You are trying to make an appointment with your mechanic/doctor/hairdresser, and no matter how often you call, you cannot seem to get anyone to answer.  After seemingly endless moments of being on hold and listening to either a cheery sales pitch or some hideous muzak ad nauseum, you are ready to unleash your fury on the first real person that crosses your path.  Sound familiar?  While it may be briefly satisfying to scream at the first person you encounter and demand to know just why your valuable time is being wasted, that will probably not get you the results you desire.

The Receptionist Often Has to Help Other People Besides You

Many people assume that the receptionist is not doing his or her job if their phone calls are not answered, or if a message is not returned promptly.  A woman who works as a receptionist for one of the most recognized car dealerships in the world had this to say about her job: “It is so frustrating for me to have to answer phones all day and then have the people I am paging not respond.  I absolutely hate having to ask people to continue to hold repeatedly, or to offer them a voice mail when I know that there is a very good chance that the message will go unanswered for a long time.  As much as I enjoy my job, there are plenty of days when I go home in tears because of all the negativity that has been thrown my way.”

Try to keep in mind that the receptionist is most likely the lowest person on the totem pole, and therefore not in a position to solve your problem.  She is probably doing several other things at the same time as she is answering phones, such as helping the customers who are right in front of her.  In this case, a lengthy diatribe will only cause the calls that are coming in behind yours to be ignored: “I’ve had many people tell me that, due to the fact that they cannot get a response, they are just going to go somewhere else.  As much as I do not want that to happen, I also cannot always take the time to talk a person out of their anger.  I am the only person to answer ten incoming telephone lines, and I also have to take care of the customers who are paying for their repairs.  If I stop and try to talk one customer into staying, then I have four or five other calls backing up behind that one who are eventually going to hang up in anger, and then call back and tell my supervisor that I am not doing my job.  I end up having to let one angry caller go in favor of not angering all the other callers.  It is a terribly flawed system, but that is the only one we have at the moment.”

 Instead of taking out your frustration on the receptionist, try the following steps: