Interviews and Articles

How men are keeping up with the Joanses

Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Business Editor

London is in the grip of a “reception revolution”, with men storming this once overwhelmingly female workplace.

The proportion of men sitting on the office front desks of the City and the West End has risen from virtually none five years ago to more than a fifth now, according to a new survey.

The trend is the flipside of the steady cracking of the “glass ceiling”, with ever more women making it into the once male preserve of the boardroom.

The increasing number of men in receptionist and other traditionally female roles, such as PAs, represents a dramatic breakdown of the Mad Men office image of submissive secretaries like Joan – played by Christina Hendricks – working for alpha male executives.

And the recession has helped remove the stigma from being a male receptionist, with banks and law firms giving the role far more responsibility – and pay to match.

Employers also say they no longer want the classic bored, gum-chewing “Dawn from The Office” figure representing their company when clients walk through the door.

The new generation of “super- receptionists” are now often recruited from leading airlines, such as British Airways, or London restaurants.

Simon Cooney, director of receptionist provider Office Concierge, said the old days of “say hello and sign people in” have long gone.

He said: “Now they are expected to get involved in roles such as client management, handling top-end visitors, meeting-room bookings and setting up teleconferencing.”

Typical pay has risen in recent years from a maximum of £20,000 to £25,000 or even £30,000, he said. Some City clients are now even demanding that receptionists be graduates, according to Susanna Tait, associate director of recruitment firm Tay Associates.

Bill Hutton, director of specialist receptionist job agency FOH Recruitment,
said: “My clients are scrabbling over themselves for good guys. If you’ve got a team of 20 receptionists, all of them female, you’ve got to bring a couple of guys in. They bring something new to the team.”

However, the survey, commissioned by Office Concierge, reveals that there are still some perceived differences between the sexes.

The poll of 1,000 office workers found that the worst traits in female receptionists were that “they seem bored” (22 per cent), “they gossip” (21 per cent) and “they spend too much time texting or on social networks” (13 per cent).

Among men the worst traits are “they are rude and grumpy” (29 per cent) and “they get visitor’s/caller’s names wrong” (18 per cent).

‘You do get people making stereotype remarks’

Jackson Win-Boh started working as a receptionist at City insurance brokers Marsh & McLennan Companies last summer and loves it so much he plans a long-term career in the role.

The 26-year-old Australian is one of four men in a team of eight receptionists at the company’s Lower Thames Street headquarters and believes a balanced team works better together.

He said: “In the new era we live in everyone is branching out: we have female mechanics back in Australia.

“You do occasionally get people making stereotype observations. There are some men who would prefer to be greeted and served by a female because that is what they’re used to.

“But I don’t think there’s any difference between us apart from appearance. We provide the same quality of service.

“We have to be well groomed and well presented, I wear a two-piece suit and a tie with a white shirt.

“We have to be able to smile and have good people skills. Sometimes people have a bad day and try to rub it off onto you but you have to be able to bounce back.”

BINOCULARS INCLUDED

‘I’ve reserved us a meeting-room for 1pm – binoculars included.’
Tim Grant
Head of Facilities
Taylor Wessing

I read the message twice just to be sure; and wondered just how far he’d put the meeting rooms from the lift.

Taylor Wessing was one of the few top international law firms I had never yet visited, so now I was more than a little intrigued.

Later that afternoon as I stepped out of the lift I was greeted by an array of imposing figures three metres high from a back lit art wall – striking, very different and refreshingly modern.

‘Mr Hutton, welcome to Taylor Wessing,’ a smiling receptionist said whilst offering me a chair to wait. I didn’t sit though, because I had just seen the reason for the binoculars.

The reception area covers two corners of the building giving waiting clients the most incredible view of London’s most famous landmarks, and it really does take your breath way.

‘We’ll have binoculars for waiting clients by next week,’ Tim Grant said next to me. ‘It’s going to be a first I think.’

And what a great idea it was. It’s not often one gets to see that kind of view; when arriving at a new company we seem to bury our heads in the nearest newspaper and amazing sights like that are easily forgotten.  Why not take a moment to relax ahead of a meeting and appreciate some beauty – it can only help your temperament for the day.

‘The three metre high images you were greeted with can be very easily changed,’ Tim explained. ‘The firm’s long standing sponsorship of the National Portrait Gallery gave us inspiration and the images were from German-based photographers Billy and Hells. The beauty of the design is that at such point that we want to replace them, they can be peeled off and replaced with new images.  We are considering a change but unfortunately…’ he sighed, ‘it’s finding something that would compete because you see we’ve had so many good comments about these ones and…  I wonder…’ He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, probably picturing an array of three metre possibilities. Suddenly he was back: ‘So you want to see our forest?’

‘Forest?’ I asked, realising he was beginning to enjoy this.

Keeping client privacy behind glass meeting rooms has always been a tricky problem to tackle, so why not hide them behind trees?

‘We first went for real bamboo, but realised it just didn’t work.’

To create privacy glass it is usually frosted. However Taylor Wessing have gone with another look – a kind of woodland scene.

‘The trees change colours depending on the light. The building has so much glass, the light comes through and each change to the weather greatly affects how this corridor looks. If it’s snowing, or raining, cloudy or even once in a while – sunny, everything changes. Each day is never the same.’

Very different, corporate still, but adds that creative feel which once again lifts the mood.

And for clients arriving and needing to freshen up, there are male and female shower cubicles with fresh towels. There are also Taylor Wessing wash-kits complete with toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, shaving foam and flannel.

We walked outside to the terrace, which covers two corners of the building and has fresh cut grass and seating area for 80 people which employees can use for their breakfast, lunch or dinners.

‘There are also break-out areas on the floors below where staff can hold internal meetings or just sit and read or chat; this helps free up our meeting rooms, otherwise we’d be constantly asking staff to move.’

Taylor Wessing moved into their new building in 2008 and I can see it must have been great having the opportunity to set everything up exactly how they wanted – from scratch, so both the client and staff areas work seamlessly. Areas such as the daytime staff restaurant can transform very quickly into a night-time client entertaining arena.

Finally Tim said: ‘The staff got to decide the name of their own restaurant (“cloud nine”) by entering a competition – so you can see we’ve all been involved in the way it looks and maybe that’s why it’s worked.’

I think Taylor Wessing really has stuck their neck out with their interior design philosophy and I’m pleased to say it has definitely paid off. It was exciting and modern, but with a great feeling of natural space.

 

 

Does anyone there speak Spanish?

by Simon Ager

The scene is the reception of a busy office, a phone rings, one of the receptionists answers:

Receptionist: “Hello, Acme Widgets, Brenda speaking.”

Caller: “Buenos dias. Señor Fernandez aquí. Quería hablar con el Señor Jones.”

Receptionist: “I’m sorry sir, I don’t understand. Do you speak English?”

Caller: “Lo siento, sólo hablo español. ¿Hay alguien allí que hable español?”

Receptionist: “Could you please hold for a moment?” (to colleague): “I’ve got someone on the phone here babbling in some foreign lingo, maybe Spanish. Does anyone here speak Spanish?”

Colleague: “Hold on, let me think … one of the guys in accounts speaks a bit, but he’s off today.”

