What not to do as a receptionist.

[SnowyRox]

How not to run a practice: hire a receptionist who makes the client feel like they are an imposition for making an appointment. I totally understand not wanting to work on a Saturday morning... but part of her job description probably states being nice to clients or potential clients! You can't hear the attitude in this, but I was so confused the whole time. I only persisted because I shadow Dr. F in a different setting and think she's fantastic. Otherwise I would have just given up.

Notice how she: Never gave me her name. Sounded really confused when I requested a specific doctor. Accused me of giving her wrong information. Had long gaps of silence. And left me hanging at the end. Oh, and this whole conversation occurred after she left me on hold for 5 minutes (after which most receptionists would thank me for holding).

Receptionist: "Hello, this is XYZ Animal Hospital."
Me: "Hi, I would like to make an appointment with Dr. F"
Her: "Ooooookay?"
Me: 😕
Her: "Why?"
Me: "Because my dog has X condition."
*Receptionist gathers information"
Her: What did you spell wrong? I can't find you in the system.
Me: ".... I'm a new client"
Her: "Oh"
Me: "Is that a problem?"
Her: "We don't have your pet's medical record"
Me: 😕 "I know. I didn't like the veterinarian I took my dog to for her wellness exam at a different clinic and I know Dr. F is good."
Her: "Oh. We need your pet's medical record. Fax it to 444-444-4444"
Me: "Ok. I can send it over on Monday"
Her: "Are you local?"
Me: "No."
*dead silence*
Me: "I live about 20 min away"
Her: "Well, you need to drop off a sample"
Me (thinking) - I only made the appointment because I was willing to drive the distance to a great veterinarian. Why would I object to driving there?
Me: "That's not a problem"
*dead silence*
Her: "Do you need something else?"
Me: "No"
*dead silence*
Her: "Ok. Bye."
Me: 😕

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[Megascops Asio]

You're right, we can't get the attitude by reading. I assume she was being a bit snotty with you? Even if she was having a terrible day, its not that difficult to provide good customer service.

Either way, I'd find a way to kindly mention it to the doctor. I don't know if I'd do it at my appointment or if I'd send a short email about it (I'd probably email knowing me). But either way, I think its better to say something than let it slide. Maybe its just me. I hear way too many people complain about things, but then they never actually do anything about it. So what's the point of complaining, ya know?

Oh, and I am not at all trying to imply that you're complaining. 🙂

 

[Jamr0ckin]

Oh, I can totally imagine the attitude by reading it. I've known a few receptionists like this.I would for sure mention it to Dr. F. They may not know she acts like this on the phone and who knows how many clients she's driven away,

 

[DVMDream]

We had our phone calls recorded at the vet clinic I worked at. Then as part of your review they would have you listen to some of the calls that you did... It was quite interesting. It is really awkward to hear yourself but it really does help you to evalutate what you need to do to help the client out on the phone better.

Also where I worked, was part of a bigger group of hospitals and during the staff meetings we would listen to calls taken in by other receptionists and staff at the other hospitals... Both good and bad examples:

Here is a one of the calls I remember:

Receptionist: Thank you for calling xyz Animal Hospital my name is abc is this an emergency or may I place you on hold?
Client: I believe this is an emergency.
Receptionist: Ok, please hold. *Puts client on hold*

They reminded us to always be paying attention to what the client acutally says because it is very obvious that whoever answered that call was not really listening to the client.

Snowy, did that receptionist actually set you up an appointment because from the conversation you posted it doesn't even seem like she addressed the main reason you called which was to set up an appointment.

