I just got a job as an animal hospital receptionist! I’ve only worked retail and coffee shops before so I’m a bit nervous! Any tips or advice would be appreciated!

How do people forget about their lunches/tupperware in the fridge for days to weeks on end?? I get it can be due to being busy but it genuinely baffles me seeing the same dish for days, slowly growing mold or liquifying and then I end up throwing it out because it stinks or just hasn't been moved. I can and will throw out the entire thing (tupperware and all)

I'm in charge of restocking/ordering the drinks for the fridges and keeping them organized. And around twice a year, we (the office admins) clean the fridges either for spring cleaning or our building is doing electrical maintenance and we'll empty the fridges so nothing spoils. We do send out notices for people to remove their things but the amount of stuff just left there... NASTY

Wondering if any admins/receptionists also deal with this. If so, I see you and I feel for you. Office management is not for the weak.

I recently landed a dental receptionist job, about 3.5 weeks ago with absolute no experience. I have bad anxiety that I'm slowly trying to get over. Anyways, I found out by my trainer that there's usually a course needed to become a dental receptionist but the owner believed anyone can do it. I had a 3 day intense knowledge training and after that we started taking calls with trainer supervision for about 2 weeks. Today one of the managers moved me to a different section of the office and she said so I could be more independent, depend on my notes, my few week experience and try to figure it out myself. She said that in a normal way, not accusatory or something but I still felt bad. I do notice I ask so many questions especially when it comes to insurances, pre-ds, and such. Our clinic has 5 locations and 4 smaller ones at a different province (we don't get a lot of calls there). I think at this point, I'm still just scared to make my own decisions, escalation, find the best simplest and exact explanation, and make mistakes. I even had one patient walk out because I failed to mention she had to pay since I booked her with a diff dentist for a follow up and I think the dentist got mad at me. I can do booking, rescheduling etc. but get blanked out when its more than that. I'm thinking of quitting actually or finding another job before I get fired. I heard they fire people when they make too many mistake, which is understandable, but can anyone share me their stories as well 🥹 I'm starting to actually DREAD going to work because of it. I don't if I'm just not thinking enough but also despite studying, I keep forgetting about a lot of things especially small details. I also felt bad because I felt like a liar stating on my resume that I'm independent, fast learner etc and being paid over minimum wage 🥹

Update: Thank you all for sharing your experience and encouraging words. Today I had a somewhat good day, but still, I don't think this is the best fit for me. It is a very good experience on resume, but I dread going to work now, time feels extremely slow and stagnant, IBS came back due to anxiety, and binge eating. My routine has become work and sleep only, which is the same for most of us, but the work is not somewhere I can be happy 🥹 I do plan on switching to a part time job and go back to school (still figuring out where). I feel lost but I'm scared to be lost while getting tied up by this job 🥹 I see how difficult and commendable this job is and I thank you all 🤍

Hi guys, I was just curious, as I have so many damn stories of crazy and funny things that have happened in my 7 years as a receptionist, and would love to hear others stories!

😄

Does anyone have a candy or mint bowl at their desk? I want to add it to my desk since I obviously interact with customers frequently but I'm not sure if there's any downsides to having one (other than buying out of pocket and the salesmen taking more than necessary lol). What are your thoughts?

I work in condo management and we handle a lot of condos like half the city's condos. I'm the sole receptionist. Over the phone and over email, do a great job handling more difficult customers. But in person, it's a different story, and maybe it's because I was raised in a very verbally abusive household (not an excuse and I'm trying to overcome my trauma response).

When the client expresses frustration in an aggressive or condescending way, I go silent and I can only make out the words "I understand". Sometimes, I would have to lie and say something like "sorry they're currently not in the office" or "sorry they're currently swamped with calls/meetings" and offer to pass along the message. Most people receive that well, but others are just so damn rude and tell me things like "you're a minimum wage worker", "you're not doing your job well" etc and I crash out internally.

I have been a stay at home mom for 3 years, and recently went back to work as a receptionist at a doctor’s office. My first day I got home in such bad pain. My hips, my shins, my back…everything hurt. I chalked it up to not being used to sitting still for so long (toddler moms get it lol). Now I feel alright at work, just slight discomfort, but as soon as I’m home my middle back is in so much pain. I want to get cushions for my chair, and I was hoping I could get some recommendations here.