Receptionist: “Oh well, there’s not much we can do then. Sir? Sir? He’s gone. I wonder what he wanted.”

If you work for an organisation with customers or clients who speak languages other than English (LOTE), it’s quite likely that they’ll feel more comfortable communicating with you in their own language, if that option is available to them. Some of them might have limited or no knowledge of English, which could be a problem if you don’t speak their language, as in the scenario above.

Imagine our hypothetical receptionist was spurred to go to Spanish classes after a number of similar conversations. The next time Señor Fernandez called, if he hadn’t decided to take his business elsewhere, he would probably get to speak to Mr Jones.

Does this sound a bit far-fetched? Don’t most people speak English these days? Well, many people do speak English, at least to some extent, and many more don’t. Learning other languages will certainly help in your work, and could lead to promotions, pay rises and other opportunities.

How much of a language do you need to learn? If you work in reception, it would be very useful to have a stock of greetings and some frequently-used telephone phrases in a number of languages so that you can greet foreign-speaking callers and put them through to the right person.

If you become fluent in another language, you would also be able to communicate effectively with clients and customers, to put them through to the appropriate colleagues, and to take messages from them when necesssary.

Another useful strategy for handling foreign-speaking callers would be to compile a list of the languages known within your organisation, including details of which language skills (understanding, speaking, reading and/or writing) people have.

When I first started my current job, the monoglot receptionists frequently asked my boss, a fluent Spanish speaker, to talk to Spanish-speaking clients and customers, much to his annoyance as they usually wanted to talk about something unrelated to his work. Fast forwarding quite a few years, we find bilingual receptionists and a number of multilingual sales teams.

About the author

Simon Ager is web developer who specialises in multilingual websites. He speaks eight languages, and has some knowledge of twelve others. He is also author of Omniglot.

omniglot.com

Phones are ringing, a client is waiting to be checked in, a courier is anxious to get a signature on a delivery and you are on the phone to the guest in room 1710 who is complaining that the room is too small. Oh yes, the courier is starting to get irritated because he has a deadline and the person on the phone is being angry and abusive…

Now, of course is the time to take out from beneath the desk your pump action shotgun and start blasting away, or perhaps you should start foaming at the mouth and biting people or even simply burst into tears in the futile hope that someone somewhere actually gives a damn…

Well however tempting any of the above responses may be (and speaking personally the foaming mouth and biting people has always appealed) there are other and better options. Better because they will enable you to relax and de-stress and better because they will show that you can do your job efficiently.

First take a deep breath and remind yourself that NONE of this is really important, in the great scheme of things these are minor puzzles that you will resolve. Next take a second to mentally prioritize the tasks… In this example, perhaps it’s guest, courier, client, phone. The exact order will depend on you and your organisations rules however the order is actually not that important. What is important, is to have them in an order.

Now deal with them one at a time giving each task 99% of your attention until it is complete. The spare 1% is to allow you to monitor for things that would ABSOLUTELY mean that you need to re-prioritize your tasks.

OK, you are probably thinking “It’s fine to say that but I ALWAYS get the situation where several things are equally critical. How can I possibly prioritize them? No matter what I do, people are going to be unhappy with me”. You know what, you are right. Sometimes multiple things are equally critical, so what, just start on whichever one takes your fancy or put them in alphabetical order it really doesn’t matter. You see you have to realise that you are limited to doing the possible. You cannot do the impossible, (that’s why it’s called impossible) and the sooner you acknowledge that just like everyone else in the world you have limits the sooner you can relax and get on with things. As to people being unhappy with you, tough luck and welcome to the world. Sometimes even if you do everything absolutely perfectly, people will be unhappy with you. You simply must not live your life trying vainly to please everybody, it won’t work and you will make yourself most unhappy!!! Just try and do your best for one person at a time, that’s one of the true secrets to lifelong success.

—

Robert Agar-Hutton is the managing director of Protectics Limited www.protectics.co.uk and specialises in the management of stress and aggression]

 

A number of articles have appeared recently in US news items, illustrating the importance of impressing the receptionist when attending job interviews – no matter how important the position in question.

Receptionist has revenge!

CNN published a letter from a receptionist complaining about her treatment by job candidates who were less than discourteous on their arrival. The senior vice president of the firm was recruiting a middle management position and several of the interviewees had been rude or completely ignored the receptionist on their way to their interview. Revenge came, however, when the receptionist in question was asked by her boss, for her opinion of the candidates who’d come through. Thumbs down, no second interview.

It seems that it’s becoming more accepted for bosses to ask for opinions from employees when recruiting – recognizing the importance of co-operation amongst staff.

So to inspire receptionists everywhere, we asked ClearRock.com, Executive Coaching and Outplacement for their comments:

Job-Seekers’ Guide for Dealing with Receptionists!

“One of the biggest reasons newly recruited managers and executives are continuing to fail in their new jobs at such a high rate – at least 4 out of 10 –is their inability to fit into a company’s culture and get along with the people who work there. So, more organizations are asking employees, right from the start, their impressions of candidates, and receptionists’ opinions are increasingly being sought,” said Annie Stevens, managing partner for ClearRock.

“Some companies feel a lot can be learned from how candidates treat receptionists, particularly if they are rude, condescending, or arrogant. Employers feel this is an accurate reflection of how candidates would treat their co-workers and direct reports,” added Greg Gostanian, managing partner for ClearRock.

ClearRock has compiled the following tips for candidates as a guide to interacting with receptionists.

• Be polite and friendly with receptionists, but don’t be too informal. Learning and remembering their names can only help as you advance in the interviewing process.
• Treat receptionists as you would other business colleagues, and don’t regard them as “underlings.” They are not a candidate’s secretary to help with scheduling or other personal problems. Always ask the interviewer if you need help from anyone else at the place where you interview, instead of seeking this directly yourself.
• You can accept an offer of a beverage, but keep this simple. Don’t ask for brand names of any hot or cold beverages, or expect them to make freshly brewed coffee.
  And don’t expect a receptionist to run out to Starbucks to get a latte′ for you.
• Be careful of anything you say, and expect that everything you say will get back to the interviewer. Polite, brief conversation is acceptable, but don’t ask probing questions about the company, or give unsolicited opinions.
• Don’t talk on your cell phone in front of the receptionist, and don’t be obsessed with your Blackberry. Put your cell phone on vibrate, and if you have to take or make a call, leave the receptionist area. Don’t be overly preoccupied with your Blackberry or other wireless e-mail device. You will come across as a cold and fixated person.
• Don’t forget to say goodbye to the receptionist if he or she is there when leaving. Failure to say goodbye to someone you have just met reflects negatively on you. You will be viewed as an impersonal, uncaring individual.

By The Lifestyle Guy

With so much “sensationalised” media coverage nowadays concerning “street crime” and particular “teenage knife culture” and attacks against individuals, it’s no surprise that there is a certain amount of justified fear and paranoia surrounding personal safety. The truth is that violent crime against individuals are indeed very rare but there is a real fear that you or one of your loved one’s will be attacked and the way to “combat” this fear is by taking sensible and commonsense precautions that most people already do almost without realising it and making them ingrained as part of your everyday life, it’s just something that you do automatically.