 

[OwlandPussycat]

I feel like receptionist training is often neglected, which is a shame considering they're usually the first and last contact a client has with the practice during a visit. An animal clinic is a business. The fact that its primary function is to provide medical care doesn't mean that customer service isn't just as important (if not more) than at any other type of establishment.
Friendly staff is so important in fostering client trust for the clinic and the vet industry in general. I'm sorry you had a bad experience. 🙁

 

[storyofmylife]

It really is unfortunate that some receptionists are so unhappy. I am currently a tech but I help out up front when it gets crazy and I am literally always nice to the clients. We have 4 receptionists, 2 of which are very sweet, 1 is usually friendly, and 1 is usually not in the best of moods. Sadly, the unhappy one knows the most and has been working there for 17 years. She never treats anyone like you were treated, but she can get a bit annoyed. Try not to get a bad taste in your mouth/ a bad feeling about the clinic because of the receptionist. It really is easy to do, but the whole practice is probably not like that. The doctor definitely needs to know about this- the receptionist represent the entire practice and all of the employees- and if she is hateful she will turn clients off very quickly.

 

[SnowyRox]

Snowy, did that receptionist actually set you up an appointment because from the conversation you posted it doesn't even seem like she addressed the main reason you called which was to set up an appointment.

Nice catch. She didn't actually set up an appointment in the end! She wanted me to drop off a stool sample instead. Which I find really, really odd for a new client. I'm *assuming* that I will set up an appointment once they have done the fecal to discuss treatment options.

I'm not worried about the care once I get to actually talk to Dr. F; she rocks. 👍

 

[SnowyRox]

I feel like receptionist training is often neglected, which is a shame considering they're usually the first and last contact a client has with the practice during a visit. An animal clinic is a business. The fact that its primary function is to provide medical care doesn't mean that customer service isn't just as important (if not more) than at any other type of establishment.

Definitely.

And I wasn't expecting much from the staff b/c I haven't heard great things about the practice owner. I just really like this particular vet!

 

[Psorophoraferox]

She didn't actually set up an appointment in the end! She wanted me to drop off a stool sample instead. Which I find really, really odd for a new client. I'm *assuming* that I will set up an appointment once they have done the fecal to discuss treatment options.

That is really, really odd, and would be even for an established client. If I were you I'd call back to confirm that the doctor would like you to drop off a stool sample prior to an examination. I've never heard of a hospital requesting to run diagnostics (or discussing treatment options) without a doctor examining the patient first. I'd understand if you were scheduling an exam for Fido having diarrhea and you were asked to bring a dollop of it to the exam, but instead of an exam? Somethin' ain't right. 😕

 

[Tco87]

That is really, really odd, and would be even for an established client. If I were you I'd call back to confirm that the doctor would like you to drop off a stool sample prior to an examination. I've never heard of a hospital requesting to run diagnostics (or discussing treatment options) without a doctor examining the patient first. I'd understand if you were scheduling an exam for Fido having diarrhea and you were asked to bring a dollop of it to the exam, but instead of an exam? Somethin' ain't right. 😕

Agreed. In fact, I think it's illegal in some places to run diagnostics without an established doctor/patient relationship (at least it was at the practice I used to work at).

 

[StartingoverVet]

Agreed. In fact, I think it's illegal in some places to run diagnostics without an established doctor/patient relationship (at least it was at the practice I used to work at).

I would be very surprised if what you say is true. It may open you up to liability, it may not be considered ethical, it may be against policy... but not illegal.

 

[orcagirl]

I agree it might not be illegal for diagnostics. Though I know drugs can't be legally prescribed without seeing the patient within the last 12 months.

 

[Tco87]

I agree it might not be illegal for diagnostics. Though I know drugs can't be legally prescribed without seeing the patient within the last 12 months.

Ok maybe I'm thinking about prescription drugs... And I swear they told me to tell clients it was illegal to do diagnostic tests on patients we hadn't seen in the last 12 months but it's been a while so my memory can be fuzzy. Or they were just lying to me 🙁

 

[OwlandPussycat]

My practice requests that clients bring a fecal sample to the first exam, but it's not a requirement to be seen. Giving the hospital the benefit of the doubt, maybe they want to know the parasite status of every new patient so they can take appropriate sanitary measures?