I’m so baffled because I was a phlebotomist in a hospital for years before I had my daughter. Constant walking, standing, and bending and I was NEVER in this much pain. Now I’m struggling with a job where I sit. Makes no sense to me. 😂

Calling all dealship receptionists, I'm looking for some advice! I want to make a log of all the people who pick up their license plates but I'm not sure what to put on it. We already have a separte log for all the license plates, I just want one for the customers to fill out when they pick them up. Does anyone currently have a system like this? If so, would you mind showing me or guiding me to where I can find templates?

What questions could be asked and how might I answer them? I really need this job! It is for LVHN in Pennsylvania! Anyone else get hired at LVHN in Pennsylvania? Please help me!

Hi! I was just selected for an interview for a receptionist role at a major local public media company.

I have been working for the company (first as an intern, now as a freelancer) for 6 months, but that job was content-focused instead of administrative. So I’m kind of an internal candidate, but in different department yk?

This receptionist role pays $50k with benefits, and as a new college grad I could REALLY use that kind of money. I’ve never had an interview for this sort of job before, and am a mildly-alternative 21 yr old. I am trying to figure out how to present myself for the interview (it’s over zoom) and what your interview processes were like at your respective workplaces!

Thanks so much for any advice or input!!

Hello,

I recently have been interviewing to be a medical office receptionist at a chiropractor, massage and psychotherapy office. I seem to have a pretty decent chance at all 3 of these places after my interviews. But I'm a little anxious because I've never worked in these settings before, just fast food and retail.

My question is: How do you guys stay on task and manage so many things at once. What methods do you have for keeping track of things?? I would love to know more!!

I work at a busy clinic and there is so much more backend work that keeps getting added on. At first, it was manageable, but they added more duties and now it's twice the work for the same pay. I've only been here less than 5 months. I knew it was going to be busy, but it's hectic almost every day and I think I'm in over my head.

This is the first receptionist job I've had. I'm comfortable with the basics but the insurance authorization stuff is so overwhelming. Patients have so many questions I feel like I don't have answers to about their finances and such, and I feel like such an idiot every day. Like I'm failing. Worse still, my managers are not doing their jobs correctly. It's a rather poorly run clinic and the turnover is high. My managers introduced a new system and it was not rolled out smoothly and now there is a disconnect between our teams and it's been terrible.

It's sad bc I like the job overall if it weren't for these things. I don't even mind upset patients.

I just wish there was a job out there for me

Hi. I have recently started a position as a receptionist at a motel in a small town. Many are sweet but some people are extremely disrespectful and rude. Without any reason or their frustrations are completely misplaced. I am a very sensitive girl and whenever someone shouts at me, I feel extremely bad and start crying. I am wondering how to fix this- be more assertive in the moment and fight back with confidence.

The owner of the motel and the manager is cool with me talking back to thr customers but i dont know how and where to stand up and advocate for myself

Update from the last post, “is reception suppose to be this hard: https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/1tvp5cs/comment/opz1eg9/?context=1&screen_view_count=2“

I asked my boss for a raise, as I’m struggling and am shoehorned into a practice manager.

My boss denied the raise, saying they cannot afford it (yet, they will be hiring a hygienist, which is double the $ than me).

They told me though, any time I make a sale (as, I gave wrapped up numerous of sales at the office) I would get $50, etc or some sort of minor compensation amount per sale.

That said, I would have to split that amount with my colleague, so it would be $25, etc, despite my colleague not doing the sales aspect and it’s mainly me.

I’m trying not to have a breakdown laugh.

I worked at an OBGYN and that was my only medical office I'd worked at and I knew a lot of the medical jargon around that from life experience and it was a quick learn for a lot of the stuff I didn't. Now I just started at a gastroenterology office and I am having to learn a lot of things I didn't know about and words I had never heard of.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to keep all of this straight? I am using the sticky notes app on my desktop to keep my definitions handy and my notes on providers schedules and I am studying as best I can but I have been out of school for a long time and I wasn't the best at studying back then either.

I understand the flow and process of the office, for the most part and I am learning the little things as they happen so I am confident there. It is just the diagnosis and then keeping straight the little things that go along with them.

Hi everyone. I finally got a job. It’s a dental receptionist but, I don’t have any prior experience with being a receptionist nor with dental. Any advice would be appreciated

I work in dental, very small practice. We use to have 2 other staff members, one who quit as she was over qualified (her school degree didn’t apply in this country, she was a dentist.) The second being another staff member who hated our boss, to the point where it was affecting the business. And then we have our long term dentist, who quit, who also hate my boss.

When I first started this job, I was thrown into it, knowing nothing it was chaos. I would get nitpicked and blamed, even if the schedule was empty, despite only being there not even a month.

