I worked at the front desk of a mysterious company that operated twenty-four hours a day. When most people would head home, I would come in and man the front desk. My boss encouraged me to read, write, or watch TV on my laptop, and to only answer questions if they came up and asked the question correctly. By the end of my first week, I realized what he meant.
I came into the office on my first day, and my boss Mitch came out to greet me. "Hello, Sarah, I like that you are prompt. This is the internet information for your laptop. This is the coffee room. You can make whatever you like except for fish. There is ramen and noodles galore, along with all the fixings on the bar. You do not need to worry about anything in here. Help yourself."
I nodded as he led me to show me where the bathrooms are. Then he showed me to my desk. He said, "If you step away for food, drink, or the bathroom, there is a will return in a few minutes sign. So there is a space for your laptop, and this computer has a question inquiry that you will use whenever anyone comes up with a question. If you look at the main screen, you will see three options. One for general questions. Read the response exactly as it is written. One for appointments or people looking for others. If the person is available then you will send the person to the location the person is stating to send them to. If the person is not available you state, i am sorry they are unavailable and do not supply anymore information. If the person does not come up in th system you will be given a prompt and you read it exactly how it is written. The last will be for questions you cannot find an answer to. Remember if you cannot find an answer, you will use the third option and tell the person, we are looking into this, and you will receive a text or email once we have an answer. Do you understand?"
"Basically, it is idiot proof?" I asked. "When submitting for the third option they will provide the phone number or email correctly?"
"That is correct," Mitch said. "When there are no people, you are free to use your laptop. Now, be aware that we will see what you are doing from the camera over your shoulder."
Chuckling I said, "You sure this is to good to be true? I freelance and write. To be able to do any of that while sitting at a desk watching the lobby is a dream come true."
He chuckled as well and said, "Just follow the prompts, and if for any reason the system crashes, you will immediately place the come back later sign up and shut the window to your desk, even if someone is there. If someone starts to pound on the window, do not answer or respond unless the system is back in order. If the system crashed you will call the phone number on the wall and say, it is down. Then you sit at your desk for ten minutes. If it is not back up, walk away until it comes back up. They will call you over the loudspeaker."
Nodding, I said, "Understood."
He walked me to my desk and showed me how I could hook my laptop up to the company's internet. He showed me the bell on my side for the next person to ring. After he left, I brought up my spreadsheet and set my timer for my lunch break. Then I working on my todo on my freelance and writing list. I was working my way through my list when the bell to my desk rang. I looked up to see a man with sunglasses on and he said, "I am looking to meet Rooker James."
I typed in the name and a message came up that said, "Check back Friday."
Looking up, I said, "Check back Friday."
He nodded and walked away. My alarm for my lunch break, I clocked out for lunch, and I headed to the break room. I took my sandwich out and then made a bowl of ramen to go with it.
Sarah- Main Mitch-Boss
One for general questions. Read the response exactly as it is written. One for appointments or people looking for others. If the person is available then you will send the person to the location the person is stating to send them to. If the person is not available, you state, whatever the message on the screen is and do not supply anymore information. if they try to argue shut the window and a five-minute timer will appear. If the person does not come up in the system you will be given a prompt and you read it exactly how it is written. The last will be for questions you cannot find an answer to. Remember if you cannot find an answer, you will use the third option and tell the person, we are looking into this, and you will receive a text or email once we have an answer.
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