In all my talks and presentations that I do I’m nearly always asked the same thing and in this article I’ll cover which I think are ten of the most “popular” and most frequently asked questions.

1. Body Language: 55% of any message we give out is “unconscious” and we are constantly giving out these signals on a regular and daily basis and other people are “reading” our body language all the time. If you constantly walk around in a “slouched”  position, head low and generally not paying much attention to your surroundings, what kind of signal do you think you’re sending out?That’s right, “come and get me” I know that sounds harsh but is fact, if you’re walking down the street oblivious to everything apart from your mobile telephone or busy texting as you’re walking along you’re a target.Try to be aware at all times, stand erect, walk straight, don’t necessarily look people straight in the eyes but let them know that you know that they are there. Try not to take isolated shortcuts no matter how tempting across waste ground, dark alleys or parks and try to stay in public view. Pay attention!

2. Personal attack alarm: Buy one and if possible go on a course and learn how to use it. There’s no point having one if it’s kept at the bottom of your handbag and you have to search to locate it. It’s not going to stop you being attacked but it can help to disorientate or distract your assailant buying you those precious seconds to get to a place of safety. Once it goes off don’t think that anyone will to help you, most people just don’t do that but the sound of the alarm going off will serve a double purpose. One, As stated previously, it will deter or distract your assailant, two, it will also generate a terrific noise so that even if no one comes to your aid at least you’ve created a “stage” for yourself and people will look so you won’t feel as alone.

3. Voice: Don’t be afraid to use your voice, it’s one of your most potent weapons! An assailant is looking for a “victim” an easy target, someone to be intimidated. Use your voice forcefully and don’t be afraid to scream and shout (in fact in my presentations I wholeheartedly endorse the use of “profanity” or swear words) as this will again serve to highlight your plight! How many times have you walked down the street and either stopped or slowed down if someone is having a “right old barney” in the street.

4. Personal possessions: You’re Mum and dad have probably told you a million times about carrying all your valuables in your handbag or in one place, don’t! The amount of ladies I see and meet in beautifully tailored and fitted suits and yet they don’t have a single usable pocket! Try to distribute your goods about you, remember, if your handbag gets snatched your entire life is literally in there. Purse, credit cards, keys to your home, probably mobile telephone, which is then a “double whammy” because you’re now unable to make any calls and chances are you have no change because it’s all in your handbag as well. Worse still, if you do keep everything in your handbag what’s to stop your assailant rushing straight around to your home because chances are that you’ll have something in there with your address (like a driving licence) and ransacking your home as well “triple whammy” and then perhaps finding your car keys and taking that as well “quadruple whammy”. Find a way to distribute your belongings it makes sense and finally if there is no way out don’t be hero, simply hand over your bag immediately using strong body language and disengage from the situation forcefully if necessary. Goods can always be replaced, you can’t!

5. Mobile telephones: Have your mobile telephone security marked with your office address, it might not stop your mobile being stolen but if it does get recovered at a later date it will help the police to know where it came from and perhaps break up a bigger gang who are selling these telephones off. Do you know your IMEI number and what it is and does. It’s the long number underneath your battery and if call your service provider they will be able to disable your SIM card and prevent that mobile from being used. Have it on silent if you are in a secluded area and be especially wary when coming out of the underground as this is where most mobiles are stolen from as they tend to “bleep” when you come out and get a signal. Try not to walk around texting with your head down or crossing a busy road. If you need to text stand with your back against a wall or at least pay attention to your surroundings.

6. Walking: When walking try to walk with the traffic coming towards you. Why? Simple, if you get accosted by someone in a car you can see them coming, they also have to talk to you through the passenger car window if they are by themselves. If they have someone with them, you will at least see them coming and be able to prepare yourself to deal with the situation. If you feel threatened don’t be afraid to scream and shout and if you have one, set off your personal attack alarm. Don’t stand on the spot but run to a place of safety as soon as you can and remember they will have to turn the car around to follow you, again buying you those precious seconds.

7. Being followed: If you think you’re being followed it’s very important not to panic. What happens when you panic? Chemicals get released in your body, cortisol, adrenaline, you can’t think straight! STOP! Have a procedure in place that you can follow, this will serve to calm you and help you to think clearly. Acknowledge with a sidelong glance that you know you’re being followed, use strong and positive body language and even if you are not familiar with your surroundings, act as though you are. Cross the road once, if they follow it could be coincidence, don’t panic. Cross a second time still maintaining good body language, if they follow again it’s fairly certain that you are being followed, don’t panic. Get to a place of safety as soon a s you can, a garage, a shop approach a group of people or perhaps even knock on someone’s door and ask them to stay with you while you telephone for help.

8. Parking: When you park your car try to always reverse park it so that you are always facing forwards and are therefore able to see anyone suspicious coming towards you. If you drive in forwards like most people do you immediately make yourself vulnerable by having your back to a potential situation. If you do see someone coming towards you, close and lock your doors and close your windows if they are open. If necessary drive off, no one is going to stand in front of a moving car and get to a place of safety as soon as you can and always report incidents like this to the police.

9. Public transport: If you feel threatened on public transport get to a place of safety immediately. Either change carriages or go and sit next to the guard if there is one or if you can sit with a group of people or a family and explain to them that you feel threatened. If you feel secure enough get off at a very public stop and if you really do feel there is no alternative don’t be afraid to pull the communication chord and If you should find yourself unavoidably at lonely bus stops or on quiet platforms always sit or stand in a well lit area and preferable next to the green intercoms that most stations have nowadays. On buses always sit in an aisle seat that way you can’t be hemmed in and always try to sit behind the driver as all buses now have two way radios and help can be summoned very quickly.

10. Drinks: If you are on a night out, again do not take your safety for granted. Always plan a way home even when you’re with friends. Date rape is becoming more prevalent and drugs are very easy to slip into someone’s drink and are practically undetectable. Always have a nominated drinks watcher even when you go to the loo and never leave your drink unattended. If you do accept a drink from a stranger be very wary (drink testing kits are now easily available and very easy to use) and it only takes a second to test. If you do find yourself feeling suddenly very strange or perhaps drowsy, under no circumstances leave the establishment with someone you have just met only accept help from a friend or a member of staff. Get to a place of safety as soon as possible. Remember, friends can watch out for each other.

In closing I would just like to reiterate that violent crime and the chances of being a victim of violent crime are extremely low, don’t get paranoid and don’t get sucked into the media circus that crime is rife. Take sensible precautions and make “personal awareness” part of your everyday life. Be happy, enjoy life but most of all stay safe!

Who is the Lifestyle Guy?

lifestyleguy.com provides personalised training programmes and events for both companies and individuals, on topics such as “Personal Safety Awareness”, “Lifestyle Review”, “Stress Management” and weekly classes on “Confidence and Communication Building” and also a weekly run “Weight Management” programme with online and personal coaching in a central London location.

191-195 Praed Street, London, W2 1RH  Telephone: 0843 2890461

By Helena Wojtczak hastingspress.co.uk

On my 16th birthday, 1st July 1974, via an advert in the Daily Mirror I applied to become an International Telephone Operator at LFICC/E, otherwise known as Faraday Building. My training was at London Wall.

