I work as a receptionist for a small branch of a brokerage company and I'm having a couple of problems:
1.) There's a lady who comes in about once every 2 weeks who maintains the plants we have throughout the building. One of the plants is right beside my desk and the stuff she sprays on it to make it shiny has been getting on the floor making the floor extremely slick. I've almost busted my @$$ three times today. I'm not sure if she's required to spray that stuff or not and I'm not too sure how I should ask her about it.
2.) Even though I take the mainstream calls that come into the office, no one ever tells me when someone will be out. Last week, we had 3 brokers out and I didn't know they wouldn't be in all week until Wednesday! I just found out one of the brokers that was out last week won't be in this week either after getting a couple hours of calls for him and telling callers last week he'd be in today. All the brokers and their assistants know they should tell me these things But I guess they all think I just somehow know when people will be in and out without telling me, and I can see thru walls to find out if someone is in their office or not. The sad part is, one of the assistants is my boss and even SHE won鈥檛 let me know anything! I don鈥檛 want to be aggravating to my co-workers, but callers are getting annoyed with me when I tell them two different things constantly because I never know what鈥檚 going on.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I completely understand your frustrations. I go through the same thing sometimes. However, it's just work. I know it's hard to think like that, but you shouldn't let it get to you. If information isn't imputed to you in a timely manner, then it's not your fault you can't help clients. Unless your job requires that you keep some kind of schedule of when brokers will be out, it's not your fault that clients get upset.
If you want to go above and beyond, you can send out an email to the assistants every other week or once a month asking for brokers scheduled time off so you can notify clients when they will return to the office. Or if that doesn't seem like something you want to do, just send out a friendly email asking the assistants to keep you posted on when the brokers will be out.
As far as the plants go, just leave a friendly note asking her to be careful b/c the spray she uses leaves the floor very slippery. Or just put a towel under or around the plant to help with the slickness on the floor. about the plants you should just say to the person politely would you mind not spraying taht "stuff" on this plant and if she gets narky you no longer have a reason to be nice either.
hope i help 1) "Would you move that plant to the corner before spraying it, or skip spraying it from now on? We've had some problems with the spray giving us a slick floor and don't want to end up with somebody hurt, much less a lawsuit." This is nonjudgmental, just makes a request and explains the reason.
2.) "Bob, if you'd left me a note saying you were away until Wednesday, I could have let clients know not to call every day and be frustrated that you weren't back yet. So next time, okay? Meanwhile, how was The Cape?" Easy, nonjudgmental (which gets you so much more cooperation than complaining), and gives a solid business reason for your request.
All of life should be so easy, eh? For the plants.. Simply tell her the situation or leave her a note if you do not see her., be truthful, let her now that had slipped and ask if she can relocate the plant temporarly while she sprays it down, perhaps to some carpet???? If she wants to maintain her contract with your company she will comply, it's VERY possible she's not even aware that it made the floor slippery by you.
Let your boss know about your delimea, let them now that to effectivly do your job correctly and to serve the needs of the companies clients it's important to know whos in and whos not. Let them know it will save time and un-needed phone calls to secretaries etc... It will also portray an image to your clients that the company that they are dealign with knows whats going on.
Best of luck.
Rob Tell your Boss about the spray lady and point out how dangerous it is for callers. The Office wouldn't want to be held liable for accidents because of that.
Also, tell your Boss that in order to be more effective on the job, you have to be advised in advance of people's absence from the office. Remind the Boss how aggravating to customers it must be to keep calling back and not being told the truth - that their party is out of the office. It's all in the interest of good customer relations. They'll understand. 1. Tell her that the spray gets on the floor and makes it dangerously slippery. Ask her not to use it.
2. Send the brokers a memo reminding them that it important for you to know when they will be out.
Speak up. 1. You can either move the plant to a location that would be less traveled in or put something under the plant that would soak up anything sprayed in that area and that would visually remind you where that area is (such as a rug).
2. You can establish a sign in board as associates walk in and check them off or have them do it and have a comments section where they can notate if they are not going to be there for a specified date. OR you can go around in the morning doing a daily check of who is there or not and let them know that you are only doing it for the benifit of their clients to give their clients only the best customer service. You can let them know that by keeping the communication lines open in the office is important for you to complete your job and inform their customers updated. If certian people do not like you knowing where they are during the work day then it is not your fault it is their business that will suffer. You are just there to help them give the best service to their clients. 1) Let your maintenance lady know not to spray too much of the stuff. Is it an artificial plant or natural plant? There should be custodian or building security when leaving work for the evening let them know to tell the lady not to spray it on the floor. (IF this repeats), let your hiring manager know who hired that lady about the incident. Work is busy, unless you convey the message to someone, you won't be heard(Sounds like you work in a busy trading firm).
(Ex. leave note by the plant "Please avoid spraying the floor, or leave a carpet below the plant" or something similar OR talk to custodian or security to let them of your situation politely).
2) From my work experience, I thought the receptionist is supposed to direct the call, no matter if they're told or not told by the employees. Some might be at work, some might not be. Unless notified, you are asked to direct the calls to their extensions. (Refer your work rules, and policies). Let your Boss know about your situation, if it bothers you that much in a polite way by saying. "So and so called you, and was upset when I told them two different things". Is there anything I can do to fix this situation? (In a busy work place, if you can spot a problem, you should come up with a solution. That is what team work is all about). Hope your boss is considerate of your situation.
(For ex. Hello Jane, I had few calls today, Ms. Smith was upset as she wanted to contact you and I wasn't sure where you were. Can we work out a plan not getting our customer upset?) Including others in your work process, gets the job done soon and quick or atleast their input on how to make it better.
Don't take it personally. Be a team player by asking them for help to make their job better. Remember ants carry more load than their weight, and they don't have traffic jams(studies, research have proved that). Only impatient humans have all issues working as a team. Hope we can learn from nature. Best of luck. Hope my suggestion is of help to you. This is an easy one but heres hoping that this hasnt gone on for too long without being addressed-the next time something happens just handle it by treating the person the way that you would want to be treated.
I presume you dont know the plant ladys' name which is a bad thing you need to ask her. Then say Shirley-i noticed the other day when you sprayed the plant that the floor was slick and I almost fell. I dont know what guidleines you have been given but would you mind if I moved the plant to another area where there is less traffic and no one can fall? Thanks Shirley-Have a great day
As far as the out of the office thing goes-I would send an email...Hello, I am writing this message because of my concren over the potential loss of clients. Over the past few weeks I have been contacted by clients to speak with their broker and that person has been out of the office for a few days. I was not aware of this so I advised that the person would be in the following day. The client called back and I told them the same thing. The broker was scheduled out of the office but I didnt know this until the irritated client called back on the third day.
I know that it is a bit of an inconvenience but please make me aware when you are going to be out of the office whenever possible. I would prefer that our clients remain with our firm and I am sure that you would too. Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Sincerely
Now on another note-one option is to talk to your boss or send hwe/him and email to address all of these issues and then follow up with the parties involved-ie ask the boss if you can move the plant. 9 times out of 10 she is contracted through a company and has no idea of what is allowed in your office. Then I would send the email to my boss and ask her if she thought that there was anything else I needed to include
I hope this helps 1) Put a note on the plant kindly asking the person not to spray the plant until further notice.
2) Ask your boss if you can put up a "sign out" (white) board so the people can sign out when they are away. Explain to your boss how much more quickly you'll be able to respond to customer calls if you do so. Then, you have to thank those that use it, so they will continue. Good luck. | 