I work at the welfare office, and if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that you fuck with Reception and Clerical at your peril. Be nice to the receptionist, buy candy for her kid’s fundraiser, hell, at least say hi when you come in and goodnight when you leave. It makes all the difference. That goes double for the clerks, who just make life easier all around. A lot of the people I work with, I’ve found, were once “on the other side of the desk”- public assistance recipients. They know what it’s like to be treated like dirt, and don’t take kindly to continued abuse (and they know ass-kissing when they see it). So I try to be as nice to them as possible, and they always treat me well in return. Wish I could say the same about some of the other people I work with…
Bingo. It amazes me how many people who rely on support staff don’t get this. As my mama would say, “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”
And to Herr Doktor Professor SmartyPants: Buddy, you may have two PhDs, but you’re still the one who can’t figure out how to use the copier. You’ve got a lot of nerve taking that superior tone with me.
One law clerk at my office has actually had the audacity, after rudely removing a filing clerk’s work from the copier to insert her own, to say: “Well who’s more important - you, or me?” She then smiled smugly and copied her stuff.
I’ve been the brunt of “you’re just a receptionist” behaviour since I started, and I have quickly come to learn that I can make people’s days uncomfortable simply by being polite and professional rather than being my usual cheerful, joking self. Add that to the fact that their couriers will be done last, their filing will wait until tomorrow, their cheque requisitions are at the bottom of my priority list, and their calls go directly through without screening, and suddenly their world becomes a much more disorganized, harried and unpleasant place to be.
This is a lesson well-learned when they see their co-worker, who is very courteous and thoughtful, getting all their work and filing done at a much faster rate, and they don’t seem to get nearly as many inane phone calls from clients…