Most of the 6 weeks’ training concerned the strict procedures and we were thoroughly drilled in everything. Every phrase used to subscribers and European operators was scripted, and these we learned by rote. Great emphasis was placed on clear diction, correct pronunciation and ‘speaking at a speed the subscriber can understand’. Our key words were “correctness, discipline, efficiency and politeness”. We were told “never give in to irritation”.

It was made clear to me that the vast majority of young women resigned upon marriage or first pregnancy, which left the field clear for ambitious girls. As I was only 16, I could easily become a Supervisor by the age of 21 and maybe one day I’d be a Divvi (divisional supervisor) and even a General (supervisor).  Having passed my exams, I signed the Official Secrets Act and, after four weeks’ instruction listening in to an experienced operator, was allowed to work alone.

My working life was mapped out for months ahead on a huge rota, which showed not only my hours each week, but the switchboard position I’d be working. I was given my very own, brand-new black plastic headset, with a rubber disc on one side of my head and an ear-cover and a small, moveable trumpet on the other, and a special, black plastic pencil for filling in dockets, which had a bulbous end with which to dial. When leaving the switchroom, we used to wrap the cord tightly around the headset and thread the pencil through it, and hang the headset on a hook. On arrival daily we had to report promptly to the Section Supervisor, headset on, pencil in hand and wait to be shown where to sit.

The Switchrooms

I thought the long, high switchboards were fascinating combinations of art and technology; with all the little ‘opals’ lit up it was a beautiful and romantic sight. I simply loved the place: so full of history. I felt it a great privilege to sit at the massive, solid, polished – oak switchboard and to speak to operators all over Europe. The lovely old switchboard was very long. I think about 50 positions along each side. I can see it even now (in 2007), nearly 34 years later, if I close my eyes. At eye level I had a row of beautiful tiny round opals labelled Amsterdam, Ankara, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade and Berlin and each ascending row of outgoing sockets went through the alphabet until at the very top we had Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb, Zurich. I found the switchboard extremely romantic and I used to dream of all those wonderful, exotic places. I was short and had to stand up to plug into Zagreb!  There were huge clocks all the way down the board and on a huge whiteboard at one end of the room was always written any news we might need such as ‘Czechoslovakia now in summer time + 2 hours’.

The Continental Exchange (CX)

One section of the switchboard was called ‘INCOMING’. This is where we answered calls from foreign operators asking for assistance to obtain numbers in the UK. Each spoke her own (mangled) version of English, of course. I remember being asked for “Sluff” once – meaning Slough. They came through to us if they were getting an ‘unobtainable’ tone on a UK number, or to transfer the charge to the English side. Foreign operators called us all ‘Miss London’ and we called them ‘Miss Athena’, ‘Mr. Lisbon’, etc. While we waited for connections to go through lady operators used to ask us about the weather in London or discuss the Eurovision Song Contest and gentlemen operators, specifically, the Italian, Greek and Turkish ones, would chat us up.

Demand Working

The huge switchrooms were divided into sections. We worked a section for a week, then moved to another. The largest section was called ‘Demand’ – taking requests for calls to Europe from UK subscribers. There must have been over 100 operators on the ‘Demand’ section during the day. We dealt with the same companies over and over again – hardly a day went by without me hearing the voice of the PABX operator for Hawker Siddely in Stevenage, for example.

On the ‘Demand’ section, we had to respond to incoming calls with ‘International Service, which country please?’ (Some operators said ‘Irrational Service’). All our callers were in the home counties; Our callers were connected to us via a local operator, who told us if it was a call box. We entered the details of the required call onto a docket, then recited the script: ‘please replace your receiver; you will be recalled immediately.’ We would then unplug from the incoming socket and ring them back by plugging into an outgoing line of sockets called ‘Kingsway’, or just ‘K’ which was for calling UK numbers. If it was a pay-on-answer type call box they had to put the money in and we heard 5 pips if they inserted 10p and one pip for 2p. If the caller wanted a ten minute call it seemed to take an age and we’d draw five-bar gates to keep count of all those 10p pieces going in!

Very often young tourists in call boxes were upset and sobbed to us in broken English that they were desperate to call home. Once I gave a distraught teenager a free 15-minute call to her mother in Rome because the Rome operator (about whom more later) would not organise a transfer-charge call. We all became adept at deciphering pidgin English. Countless times a foreigner would ask ‘are you the International Call-Girl’, to which of course we answered ‘yes’ for simplicity, for ‘they knew not what they said.’ Often they wanted their parents abroad to pay for the call. For Germany, Belgium or Sweden, we dialled the number and asked them to pay (because ordinary people in those countries were ‘expected to speak English’ – ho ho ho) but for all other countries we dialled the foreign operator and asked for her assistance with a ‘collect call’. In training we were told to think of ‘George Bernard Shaw’ as an aide-de-memoire for Germany, Belgium, Sweden. I wonder how many 16-year-olds today have even heard of him.

Delay Working

Each country had its own section. Holland, Portugal and Germany might have two dedicated ‘positions’ (i.e. operators) and they dealt with ‘problem’ calls for that country: calls that had not been connected by the ‘demand’ operator – usually because there had been no reply. The dedicated operator would try again and again, at ten minute intervals if D.E. (‘distant engaged’) or one hour if D.N.R. (‘distant no reply’) retaining the docket in a holder on her board until the caller wanted to abandon the call. No matter how much time and effort was put in to such calls, no charge was ever made until it was connected. If section operators had insufficient dedicated work to keep them busy, they took ‘Demand’ calls.

The most interesting of the dedicated sections were Malta, Libya and Gibraltar, which were 100% manual. There were no ‘on demand’ calls to these countries at all. A demand operator would book calls onto a docket, plug into a ‘delay socket’ to hear a recorded message saying how many hours it would be before the call could be connected, tell the caller, ring off, and send the docket straight to the dedicated section. ‘Malta’ had only 2 or 3 cables so its ‘dedicated’ operator connected calls on a ‘first come first served’ basis, except government and military calls, which were all treated as top priority. Their dockets were always endorsed ‘Govt urgent’. The dedicated operator would control every call from the UK to that country for the duration of her shift. If for example she connected Buckingham Palace or Number Ten nothing could stop her from pulling back her key and monitoring the call, should she feel like it. When World-Wide Family Favourites was on, the BBC took a line throughout the programme and two red plastic collars were placed over the keys so the operator did not unplug it in error. By pulling back the monitoring key we could listen to the programme.

I believe we had the only lines to Iceland in the whole of Europe, because operators from other European countries used to ask us to connect them to Icelandic numbers or the Reykjavik operator. We each took our turn on the roster to ‘man’ these dedicated boards. ‘Mr. Tripoli’ was a nightmare. You had to really ‘butter him up’ to get a call at all. We would have perhaps ten dockets – i.e. ten people waiting for calls – and ‘Mr. Tripoli’ would not answer our call, sometimes for hours and hours. We had to bite our lip and not moan at him, or he’d disappear again, but a polite enquiry as to the delay usually provoked the reply that he ‘had to go and feed my camel’. Colleagues would sometimes boast that they had got a call out of him! The only other operators who gave us problems were in Rome. They were all men, and they were surly, unhelpful and lazy. When we asked for collect (transfer-charge) calls they would just say ‘No, Meez London I cannot do thees for you today’ and disconnect. It was terribly frustrating and we had to make up lies to tell our callers. Often the whiteboard announced ‘Rome ops on strike’ and seeing this we’d sigh and ask each other, with bitter irony: ‘how will we notice the difference?’ Athens operators were sarcastic and enigmatic, but they did connect us. Eventually.

