Veterinary Pathologist Question:

This is essential to any position in the veterinary practice, but up front it must also be done while “on stage” in full view of the lobby audience, so the receptionist has to do it with grace. Give them a typical scenario: You are on the phone scheduling an appointment, you have a doctor waiting for you to bring back a chart, another phone lines start to ring and a client walks through the front door and comes to a stop right in front of you. What do you do? How do you prioritize these tasks in the heat of the moment?

Know what answer you want to hear. Perhaps it's, “I make eye contact with the approaching client and either mouth the words ‘I’ll be right with you,’ or hold up an index finger to indicate ‘just one minute.’ Then I put the second call on hold, finish the first, address the needs of the client in front of me, run the chart back to the doctor…” or however you would want them to handle the situation.