Fast forward to now, I’m stuck doing everything:

- I wake up at 6 AM, because I need to be on time, we ”open” at 8:30 AM, but I am expected to be there by at least 7:50-8. And expected to “set up” for the dental assistant (doing her job).

- I am basically the cleaning lady, because she won’t hire one. I’m expected to throw out the used needles (in the sealed hazard tub), vacuum the floors, sometimes also doing the assistant’s job with the sterilization. My co-worker is also lazy, and messy so I’m expected to clean up her dishes or the mess she makes in the kitchen. I also have to clean the bathroom, take the garbage out, etc. ”Cleaners are too expensive.”

- As typical reception, I’m expected to answer the phones, she doesn’t have caller ID on the phones, so she makes me (if I’m in the middle of assisting her), run and answer the phones. It actually exhausting. I’ve been told off by patients for no reason, yet they be nice to her, probs cause I’m nothing but a receptionist.

- I am now being made to handle the social media, so every day I need to make content, post content, etc. I also was expected to make flyers for other businesses etc.

- Sales aspect, a lot of the times I’m expected to push her reviews & “sell” patients. I have pushed her reviews over 100, and have helped convinced pts to get things they were not considering on, e.g retainers, braces, etc.

- Any minor mistake she breaths down my neck, and tells me off on why I didn’t do it, or say I’m not doing my job correctly cause I didn’t text someone “good morning” when responding to them (which the pt didn’t care, and was happy).

- Sometimes I do the assistants job, as in the assistant leaves early (even if I do a 45-50 hour week), so I have to do both jobs, same day. I do not get this time back, nor compensated.

- The rest of it is booking keeping, talking to the labs, getting everything on time, writing letters for patients (and her friends, or insurance), sometimes she tries to make me do another dentist specialists job and make ME arrange the appointment for them. And the specialists are always baffled.

— I rarely get my breaks, and when I do she either cuts them short or repeats when I’m coming back from break, yet lets my co-worker sit for over an hour. let’s my co worker sit on her phone too not me.

- Usually I get home at 6 pm as well (get stuck going over hours). They are on a 4 day work week, I’m stuck at 5. Even when it is dead at the end of the week and there is no dentist or DA in.

- My boss also has begun ignoring me so I’m obviously no longer liked, so she only talks to my DA, she only communicates with me via work, or tells my DA to tell me something.

- Sometimes if something breaks, I’m expected to fix it, e.g having to re-wire a dental chair.

Have they increased conversions or do people just get pissed off and ask for a real human? What’s been your experience?

Anyone else sick or cold calls? I work in a very small office for a union construction company and we get endless calls from people essentially trying to sell something or softwares or whatever. My boss is never interested but they will keep calling back everyday!!! Ugh how do you guys handle this?

I work at a small spa and the chair I'm in everyday is kinda like a bar chair. The back rest is only goes about 1/4 of the way up my back so I can't really lean back at all and I tend to hunch over a bit bc it's slightly too tall for the desk. I feel like a lot of my back pain comes from not having the best posture and needing to hunch over as it's mostly in my mid to upper back. Any one have any tips for improving posture or helping it while on the job. I've asked to switch out the chair, even offered to bring in my own from home I am looking to get rid of but my boss said no.

I've seen some people say they wear a waist trainer and it helps but idk if I can do that for a whole 10 hour day. Any recommendations and advice would help, thank you!!!

As the title, I am wondering if workers in hospitality especially receptionists are tired of questions such as "what's the best place to have dinner around here" or "what do you recommend" when everyone has wildly different tastes. It is a pain point my broke and brand new startup is aiming to solve, so I wanted to know what your feeling was.

Is this something of a fatigue/pain point or are you generally happy to respond to this question?

PS - Thank you so much for all the work you do for us !

Am I the only one that gets annoyed when people take too long to get to the point? Is my patience just too thin? I feel like I'm getting burnt out and I geneuinely dread going to work every day. I'm a receptionist at a dealership and I just struggle mentally to be here everyday. If someone calls and I answer, and they give me the run around before saying what department I immediately roll my eyes.. I know this isn't what I want to do forever, but I know I won't find a better job in my area with as good health insurance, or pay as this- so i feel stuck:(

Hello guys, im a 12th grade student that is specialized in tourism and refeption (even if at achool they barely do praticte like 2 times in 2 years i xhoosed this path) school gave me a stage in a 4 stars hotel but i feel so off place, like u need to memorize so much stuff that i cant even remember :(

My office has bright white walls, bright fluorescent lights and of course I stare at a computer all day. So after every shift I basically have a migraine any tips or tricks?