Pay & Conditions

I worked in either switchroom 4a or 5-MAIN, both in the north building on the 4th and 5th floors. From there, without ascending stairs, the connecting bridge to the south building deposited us on the 7th floor locker room. One of the two subsidised canteens was on the 8th and the spacious and comfortable ladies’ rest room was on the 9th. The views across the London skyline were breathtaking. I was told that the reason Faraday has a green roof was so that ‘Jerry’ would think it was a green open space and not bomb it in the 1939-45 War. Talking of bombs, we had a security pass and there were uniformed guards on every entrance, because of the I.R.A. which was at that time extremely active in London. I used to arrive from Blackfriars Station, through Wardrobe Court and show my pass at the Carter Lane entrance.

All the day staff was female and all the night and Sunday staff was male. Men received more pay per hour as well as enhancements for nights and Sundays. My first week’s pay in 1974 was £12.44. When the Equal Pay Act came into effect in 1975 I got a big rise to give us parity with men. By 1976 my pay was £34. We collected our pay in cash on Fridays from a booth on the fifth floor and I always went on a lunchtime shopping spree in Cheapside. I thought the pay scales curious: we were paid by age and not by years of service. This meant that when I was 18 I had two years’ experience and was instructing trainees who, if they were older than 18, were earning more than me!

The shifts for women were various, covering 8am to 6pm averaging 41 hours a week over 6 days. If we worked Saturday we got a day off in the week. We were an all-female switchroom during the day and when the young male engineers came to mend some equipment lots of blushing, flirting and banter went on. After the Sex Discrimination Act came into force in 1975, lots of women wanted to switch to night work, but no men joined us on day shifts.

I made lots and lots of friends at Faraday, partly because every week I had to sit between two different people, so one could not just keep sitting with one set of people; and partly because we had such a lot of meal breaks so a lot of time was spent chatting in the canteens and rest room. Women would ‘sub’ (substitute) each other at 70p per hour. For example a woman on 8-4 shift would ‘sub’ another from 4 till 6. The woman being ‘subbed’ would work from 10 till 4 instead of till 6. All day long, dockets would be handed from girl to girl all the way down the board with ‘can anyone sub me tonight 4-6?’ or ‘I can sub anyone 4-6 tomorrow’ etc written on them. I soon got into the routine of swapping all my shifts for 10 to 6 then getting a sub from 4-6. That way, I worked a five and a half hour day. I actually left at 3:30 for my 30 minute break and did not return, as my sub took my place at 4. We used to get 4 hours off for ‘Maundy Time’, 4 hours ‘Christmas Shopping Time’ and, oddly, once per week we could apply for ‘Early Release’ and go home 15 minutes early. I never understood why we got all these benefits; I was just told it was ‘the Union’.

I have a phobia about lifts and used to ascend the 24 flights of stairs every day, and sometimes went down and up again during my lunch break. Our breaks were as follows: 30 mins morning tea, 65 minutes lunch and 30 minutes afternoon break. The union had negotiated the extra 5 minutes for lunch, that being the time it took to walk to and from the canteen! We could also leave the board whenever we wanted, by raising a hand and saying ‘may I have a run-through?’ then leave the board without waiting for a reply. I was told that ‘years ago’ when operators asked for a ‘run-through’ they had to await authorisation, but the UPW union had argued that this was undignified and akin to being treated as infants, so now we just had to say the words then go without actually getting permission. This was supposed to signify a toilet visit but in fact we went out for a cigarette, or to make a phone call, or to see a friend elsewhere in the exchange A super(visor) sat behind every tenth operator. We ignored her unless someone phoned to complain then she would come to our board and plug her headset in alongside ours. If a friend came in and spoke to us briefly she did not mind, but chatter was not allowed. If it was quiet we would talk to the women next to us. We taught each other useful little phrases like ‘May I speak to Mr …’in German, French, Danish and Italian, and ‘will you pay for the call?‘ in German.

Just outside the switchrooms were water dispensers with conical paper cups – to make damned sure we could not take them in the switchroom and place them on the console! No eating, drinking or smoking was permitted in the switchroom. Also outside the switchrooms, and in the rest room, and near the canteen, there were ten wallphones with privacy hoods, from which we could dial free to anywhere in the world. This was to prevent us from sneakily making private calls while at the switchboard. However, if any of our relatives needed to make an international call we just connected them on the board and did not docket it, of course. I don’t think there is any way this could have been traced. After a while our ten free phones were reduced to UK calls only, as they were being used 24/7 for transatlantic and antipodean calls. I would love to have seen the bill!

As a 16 year old I found Faraday terribly exciting – I had all the countries of Europe at my fingertips, and I spoke daily to aristocrats, royals, politicians, diplomats and celebrities. I once asked Harold Wilson to hold the line, and I knew all the phone numbers of politicians and royalty. I will never in my life forget Christmas Day. The GPO provided a taxi both ways for my 8-12 noon shift. The cab was so late I arrived at 9.40, walked upstairs and went to my locker. By the time I arrived at my position it was just time for my 45-minute tea break – with a free breakfast provided in the canteen. On my return the Supervisor offered me as many Roses chocolates as I could eat – the only time I ever saw food in the switchroom. I did an hour’s work then at 11:50 was given leave to go downstairs as my taxi was booked for 12 noon sharp. For this I received double time and a half -ie ten hours pay – for just 60 minutes ‘work’, plus free transport, free goodies, AND a day off in lieu. What a trade union! There was no demand work; all the calls had been pre-booked. I connected about 30 calls that day – probably did not even pay my wages and goodness knows what all those taxis must have cost.

Unfortunately, I was medically retired with a frozen shoulder at the age of 19. When I recovered, I applied for work at several leading hotels in London’s West End and was accepted by all of them. This is because I had that most coveted of qualifications: ‘GPO training’. I chose the hotel with the best pay.

The conditions were terrible: behind the opulence of the public areas was shabby, even dirty staff accommodation. Lunch was only 30 minutes and there were no tea breaks; to my horror, people rested hot drinks on the console and munched on chocolate bars while working, speaking to guests with their mouths full! Their diction was appalling, and I cringed when I heard them recite phone numbers in a manner forbidden by the GPO. For example for 222 2226 they would say “triple 2, 2, double 2, six” instead of the correct “2, double-2, double-2, 2-6′.

The International Telephones analogy alphabet.

