Why do people assume that the person answering the phone...

Well sometimes if I am amking a call like that I get so worried about what I have to say and stuff that when someone ansers the phone I start to pour out my tale to them and when they tell me I am at the wrong place and they're just directing calls I feel so embarressed. I suppose the people have just got so much on their mind that they forget about their call being directed first. Its good that you are patient with these people because obviously when it is concerning their health they can be very nervous. As for the doctors that call you back we can be nasty about them and just say they are ignorant cos I don't want to be too nicey nicey lol.

When I call a business, I usually start out with "I don't know who I need to talk to," and then briefly explain what I need. That is, of course, unless I do know who I need to talk to, and then I just ask for them. :) It's not just people calling businesses that do this, though. My fiance keeps telling me that he gets telemarketer calls on our home phone asking for "Mr." attached to my last name. They figure that he must be my husband, and that my last name is our married name... he just tells them that the person they are asking for doesn't live there. :)

My last job was a customer service rep and in most of my other jobs I had to answer the phone or make calls on the phone. When making a call I would always state my name and ask to talk to whomever I needed to talk to and for what reason. My gripe when I answered the phone was the people who did not say who they were and just start talking to you like you knew who they were just by hearing their voice! Do they think you recognize the voice of everyone who calls you when you talk to maybe fifty people per day or more. Whenever they did that I had a hard time really listening to what they were saying until I could find out who I was talking to. Also, when taking orders from some of our customers they would just start giving you a bunch of numbers w/o letting you know that it's their credit card number and would give you an attitude when you asked what they were talking about. I also loved the ones that changed their mind twenty times before they finished ordering. I could go on and on.

Nope, I am surprised when I get a person and so if and when I do I realize that they probably will need to transfer or connect me to who can handle my call. I often have a name so I call and ask for that person by name and on a rare occasion it is who I am seeking. I deal in reality and do not assume to know how every business works. Good luck in the future when your callers.

Most of the time no. The last job I had before I became a SAHM was being an administrative assistant and it was my job to answer the phones. So I guess from all those years of having to answer the phone and being that person that people think I am. I have gotten to where when I call a business I say "I am not sure if you can help me on this, but here is my situation. Could you direct me to the right person". But I do know your frustrations. I have been in your shoes before! Best of luck!

I can't even get a real person when I call anyplace. It seems like all I ever get are recordings. But, I would think in a hospital people would realize it's a big place and know you are the receptionist. You must have a lot of patience to be able to handle that.

I don't think I do that, but then I don't really place that many calls so it's been a while. I just think that is what people do when they don't really know who they need or what to say. Maybe they hope giving you their whole story, you might be able to direct them in the right direction.