 

[orcagirl]

Ok maybe I'm thinking about prescription drugs... And I swear they told me to tell clients it was illegal to do diagnostic tests on patients we hadn't seen in the last 12 months but it's been a while so my memory can be fuzzy. Or they were just lying to me 🙁

It also could vary by state. And aside from fecals, it can be difficult to do diagnostics without an exam.

My practice requests that clients bring a fecal sample to the first exam, but it's not a requirement to be seen. Giving the hospital the benefit of the doubt, maybe they want to know the parasite status of every new patient so they can take appropriate sanitary measures?

It's just good to get in the routine of testing it. I've never had mine tested though. 😳

 

[tigerkissedqt]

That never reflects well on the business to have a lousy receptionist! At the doggy daycare I work at you do a LOT of receptionist work as part of the job, and I've trained in a good dozen some new employees over the years and it seems like most people just have terrible phone etiquette! I have to tell them to smile when they talk because they sound grouchy (even if they aren't), that they need to state the name of the business & their own name when they answer, always be courteous/polite, answer the phone within 4 rings, don't put somebody on hold for more than about a minute and always thank them for waiting- etc... Not that I'm making excuses for this woman, but perhaps she was new or was just never properly trained on how to handle customer calls. It seems so simple for the customer to know how they should be treated, but it doesn't seem to come intuitively to the person on the other end how to treat them. I blame texting! haha

 

[OwlandPussycat]

It's just good to get in the routine of testing it. I've never had mine tested though. 😳

Haha, my cat is also waaay overdue for a fecal. If asked though, I will tell anyone that it should be done at least yearly.


I think that receptionist burnout can happen just as quickly as tech burnout. I'll be the first to admit that I would never, ever want to be a receptionist. Because they're the first and last people the client usually has contact with, and because they're often less respected than doctors or techs, receptionists seem to get the brunt of abuse from clients. In my previous position, I did a fair amount of phone work, and I remember how much it sucked when clients got upset at me for random things. I can see how doing it all day every day for years would make it hard to be upbeat.

 

[StartingoverVet]

Slightly related topic....

A faculty member had an appointment at clinics yesterday with the repro/genetics section. He made it for a vaccine. Now, this section sees a lot of pediatric patients so they give a lot of vaccines, but not normally for adult dogs (we have a community practice section for everyday stuff for Penn community members....we are strictly a referral hospital otherwise).

Anyway, he wants the "flu" vaccine, which we used to give but don't have any longer due to infrequent need. Appointment desk has an old list from pharmacy so doesn't know we no longer have it.

Faculty member has to wait an hour for his appointment as we are running late (as usual)....4th year student goes to take his history, and apologizes that we don't have that vaccine (actually amazing she knew that, otherwise he would have waited A LOT longer).... Guy goes mental on her screaming at her for wasting his time.

I mean, I completely understand his frustration, but as a faculty member, he has to know that poor 4th year is the last person to yell at....no authority to change anything, to do anything, or to help in any way.... and she was relatively sweet. I doubt she did anything to incite him.

Anyway, basically he was a jerk, and receptionists have to deal with similar jerks all the time.

As for the faculty member, may all his experiments get contaminated, and he lose all his funding. 😛

 

[fromthebox]

Haha, my cat is also waaay overdue for a fecal. If asked though, I will tell anyone that it should be done at least yearly.


I think that receptionist burnout can happen just as quickly as tech burnout. I'll be the first to admit that I would never, ever want to be a receptionist. Because they're the first and last people the client usually has contact with, and because they're often less respected than doctors or techs, receptionists seem to get the brunt of abuse from clients. In my previous position, I did a fair amount of phone work, and I remember how much it sucked when clients got upset at me for random things. I can see how doing it all day every day for years would make it hard to be upbeat.