AMSTERDAM
BALTIMORE
CASABLANCA
DENMARK
EDISON
FLORIDA
GALLIPOLI
HAVANA
ITALIA
JERUSALEM
KILOGRAMME
LIVERPOOL
MADAGASCAR
NEW YORK
OSLO
PARIS
QUEBEC
ROMA
SANTIAGO
TRIPOLI
UPPSALA
VALENCIA
WASHINGTON
ZANTIPPE
YOKOHAMA
ZURICH

This article was written by Helena Wojtczak

Hastingspress.co.uk

English Women’s Histories

The 19th & 20th Centuries

Based on a study of Hastings & St Leonards

For the full article, and much more information about the GPO, visit lightstraw.co.uk

A good phone manner can leave a lasting impression on both you and your company.

Sun Moritz from Miss Reception Training Academy offers advice to FOH readers

Good manners are something that almost everyone’s mother drilled into them at birth.  Do you ever remember those times where you could almost feel the eagle eyes of your parents burning into your back?

The whole time knowing that they were waiting impatiently for the phrase ‘Thank you’ to be emitted upon receiving the gift you had just been handed.  Now, however, we – or at least most of us – have grown to be adults, and as adults we don’t need to be prompted into saying certain things!

From time to time we may forget the importance a kind tone and carefully worded phrases might have on an individual.  This can leave a lasting impression on both you and the company that you work for, so it is imperative that one should carry themselves professionally while handling a conversation.  Of course one of the most important areas of your business is the way in which you hold yourself on the phone.  In this area it is easy to disassociate the voice on the other end from an actual person, and this can promote apathy in your manner.

In this article we will go over some simple rules one must employ when conducting a conversation with somebody one has not conversed with before.  Remember that you may be the first and only contact a person may have with your company, and first impressions always last.  Here are a few initial tips to help you on a first call:

• Always remember to try and answer the phone promptly, before the third ring if possible:  this will give the impression to the caller that their phone call is important.
• Before picking up the receiver, take a second to compose yourself, and discontinue any conversation or activity such as typing or chewing gum.
• Keep the tone of the conversation light and speak clearly.
• Always follow up bad news with good news.  For example, if the person they are trying to reach is out, offer them a chance to leave a message with you or on their voicemail.
• Always use the hold button so that the caller does not pick up any conversation which is being held near by.
• When transferring a call, be sure to explain to the caller what you are doing and where you are transferring them to.
• Always have a pen and a pad of paper at hand to take down notes, as well as any contact details such as phone numbers and email addresses you can provide to the other person.
• When the called party is not in or in a meeting, responses such as ‘I am sorry s/he has just stepped out of the office at the moment….” should be used as well as an alternative form of communication, to protect the privacy of those in the office and to provide a tactful response.

 

7 Key steps to becoming a more professional receptionist

1. Corporate Awareness – Simply answering the phone clearly does not make a good receptionist – there is so much more to the role of the receptionist.
2. Take responsibility – A corporate receptionist should always be willing to have the buck stop with them.  Be prepared to recognize and identify the sacrifices that they make.
3. Smile at all times – If a caller is difficult, it is not the receptionist’s right to question or object to how a client is feeling when they call up.  They must maintain their professionalism, dignity and display the highest form of courtesy.
4. Treat every call as if it’s the first one of the day. – Remain refreshed, calm and focused.  Allow receptionists to take time out (if possible) to get some fresh air as the role can be stressful at times.  They must give the caller their undivided attention.
5. Listen – Clarify – Confirm – All professional receptionists should apply this rule from the beginning.  A good receptionist/telephonist has distinguished listening skills and is able to administer this skill with ease.  They must clarify everything – even the smallest details – and confirm back their understanding of the situation.
6. Secrets and Lies – A diplomatic persona is required at all times.  Very often, your receptionist will be privy to information which should remain confidential.  At times receptionists are often required to maintain security and must use their tact and common sense to diffuse a potential breach.
7. Confidence – Composure – Courtesy – Displaying these three skills (amongst many others) will always ensure that your clients remain clients.  How one is received is vital to company success, growth and retention of business.

 

About the author

Sun Moritz began work as a receptionist at the age of 15, eventually moving into executive reception, where she stayed for seven years. Employed by government organizations as well as high profile companies in the city, Sun realized the importance of first impressions for any business or corporation, and thereby the need for receptionists to be 100% professional at all times. This led to the opening of her training academy in London, Miss Reception.

Stress Management

Phones are ringing, a client is waiting to be checked in, a courier is anxious to get a signature on a delivery and you are on the phone to the guest in room 1710 who is complaining that the room is too small. Oh yes, the courier is starting to get irritated because he has a deadline and the person on the phone is being angry and abusive…

Now, of course is the time to take out from beneath the desk your pump action shotgun and start blasting away, or perhaps you should start foaming at the mouth and biting people or even simply burst into tears in the futile hope that someone somewhere actually gives a damn…

Well however tempting any of the above responses may be (and speaking personally the foaming mouth and biting people has always appealed) there are other and better options. Better because they will enable you to relax and de-stress and better because they will show that you can do your job efficiently.

First take a deep breath and remind yourself that NONE of this is really important, in the great scheme of things these are minor puzzles that you will resolve. Next take a second to mentally prioritize the tasks… In this example, perhaps it’s guest, courier, client, phone. The exact order will depend on you and your organisations rules however the order is actually not that important. What is important, is to have them in an order.

Now deal with them one at a time giving each task 99% of your attention until it is complete. The spare 1% is to allow you to monitor for things that would ABSOLUTELY mean that you need to re-prioritize your tasks.

OK, you are probably thinking “It’s fine to say that but I ALWAYS get the situation where several things are equally critical. How can I possibly prioritize them? No matter what I do, people are going to be unhappy with me”. You know what, you are right. Sometimes multiple things are equally critical, so what, just start on whichever one takes your fancy or put them in alphabetical order it really doesn’t matter. You see you have to realise that you are limited to doing the possible. You cannot do the impossible, (that’s why it’s called impossible) and the sooner you acknowledge that just like everyone else in the world you have limits the sooner you can relax and get on with things. As to people being unhappy with you, tough luck and welcome to the world. Sometimes even if you do everything absolutely perfectly, people will be unhappy with you. You simply must not live your life trying vainly to please everybody, it won’t work and you will make yourself most unhappy!!! Just try and do your best for one person at a time, that’s one of the true secrets to lifelong success.

About the author

Robert Agar-Hutton is the managing director of Protectics Limited and specialises in the management of stress and aggression.

Lets examine the evidence.

ASIMO the Japanese Humanoid

Asimo is a humanoid, developed by Honda Motor Co Ltd and currently has employment as a receptionist at their office in Honda Wako Building north of Tokyo. Using sensors, Asimo can recognise it’s surroundings and interact with people, provide information and perform services, such as delivering and receiving items. Asimo is able to run and maintain its balance and control up to 6km/hour, and walk in step with other people whilst holding hands.

(So I guess if you wanted to employ a receptionist who was an expert in balancing, running, and of course the essential holding hands, then Asimo would be the one.)

