Everybody knows who they are, but nobody is willing to say something to them.  They are the employees who don’t work well with others and you wouldn’t dream of having them talk to a customer. But every once in awhile, you have no option but to ask them to be receptionist for a short time.

Makes me shudder when I think of a socially-challenged employee answering the phone.  Remember Ghostbusters? Remember when Janine, already in a foul mood, picks up the phone and says “Ghostbusters, whaddaya want?”

>> Watch Annie Potts reenact the famous line for the Ghostbusters video game

Janine wasn’t a bad employee. She was just in a bad mood.  We all have things that happen in our private lives that make it hard for us to have good customer communications.  A death in the family, car wreck, no electricity, sickness, zombie apocalypse and other things could ruin any person’s day.

This is when a virtual receptionist could make all the difference.  Give your socially-inept employee a pass and let a live operator handle the calls.

Studies show that having a human answer the phone helps convert calls to bona fide leads. And if your cranky employee starts losing those leads, then you are going to be a cranky boss.