move. I was in the same industry and people get to know you.

I was a sales rep in one of my jobs (nowadays the term is bigged up to account manager, but it is essentially the same job). I found that often receptionists at companies I used to visit often moved around and in many cases got a job in purchasing. They always used to remember the polite sales reps, and the rude ones. I got a lot of new business that way.

I also find that people who complain about their GP or other professional – medical or otherwise, are the ones who tend to be rude and confrontational. I can honestly say I have never had any medical professional be rude or unhelpful towards me or my family.

I also read somewhere that be careful about how you treat people on the way up because you don’t know who you will meet on the way down.

Basically, if you treat people with respect they will be the same with you, unless they are socially unaware arseholes.

[OwlOne]

I get that some people think that this is thought provoking helpful advice but I'm nice to everybody. Why would I not be nice to the receptionist! 99 times out of a hundred the job goes to somebody more more self-focused.. But to some people this is a new way of thinking I guess.

[PostsAndRuns]

Yes, people need to be told this stuff unfortunately.
Same as saying please and thank you to serving staff - I am always surprised by people who think they shouldn't do this.
And yes, my DS had a work experience interview and had to wait for ages in reception talking to the receptionist, who it turns out was doing an informal interview with feed back to the manager. Just as well DS is extremely polite, mostly due to being nervous and lacking confidence, so he was fine anyway.

[PeggyPorschen]

Just look at the way people interact with GP receptionists, teachers, school...

and blame THEM!

[Gwenhwyfar]

"I've had calls at work - and they don't realise that because of the way we work, anyone could be answering the call. They were abrupt - and thought I was the Receptionist. Not the manager who they wanted to get a sale from."

I remember answering the central line at one point and some people just putting the phone down when they realised they'd come to 'reception' rather than the person they wanted!

[ReggieCat]

I had a short-term job in a factory. When we were taking on staff I went to collect the next candidated from the waiting room and introduced myself as the secretary. The phone was ringing in the office behind me as I spoke to her and she said 'If you're the secretary shouldn't you be answering that phone?'

I was the secretary but because of my previous job experience I was one of the 2 interviewers. She didn't get the job. In fact, because the other interviewer had heard the conversation, she didn't even get interviewed before being told she hadn't got the job.