Phone work is a very demanding job at times. I should know, three calls have interrupted me trying to make this post.🙄 You need to be nice, you need to be calm and represent your business well even when you feel like crap. I find that there is a persona, a kind of shield that develops over a long period of this type of work, wherein I can be bitchy, feel terrible, be going home in ten minutes, and the most you'll ever hear out of me that is indicative of this is a slight frustration when I answer the phone, the words are the same but the inflection is kinda like "oh god, not again." And I'll drop that quick if it's an in-progress call. If it's facilities or the alarm techs who have just sent 250 alarm signals into my office, I won't. They earned the lackadaisical attitude.

I'm not sure if this is a product of the job being law enforcement vs a business, or if it is the extreme accountability (we are recorded in all transmissions on radio and on phone and we are more likely to get sued for being dismissive or mean.) or even if it's just me. All I know is I never want to answer a phone again after six years of it.

 

[LetItSnow]

As for the faculty member, may all his experiments get contaminated, and he lose all his funding. 😛

👍

 

[krist]

At the practice I tech'd at, the absolute last job in the hospital I Would want is a receptionist. They definitely get the brunt of the abuse, plus they have to present bills and go over money 99% of the time which naturally generates a lot of the abuse. PLUS at this practice, the penalty for messing up any transaction involving money was SEVERE (minimum 2 weeks suspension if not fired for first offense, definitely fired for second offense). I do have to take calls with complicated medical questions that receptionists can't answer, and I work on the "tech line" where anybody can call in and ask questions and I swear people in general are a hundred times dumber on the phone than in person.

 

[OwlandPussycat]

At the practice I tech'd at, the absolute last job in the hospital I Would want is a receptionist. They definitely get the brunt of the abuse, plus they have to present bills and go over money 99% of the time which naturally generates a lot of the abuse. PLUS at this practice, the penalty for messing up any transaction involving money was SEVERE (minimum 2 weeks suspension if not fired for first offense, definitely fired for second offense). I do have to take calls with complicated medical questions that receptionists can't answer, and I work on the "tech line" where anybody can call in and ask questions and I swear people in general are a hundred times dumber on the phone than in person.

Wow, that is extreme! I accidentally undercharged a client by a few hundred dollars once because I couldn't find the right code and the doctor told me to "just charge for this similar test. It should be the same price". 15 minutes after charging the client out, I find the right code. Oops. I guess I would have been publicly flogged at any other clinic.

 

[nordicat]

My last job at a clinic was as a receptionist, and it seriously made me question whether I would ever want to go into private practice or not. The amount that people yelled at me over their bills, accused me of not knowing anything, and yelled at me for the doctor being behind gave me serious anxiety! Considering I got paid at least $5 less than even the brand new technicians, I felt SO unappreciated. There were no training protocols in place for the new receptionists, the doctor who owned the practice would get mad if things weren't done a certain way (and then the head associate would yell at us if things weren't done HER way!), we would get bitched out by techs for scheduling appointments the way we were "trained" to do so (and then when we tried to make the techs happy, the doctors would yell at us for scheduling appointments for too long!)...there was just no making ANYONE happy. It was horrible.

/end rant.

 

[SnowyRox]

That is really, really odd, and would be even for an established client. If I were you I'd call back to confirm that the doctor would like you to drop off a stool sample prior to an examination. I've never heard of a hospital requesting to run diagnostics (or discussing treatment options) without a doctor examining the patient first. I'd understand if you were scheduling an exam for Fido having diarrhea and you were asked to bring a dollop of it to the exam, but instead of an exam? Somethin' ain't right. 😕

You were correct 🙁. I brought in the sample last night and the current receptionist was super confused who I talked to on Saturday who told me to bring it in without an appointment. But the vet made an exception for me because they said that so they ran the test anyway.

They got a positive result so squeezed me in tonight to grab some dewormer and chat with the vet.

Great experience and everyone was awesome (after the initial phone call).