Valerie and Marion “Tank” LeFleur employed as receptionists at Carnegie Mellon University

A university in Pittsburgh USA have spent several years developing a robot that has personality and social skills. A joint project between the computer science and drama departments at Carnegie Mellon University, they have so far produced two models: initially Valerie had a receptionist job at the Computer Science Hall, greeting visitors and talking about the weather. (And being from the drama dept you just know she could deliver a line – ‘He’s in a meeting; I’ve just spoken to the kitchen and your refreshments are on their way; No we never over-book the hotel’s rooms’)

Last year, Valerie was replaced with a male counterpart, ‘Tank’. Like Valerie, Tank is a face on a computer screen, and visitors need to communicate via a keyboard, but Carnegie Mellon drama department have been working on Tank to make him less boring (cut out the weather chat for a start) Tank has two failed careers under his belt, one with NASA and another with the CIA, meaning he is now fairly negative about himself; he has mood swings and emotional outbursts depending on the questions he is asked in conjunction with what is happening in his life at the moment. Scientists believe that if robots are ever going to be able to take over reception duties, they will need to be able to respond to human emotions.

Tank is collecting information about how humans interact with robots, and his boss is hoping people will feel compassion for the blue Frankenstein face on the screen and spend time trying to cheer him up. So far thousands of interactions are being analyzed every month, and it’s clear most humans are fascinated by Tank’s life. Not perhaps something employers will expect their clients to have to deal with at reception.

The science department are working on the upgrades that will mean Tank recognises people he’s talked to before and can initiate conversations by himself.

However, although both Valerie and Tank have been popular members of staff at the University, it seems likely that the positive reactions come from the novelty factor rather than the efficiency and speed of multi-tasking and coping under pressure.

Robot Inkha who has a job as Head Receptionists at King’s College

Not to be left behind, the UK too has it’s very own version of a robot receptionist. Developed at King’s College, London, ‘Inkha’ is a robotic head, who has a personality based on programmed thought processes relating to images she sees via cameras in her eyes. She is capable of being charming, irritable or obnoxious and her emotional responses include fright (“So you’re telling me I’ve sent the party of 16 investment bankers to the auditorium holding the anti-capitalist demo?”) nonchalance (“Oh well, they were really rude to me anyway.”) and intrigue (“I wonder if I’ll still have my job tomorrow.”). Her creation was a joint effort between the engineering and art departments, with the intention of creating a robot that can interact autonomously. Hopes for her future employment are mounting and she currently has the receptionist job at King’s College from 9 – 5 Monday to Friday.

Hello Kitty was developed in Japan

Back to Japan where technology is storming ahead, perhaps partly due to their well-known love of novelty and fun, and partly due to a low birth rate meaning the need for an alternative work force. A recruitment agency called PeopleStaff are offering Hello Kitty robot receptionists to companies for around 450 dollars a month, a big saving on human salaries. The robot comes with 20,000 conversation patterns as well as riddles and songs and can recognise up to 10 previously seen faces. Hello Kitty is capable of asking for names, liaising with hosts and giving directions. What it can’t do is answer the phone, reserve rooms, or expect to be taken too seriously.

 

Anna the virtual concierge – expert in hospitality

Over five years ago, a hotel receptionist employed at Westin hotels in Silicon Valley, managed to turn herself into a ‘virtual receptionist’ at the cost of 50,000 dollars to her employers in order that she might work from home. An exceptional story.

Anna Morris, mother of two, clearly became indispensable in her position as receptionist; so when the time came for her to take maternity leave, Westin agreed to her idea of continuing her employment…..120 km away.

The technology that brought “Virtual Anna” to the Westin was pretty simple, using a camera and a microphone in the hotel and one in a bedroom of Anna’s house, both parties could see and hear each other. The reception area in the hotel contained a giant TV screen, showing only Anna’s head and shoulders, which meant she could wear her slippers to work!

The driving force behind the new way of working, was a life of leaving for her receptionist/concierge job at around 5am in order to battle with traffic over the long journey, and the impending arrival of a new baby. But she had to convince her boss with a detailed plan. His response was: “This is Silicon Valley. It’s the future and we have to embrace it, especially when it comes from the grassroots.”

But it’s not simply a question of replacing a human with a machine, and Westin may not have gone along with idea had Anna not already proved herself to be a valued employee. Salaries in Silicon Valley cannot compete with some of the more illustrious areas, so there is a high turnover of staff. It’s a difficult issue to resolve, but at 50,000 dollars for the new ‘Virtual Anna’, they thought it was worth a try.

Summing it all up

The race is clearly on to develop robots to serve the public. More than a humanoid, and more than a computer screen.

We were able to contact Matthew Walker, co-creator of Kings college’s ‘Inkha’, and asked for his thoughts on her future:

“Of course, Inkha is limited in ability and is no match for a real receptionist but I have seen visitors walk into reception, press a button on Inkha’s screen for directions to one of the rooms in the University and then follow the directions without speaking to the receptionists. This can save the receptionists from dealing with some of the repetitive tasks. Inkha is also funny and can put visitors in a good frame of mind.

Inkha’s fright and intrigue responses go down well, particularly with children.

My main efforts since finishing Inkha have been trying to produce versions of Inkha as toys and educational kits. We have also considered connecting Inkha to the telephone system so that visitors can contact the people they are visiting and also the addition of name and address input for prospectus requests.

After a lot of searching due to her hotel changing ownership, we managed to contact Anna Morris. She is still head concierge, 6 years later, complete with video screen and working from home. Anna now has a website, virtualwerks.com where she is promoting the technology that enabled her to manage her life in the way she wanted. She is pioneering ‘humanness behind technology’, which she sees as the opposite of replacing a human with a machine.

“Work from the comforts of home and appear a thousand miles away, in the VIP lounge of an international airport, in a busy lobby of a grand hotel, in the reception area of a Fortune 500 company, all at the same time.”

In conclusion

If you want your receptionists to give you the weather forecast, then chase off down the corridor hand in hand with one of your other staff, while they sing “I did it my way”, then the technology is there. Similarly if you like your receptionist, but would prefer it if they sat 1000 miles away from you, then Virtual Anna’s company could be your thing!

Leona Lewis is not the only celebrity to start her career behind a reception desk.

This month we introduce two highly motivated and powerful women who had the necessary skills to make it in this extremely demanding role.

Rosa Parks – mild mannered and gentle, became the catalyst for Dr Martin Luther King Jr to lead the civil rights movement that broke the back of legalized segregation in the United States. Far from beginning her career behind reception, she chose it as an option at the end of her working life.

Rosa Parks began her 23 year career as a receptionist in 1965 when she was 52 years old. Just 10 years earlier, on 1st December 1955, Rosa had sparked the beginning of the modern civil rights movement by refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus to a white man, causing her arrest and subsequent boycott of the Montgomery buses by 50,000 black people in Alabama for over a year. Rosa continued to campaign for freedom throughout her life, and was honored by numerous universities, organizations and individuals, including being awarded an international peace prize and the Medal of Freedom – the highest award the US government can bestow on a civilian. In numerous obituaries written at the time of her death in 2005, it was noted that although Rosa’s notoriety presented the opportunity to become a reigning celebrity, she remained humble, modest and gracious – and continued in her reception role until 1988, when she was 75 years old.

Linda McCartney – although known for her marriage to Paul McCartney, Linda was primarily a photographer of legendary musicians in the late 1960’s, and later in life became author of several vegetarian cookery books as well as a business entrepeneur, and a voice for animal rights.

