Letter of reference...?

[equus_peduus]

So because there's so many interesting people here that have experiences I don't, I'm going to see if anyone has an opinion on this situation...

I'm the new associate vet at a 2-doctor practice. One of the receptionists is leaving, because my boss and the office manager don't like her. She just thinks they don't like her. They don't like her because she's inefficient, has made mistakes in billing, does not always follow directions well, becomes very flustered when asked to do more than one thing, etc... she hasn't improved significantly in the 4-5 months I've been there, and I'm under the impression she'd been working for a few months before I started. She's capable of the basics, but any variations seem to throw her. To her credit, she's caught a couple of errors as well (e.g., the time that the written Rx said ciprofloxacin, and the bottle said doxycycline, and when the client came to pick up, she looked, wasn't sure they were the same thing, and asked... someone had pulled down the wrong drug from the shelf, and made the label to match the drug, rather than to match the written script (which is good, since the error would never have been caught otherwise); she almost always asks when she's not sure, usually seems to double check things the way she's supposed to... but things slip through the cracks when it's busy and she gets flustered). She's a very nice person, she's interesting to talk to (though sometimes she talks too much... when she should be working), she does try hard, and seems to get along with clients pretty well. She is very interested in what we do, and seems to really care about the clients and patients.

Because my boss and the office manager "don't like her," she's asked me to write her a letter of reference (I'm nice to her, because I've observed that when people act impatient with her, she does even less well. That and my boss is the Energizer Bunny who needs to have everything done NOW, while I'm a little more patient...). The request took me by surprise, and I told her I'd think about it. According to her, she used to work in a multidoctor human surgeon's office as (I think) the sole receptionist, manually organizing multiple surgeon's schedules, dealing with patients, etc. Either she does better when she's in charge of everything, or this was a long time ago and she hasn't got her game back yet (she's probably in her 50s or so age-wise).

I want to discuss my concerns with her (but obviously would rather do this privately) as to why I'm not sure I can write a good letter. Yes, I can say "she's nice and tries hard" but there's enough negatives that I don't want to give any future potential employers the wrong idea.

The questions: 1) Should I tell the office manager and/or my boss that she's asked me? 2) Should I just refuse to write the letter? (or as an employee myself, do I even have the standing to write the letter?) 3) If I write it, is there a nice way to say, "nice and works hard, but would probably do best in an environment that isn't really dynamic and/or where she doesn't have to deal with more than one thing at a time" ?

 

[Tiatrack]

No question - I would say "I think you would be better off asking someone else, good luck in your search."

 

[alli713]

I think being a fellow employee doesn't really give you the authority to do a letter of reference? That's my opinion, since I'm not really sure if there's a rule, but generally the ones to write letters of recommendation are the bosses or employers. I would never think to ask a fellow employee to write one for me.

And seeing as you already don't really feel like you could write a good one, I would just kindly say that you don't feel the authority to write one for her. Perhaps she could put you down as a reference though. Because if someone calls, you could just highlight the good points since technically as a reference you're not supposed to say bad things..

 

[Melissa]

There are letter generators online that can dress up what you want to say with out lying and what not. Are you guys on the same level or are you above her but below your boss? I wouldnt accept a letter from just another employee.. But that is just me. I would tell her that you arent comfortable with writing one.

 

[HedgeMom]

"I'm sorry, the policy of the practice is that only Dr. X can write letters of recommendation".

Our business insurance spells out exactly who can sign what on company letterhead b/c of the liability issues. I'd bet that your practice is the same.

If you're willing to do it personally, then you say the truth. She's kind, prompt, helpful, etc. You don't say anything harmful.

Not everyone is a good fit at every job. Because she's having difficulties that seem to be more personality related than anything, doesn't mean she wasn't good at what she did before nor does it mean she won't be good again. I get very flustered if someone stands over my desk and demands things from me. My exboss did that all the time. My current boss does not. It makes it a whole lot easier to be a good employee b/c of the different management styles. Don't fault her for something that might not be totally her issue.

 

[tunes]

I agree with Nancy. I would say no to the profressional reference, but if you really think she's a good person and interesting, etc., then I would offer a personal letter of reference.

 

[equus_peduus]

I ended up asking the office manager and she basically said what you guys did (with the addition of, when the receptionist told her she would quit if the OM would give her a good letter...) - I can write a personal letter of reference but probably not a professional one.

I told the receptionist that today, who then tells me that I am in a boss-like position, so can write a professional letter of reference. I told her I don't consider myself to be (I am an employee - just because I have a position of semi-authority does not make me a boss-type person - I have no responsibilities in clinic management, no decision-making powers for anything that's not directly related to my patients, etc...). We'll see. She gave me copies the letters of reference from the surgery practice (15 years ago) and her resume... and left a long message on my answering machine about the job she's applying for that I didn't really listen to because it was 10pm when I got home last night and didn't feel like thinking about just then. I guess I've got a project for Sunday. *sigh*

ETA: there's a National Association of Photoshop Professionals? (she's a member)