For those who don't know, I'm a receptionist at a local company in Provo. All I do at work all day is answer phones and complain about how dumb the people calling are. So for those who might be new to the business of calling a company receptionist, here are a few tips that will help you to have a more successful experience (and make the receptionist much, much happier).1. Know why you're calling. Many people call in, say their name, and then just wait expecting the receptionist to know why they're calling. We don't know why you're calling most of the time, so help us out a little bit.
2. Don't ask, "How you doing?" and not give time for an answer. If you're not going to wait for an answer, don't bother asking because then we both just end up talking over each other and then we feel dumb for answering your insincere question.
3. Don't call the receptionist "Sir" or "Ma'am". These are titles reserved for us to use on you when you piss us off, i.e. "Sir, please calm down." Also, you may accidentally use the wrong title for the gender of the receptionist and then that's just embarrassing.
4. Don't tell the receptionist your life story. If other businesses are anything like the one I work at, the receptionist will not be able to help you with the reason you are calling. The receptionist is just there to transfer you to the right person, not to fix your problems. So instead of telling the receptionist about how your cat died and then your liver failed and your life sucks so now you want to get a refund, just tell the receptionist you want a refund so they can get you to the right department.
5. If you are calling for a specific person, please remember that person's name. The receptionist might be able to find it for you, but they might not.
6. Don't take out your anger on the receptionist. Getting mad and yelling at the receptionist accomplishes absolutely nothing. If other companies are anything like mine, the receptionist has zero power over anything that would cause you to be angry. Any anger directed at them is misplaced, since they have no authority. You can yell at me all you want, but I still have no authority to give you a refund. (Also, the "Let me talk to your supervisor!" line generally doesn't work if you're talking to a receptionist. My supervisor manages how I answer the phones, my schedule, etc. she doesn't have any power over the things making you angry).
Those are just a few of the many things people do on the phone with me all day, I could probably go on all day airing my grievances, but I might just call up some company and get mad while telling the receptionist my life story instead.

