In 1966 Linda Eastman worked as a receptionist for Town and Country magazine. In this responsible position, she intercepted an invitation to a press reception that the Rolling Stones were holding on board a yacht on the Hudson River. She turned up to the event posing as the official photographer for Town and Country, and was the ONLY photographer invited on board! When the yacht docked, Linda’s photographs were in demand and her career established….she then went on to become house photographer of New York’s famous rock palace, Fillmore East. In 1969 she married Paul McCartney. What a girl!

From Cabin Crew to Corporate Receptionist

Mary had made the decision – she’d decided to leave her life in the air and join the land lovers

So here I am with first-day-at-school nerves, just embarking on my new life in the city, starting work as a receptionist.

It happened quite suddenly; I was coming into land on a long haul flight one night and I just decided there and then, I couldn’t do it anymore; I needed a change.

Having flown as Cabin Crew for many years, and after 4 days of earlys, notching up over 60 hours (which meant getting up at 3.30am, scraping ice off my car, wearing full uniform including pulling my hair up into a bun and basically being groomed within one inch of my life ) enough was enough. Yes it was time to join the rest of the working population with more sociable hours (Well except, the Police, Doctors Nurses, but you get the picture!!.)

I emailed my cv (things had really changed these days, I was used to writing a cover letter to receive an application form (which basically made the whole process a lot lengthier.

Within a few hours I received a call from Front. They were impressed with my cv and wanted to meet me. I had taken the first step in leaving life in the cabin crew and a day later I was going for interviews, and soon I had landed a job as a corporate receptionist in the City.

The first thing that struck me was how friendly people were: when I went for my show around, people had time to talk to me and ask me questions. It was a far cry from someone tugging on my apron and asking for more milk.

The job involves a lot more than answering the phone; that is part of my role, but there is a lot more. During my first week, there were a few dinners so I stayed late, still not as late as I did when I was flying!. And it was all a very social affair, with me and the other receptionist sipping champagne behind the desk, as we chatted to the waiters.

I think my biggest fear when I stopped flying was doing a job that would be like Groundhog Day, you know – the same thing everyday. With a receptionist job, no two days are ever the same. I’m not stuck behind a computer all day long, I’m meeting new people every day, the shift work adds even more variation, and the problems we face each day are always different.

One of the girls at my new job had flown for years before joining, so I can swap flying stories. Another real bonus is having the uniform and being involved in the choosing of it, as it changes every six months.

When I start my day (if I am on an earlies) there could be breakfast meetings to prepare for, so this involves checking the meeting rooms, making sure the pastries have arrived (similar to checking the catering on an Airbus, but without so many gaping mouths to feed.) Then I could be booking meeting rooms. The reservation of rooms takes skill and accuracy, if you book the wrong people into the wrong meeting room and they receive the wrong food – there’s a reasonable chance the clients in the meeting will feel unsure about the professionalism of the company as a whole. Emails and calls can come through thick and fast. You really need to be on the ball, be able to multi task and to know what’s going on. In a corporate receptionist environment the partners, executives or directors are a little like executive card holder passengers (on flights): they like to be made a fuss of, for example remembering what they drink or which room they prefer for their meetings.

From my experience in going for interviews before I accepted this position, shifts in companies can vary greatly. The shifts I do include a later shift, which means I have to be very flexible; so when the waitresses go home I make the drinks, show the clients to the rooms and inform the hosts their guests have arrived.In my company this means a little running around and there’s a chance I could fall behind with my admin if I don’t keep a careful eye on it all. Here there are three floors to run, which means sometimes going up and down stairs, whilst always remaining composed and professional, so I guess there are quite a few similarities between the two jobs: cabin crew and reception.

Anyone who has been crew or knows a few will tell you: their favourite pastime which I must admit I would join in with, is moaning. So the moaning and the tiredness have gone, bringing instead generally a better work-life balance.

It’s not all plain sailing. There are times when you’re rushing around and the phone doesn’t stop ringing and everything seems to be your fault (rather the same as when I was crew). Generally though I have more time: I actually get an hour for lunch where I can go to the gym, or meet a friend. I have just as much holiday (and look forward to flying off somewhere when I take it), get paid more and most importantly I have my life back, which includes weekends. So, I am generally happier all round.

With reception you kind of have to be a telephonist, PA, waitress and hostess all at the same time. Whereas, as crew, you have to be a fire fighter, police woman, waitress and nurse.

Take your pick.

By Mary

A number of articles have appeared recently in US news items, illustrating the importance of impressing the receptionist when attending job interviews – no matter how important the position in question.

Receptionist has revenge!

CNN published a letter from a receptionist complaining about her treatment by job candidates who were less than discourteous on their arrival. The senior vice president of the firm was recruiting a middle management position and several of the interviewees had been rude or completely ignored the receptionist on their way to their interview. Revenge came, however, when the receptionist in question was asked by her boss, for her opinion of the candidates who’d come through. Thumbs down, no second interview.

It seems that it’s becoming more accepted for bosses to ask for opinions from employees when recruiting – recognizing the importance of co-operation amongst staff.

So to inspire receptionists everywhere, we asked ClearRock, Executive Coaching and Outplacement, for their comments:

Job-Seekers’ Guide for Dealing with Receptionists!

“One of the biggest reasons newly recruited managers and executives are continuing to fail in their new jobs at such a high rate – at least 4 out of 10 –is their inability to fit into a company’s culture and get along with the people who work there. So, more organizations are asking employees, right from the start, their impressions of candidates, and receptionists’ opinions are increasingly being sought,” said Annie Stevens, managing partner for ClearRock.

“Some companies feel a lot can be learned from how candidates treat receptionists, particularly if they are rude, condescending, or arrogant. Employers feel this is an accurate reflection of how candidates would treat their co-workers and direct reports,” added Greg Gostanian, managing partner for ClearRock.

ClearRock has compiled the following tips for candidates as a guide to interacting with receptionists.

• Be polite and friendly with receptionists, but don’t be too informal. Learning and remembering their names can only help as you advance in the interviewing process.
• Treat receptionists as you would other business colleagues, and don’t regard them as “underlings.” They are not a candidate’s secretary to help with scheduling or other personal problems. Always ask the interviewer if you need help from anyone else at the place where you interview, instead of seeking this directly yourself.
• You can accept an offer of a beverage, but keep this simple. Don’t ask for brand names of any hot or cold beverages, or expect them to make freshly brewed coffee. And don’t expect a receptionist to run out to Starbucks to get a latte′ for you.
• Be careful of anything you say, and expect that everything you say will get back to the interviewer. Polite, brief conversation is acceptable, but don’t ask probing questions about the company, or give unsolicited opinions.
• Don’t talk on your cell phone in front of the receptionist, and don’t be obsessed with your Blackberry. Put your cell phone on vibrate, and if you have to take or make a call, leave the receptionist area. Don’t be overly preoccupied with your Blackberry or other wireless e-mail device. You will come across as a cold and fixated person.
• Don’t forget to say goodbye to the receptionist if he or she is there when leaving. Failure to say goodbye to someone you have just met reflects negatively on you. You will be viewed as an impersonal, uncaring individual.