EVEN though a receptionist gives the first impression about a company, they are rarely viewed as employees who will drive company growth and as a result employers in the Kingdom prefer to hire for the job people with low academic qualifications who they typically underpay.
The majority of receptionists interviewed for this report by the Arabic-language daily Alsharq said employers and Saudi society continue to undervalue their jobs and look down on them because, as popular opinion goes, recipients have limited skills and their employment outlook is bleak. In defense of such criticism, receptionists alleged that employers are not keen to develop their skills by enrolling them in courses that can help improve their performance.
Moad Al-Saad said receptionists need to have various skills in order to effectively perform their jobs. However, few know how to deal with customers and also lack the skills required for the job.
“Certainly, this is the main reason why many customers complain they have had a negative first experience with receptionists in the public sector particularly. Customers do not have any other option but to put up with the way these receptionists handle their complaints and inquiries,” he said. The situation is a little different in the private sector where customers do not have to bear a rude or poorly-trained receptionist. They can simply file a complaint against the receptionist or decide not to deal with the company and find another one.
Khalid Al-Bashrawi criticized national companies for their failure to recognize the important role of receptionists in reflecting a good image about the businesses they work for.
“Unfortunately, a large number of employers care about a receptionist's uniform more than his skills and don't recognize the sensitive role he or she plays. I am not exaggerating when I say receptionists need various training courses to improve their performance,” Al-Bashrawi said.
Fahd Al-Eneizi, also a receptionist, said he does not know a lot about the services of the company he works for nor does he know anything about the way the business operates.
“I always find myself in a tight position when customers ask questions about technical things. The company should train me and prepare me well for the job. It should also give me a good salary and incentives and help me improve my performance,” Al-Eneizi said.
Primitive methods
According to receptionist Muhammad Al-Salman, companies abroad respect their receptionists and constantly encourage them to take training courses on how to deal with customers.
“A receptionist who works for an overseas company is the one who attracts customers or turns them away. He either gives a good image or a bad one about the company. That's why companies offer good pay and many incentives to receptionists. Of course, if any employee feels secure in his job, this feeling will be reflected in his performance,” Al-Salman said, while calling on employers in the Kingdom to copy the practices of foreign companies.
Abdulhameed, another receptionist, said the general public perceives the job of a receptionist as unimportant and many people even look down on receptionists.
“People think our job is easy and that we don't have to make much of an effort to fulfill your duties. But this is not true; we work all the time and our job is mentally demanding as we have to deal with different customers and put up with their moods,” he said.
