Working here at the Greene County Daily World requires a lot of team work. We're all on deadline and we all have separate tasks to complete in order to get the paper out.

But, it's the ladies up front that deal with all the incoming phone calls, upset customers and all the other employees who need this or want that.

I like to refer to them as my "first line of defense" but they prefer to be called "the gatekeepers".

On a daily basis, I make it a point to see how they're doing and it's been during these conversations that I have learned a lot.

They answer hundreds of incoming calls on a daily basis, take line ads for the shopper and daily. They talk to people who come into the office. They type legals, take messages, send out invoices...

Here are a few of their stories from the reception front lines:

* During the recent winter, one phone caller wanted to know what to put on her icy deck.

* During a federal holiday, another caller wanted to know why the courthouse employees wouldn't answer the phone. Then he suggested that the newspaper do a story on the courthouse being closed.

* One day a lady came into the office with her cable bill. She wanted to know who she should call about getting the cable deal.

* Another lady called and requested that the inserts be removed from her paper before mailing it.

It's like you never know what you're going to get upon answering the phone here at the Greene County Daily World.

"They want us to know the number for everything you can think of," one of the ladies said.

They've been asked for the courthouse, cable office and police phone numbers.

They've also been asked where such and such a place is.

For example, one caller wanted to know the name of a store (that hadn't been there for years and years) plus its phone number.

Here's a funny one....several incoming calls have only been to inform the receptions that the newspaper's phone number cannot be found????

One time, a very upset man called wanting to know the Linton Police Department's number.He was told 9-1-1. But, that's not the number he wanted. (Apparently he was too upset to look it up.)

These ladies also deal with the complaints.

Some of the funny ones are:

* People still call about not getting a paper on Mondays. (It's been about a year since we had a Monday paper.)

* One of the receptionists has even been asked to hold while the caller went outside to get his credit card out of the car. (Sorry to say she just couldn't oblige.)

Here are a few of their suggestions for placing an ad and for new subscribers.

* New subscribers do not immediately receive their newspaper. Their information has to be put into circulation's system and this takes a couple of days. So please be patient.

* The deadline for the shopper is Wednesday before noon. If you miss the deadline it will not be in until the next week's shopper.

* If you need to place an ad, have all of your information and credit card number ready to go upon calling.

And you thought your job was bad.

Thanks ladies....I know you got my back.