I am very surprised at the most recent posters. A great receptionist is worth her weight in gold. They bring in clients; they retain clients; and they get clients in more frequently.

 

[jmo1012]

You were correct 🙁. I brought in the sample last night and the current receptionist was super confused who I talked to on Saturday who told me to bring it in without an appointment. But the vet made an exception for me because they said that so they ran the test anyway.

They got a positive result so squeezed me in tonight to grab some dewormer and chat with the vet.

Great experience and everyone was awesome (after the initial phone call).

I am very surprised at the most recent posters. A great receptionist is worth her weight in gold. They bring in clients; they retain clients; and they get clients in more frequently.

i'm glad you finally got your appointment and meds!! just curious, what were you positive for?

 

[orcagirl]

You were correct 🙁. I brought in the sample last night and the current receptionist was super confused who I talked to on Saturday who told me to bring it in without an appointment. But the vet made an exception for me because they said that so they ran the test anyway.

They got a positive result so squeezed me in tonight to grab some dewormer and chat with the vet.

Great experience and everyone was awesome (after the initial phone call).

I am very surprised at the most recent posters. A great receptionist is worth her weight in gold. They bring in clients; they retain clients; and they get clients in more frequently.

They can make a difference. The great ones can diffuse almost any situation. They can help the difficult clients without blowing up on them. I've worked with some great ones. The whole clinic is all about team work and each job is super important.

 

[nordicat]

They can make a difference. The great ones can diffuse almost any situation. They can help the difficult clients without blowing up on them. I've worked with some great ones. The whole clinic is all about team work and each job is super important.

THIS!!! 👍👍

 

[zanydogz]

Just wanted to chime in on this. My previous job was a tech position at a small private practice clinic, so I did interact with clients. My current job (and my job during the school year) is a receptionist at the teaching hospital at TAMU. It's a world of difference going from tech to receptionist. I agree with others that the receptionists get the brunt of the abuse from clients and sadly, we do get it. Even over the phone, which can be worse sometimes, especially during emergency hours. Granted I'm still in training and will be for a few more weeks (I literally get phone trained for weeks 🙂), but still, I've already seen some nasty stuff.

Case that I helped check in/out: we had this one lady bring in a wolf hybrid for a neuro study. Problem is, most of our departments won't see the pet since its part wolf. Long story short, we told her we couldn't do the study, but that we could treat whatever symptoms were there. She totally flips a s**t. She starts cussing at all us receptionists, telling us we don't care about our patients, that we only care about taking her money. She kept saying how her dog was dying, that we refused to help because of it being part wolf. So, the senior clinician then waived all the charges for whatever treatment we did. We refund her card. Okay cool. FALSE! She then goes on a rant about how her money won't be on her card for a few days (not my problem, call your company 🙄) and demands a check. Okay, but she'll have to wait weeks to clear it. That made her even more furious. I think at one point she started reaching into her purse during her rant and us trainees and even the 4th yrs on the case thought she had a gun on her or something. Point being, it was not a pleasant site.

So, it does suck to be a receptionist on some levels, but the good ones keep the clients coming back and being in new ones. We do get a lot of referrals from outside counties and so far the people coming in have been happy. So my job isn't as bad so far. The positives and the happy clients outweigh the occasional mean ones. I'm definitely learning the system and get a chance to network with the current clinicians, which will hopefully come in handy in school.

 

[OwlandPussycat]

They can make a difference. The great ones can diffuse almost any situation. They can help the difficult clients without blowing up on them. I've worked with some great ones. The whole clinic is all about team work and each job is super important.

YES. 👍

I was thinking about this the other day, while I was listening to one of our receptionists checking in an appointment. She and the client were talking, laughing, and quite literally professing their love for each other. It made me realize how much our receptionists do to make our clients feel comfortable, which I think helps foster trust for the clinic in general.
I agree that every position in the clinic is important, and I think that receptionists more than anyone aren't appreciated for all that they do.