Hearing Bad Things About You

(This happens during my second week as an administrator of a small firm.)

Me: *answering phone* “Good morning, [Office]. [My Name] speaking. How may I help you?”

Caller: *in a very annoyed tone* “I need to speak with [Accountant Coworker] about our bill. It’s not correct.”

Me: “I’m very sorry to hear that. I’ll transfer you to [Accountant Coworker] immediately.”

(I transfer the call, and although my coworker is at the opposite end of the office, it is very quiet and she speaks loudly, so I can hear everything.)

Coworker: “[Accountant Coworker] speaking… Oh, hi, [Caller]. How are you…? Oh! I’m sorry to hear that. Let me check your bill in the system… Yes… Yes, I see the problem. We got this new girl in the office, and clearly she made a mistake… Yes, she’s been messing everything up… Oh, I’ll tell her! I’ll make sure she doesn’t do it again…”

(The conversation continues for a while and I’m absolutely mortified. I’ve received nothing but positive feedback since I started, and to top it off, billing is not part of my job; only the accountant does that! The call ends, and the accountant walks over to my desk, apparently unaware that I could hear her.)

Coworker: “You wouldn’t believe the call I just had! Someone from [Client] called, and she is always so nasty! She wanted us to include extra paperwork justifying last month’s bill, but she never asked for it, so of course I didn’t include it! I gave her a piece of my mind! I told her that her request isn’t standard practice, and if she wants something special she needs to tell me next time! Isn’t that unbelievable?”

Me: *utterly shocked that she not only blamed me for a mistake I didn’t make, but is lying to my face about what she said* “Oh, yeah… unbelievable is right.”

(It’s only been a few weeks and unfortunately this isn’t an isolated incident. I know who I need to keep an eye, and an ear, on in the office!)