Excuse me, my other lines are ringing!

The purpose of a receptionist is pretty simple: Answer the phone, transfer calls, and greet guests. Our purpose is NOT to chat with you on the phone whilst other lines ring off the hook. I understand. I have a nice friendly voice. I am pleasant on the phone. I do my very best to not be rude. But you see, when you are engaging me in a conversation beyond the full name and/or extension of the person you are calling while you can hear the phones ringing in the background, you are being rude and forcing me to be rude as well. Something you clearly fail to understand is this - there is another person on the other end of that line that has caused my phone to ring. While you are trying to chat with me, that person has to wait. They don't know why they have to wait. All they know is the phone just rings and rings and rings! They shouldn't have to wait at all. They should be able to have their call answered in a timely manner (I'm sure you appreciated it when I answered your call after only one ring!). After all, that's what I was hired to do. It's my prime directive so to speak. So, please don't ask me how my day is and try to engage in playful banter. I want none of it.

Being a jerk is uncalled for

Must you take your bad day out on a woman that's just doing her job? No, I don't think you must do that. I think what you must do is take a step back and reexamine your life. Determine where your mother went wrong when teaching you proper etiquette. Or perhaps, she did nothing wrong and it's really just bad decision making on your part. Whatever the case may be, you seem to be a terribly unhappy person that defines the meaning behind the term "Misery loves company." Yours is not the type of company I would ever chose to keep, so please refrain from calling me any further-I do not like you. I only like those that know the names and extensions of the person(s) they are calling. Have a great day!