It's Complicated

Chapter 7

"Right on time," Mr. Scott said as I walked through the door the next afternoon. "Good."

I shrugged as I glanced around. I was too nervous and left way too early, which meant I loitered in the area before walking in the door. "Where do I start?"

"And getting right to business, too. That's good in some cases, but we need to work on manners." He stood and gestured me around the counter. "Take a seat. I'm going to grab a chair from my office."

Once he was gone, I sat in the chair and rolled it up to the desk. The view was so different when I looked up. It felt just a little weird to be on this side of things. I knew I'd adjust eventually, but for now, well. I was fascinated to say the least.

He returned a few moments later and sat in the chair he brought. "Now, the first thing you have to do is get acquainted with the appointment book. Every shift, you're going to come in and you're going to look at this and see what appointments were added or canceled." He tapped the computer screen.

A calendar was open, displaying today. There were two appointments coming in this afternoon. Right on cue, the door opened, and someone stepped inside. "Good afternoon," I told him. The young man nodded happily.

Mr. Scott pointed at the screen. "Find him."

I glanced at the screen. One-forty-five. Ryan. Trim, dye, and style. "Ryan?" I asked, peeking up from the screen. He nodded once and Mr. Scott stood.

"Right this way," he said politely, and Ryan followed him. Mr. Scott gave me a look over his shoulder that made me jump to my feet and scramble after him. "Here we are. Stool three." A man with longish hair and a nose ring was lining up a couple of combs, a pair of scissors, and some foil.

The man grinned at us, revealing perfect teeth. "Hey, I'm Kenny. Take a seat."

Mr. Scott led me back to the desk as Kenny got to work on Ryan's hair. "Now, when the next one gets here, you ask them their name, then take them to the correct station. I'll explain those in a moment. We need to finish covering the basics of the appointment book." We took our seats and he pointed at a big calendar on the desk. "Do you see those marks?"

Certain days had small numbers written in pencil. "Yes."

"Those are the number of appointments open for that day. It's a way you can quickly find the next one available, especially when you're on the phone. You're not my only receptionist. Myself, my wife, and another lady also handle this job. It gives everyone a clear reference. When you come in, first you look at the appointment book at that afternoon's schedule, and then you look at the next available day. When you see which day – in this case it's Tuesday – it's easier to find the next open appointment. So if someone calls to make an appointment, you can say that the next available appointment is on Tuesday, is that day okay with you? While you're speaking to them, pull up Tuesday. Whatever their answer is, act accordingly. If they say depending on the time, you read off the open times. If they say, no I need another day, find another day and repeat the process until they either hang up or they have an appointment.

"Let's practice. Let's say I just called, and I need an appointment for Thursday. What do you tell me?"

I glanced at the desk. "We do have a few slots open," I said sweetly as I found Thursday in the 'book'. "We have times at noon, one, two-thirty, and five. Would any of those work?"

"Two-thirty will do fine."

"Okay. Can I get your name, please?"

"Michael Rhodes."

"Okay, Mr. Rhodes. Have a good day!"

He shook his head. "You did well, but at the end of the call, always repeat the appointment time back to them before you say the last bit. Something like, 'We'll see you at two-thirty Thursday!' You also need to ask what they're making an appointment for. It helps on down the line. If they want makeup, we've got a makeup artist that also does nails, and she's counted different. Haircuts, shaves, and even waxing are all counted together. You did right just now, but just remember that for the future. You see those tiny letters above the numbers on the calendar?"