“She’s not in yet” is what I heard through my cell phone. It was 9:40 AM. The “yet” is the part that really got me. Sadly, I get this from receptionists all the time.

What I love about the “She’s not in yet” law firms is that these are frequently the same people who explain that they have a receptionist instead of an automated attendant because their clients expect personal service. Is “She’s not in yet” really someone’s idea of personal service?

What does the client think when she hears the “yet”? “Oh, no problem, I’m sure she’s in court working for another client” or “I hate my lawyer, she took my money, she’s sleeping late, having breakfast in bed and can’t be bothered to take my call”?

It’s not the receptionist’s fault that she doesn’t know how to answer the phone. It’s our fault for failing to adequately train for the job. It’s important to teach our people how to deal with every interaction we can anticipate. The training needs to take place early and often and it needs to be documented and accessible to the employee.

Banish “she’s not in yet” from your office. Replace it with something that won’t turn off clients and potential clients. Alternatively, get an auto-attendant that only needs to be trained once.