How would you handle this situation?

[Magnolia Bloom]

Everyone's input is appreciated. Just posting this and seeing the replies has helped me.

The woman is in her 60s and is a receptionist/support/file clerk. Although initially she went on and on about how she wanted to learn new things, my bad was believing that to be true. I think that she was scared BC she knew that corporate wanted changes and she was just saying what she thought she should be saying.

Twice since posting this, one of the guys has come to me looking for documents and I replied that they had been filed. When they said that they weren't in the file, I said to check with Debbie. Then I heard Debbie making up an excuse about why they hadn't been filed. Before this thread, I would jump up and find them for the guys.

I am now pitying her rather than getting mad. Today she was asked by one of the guys to print some docs out and then he told me to get them from her and follow up with the client. I walked to her desk and asked for them, telling her that John wanted me to work on them. She told me that she was just too busy to get to it. I was about to print them out myself, but then thought of this thread... I walked back and asked her to just let me know when she had it done and I would work on it then. About that time, John walked up and all of a sudden, an about face, she was steady finding time to print it out!

I no longer catch the phone for her unless it rings four times. Before, if I knew that she was on a call, I'd catch the phones. It even was set to ring at my desk, which makes no sense. Every time it would ring, I'd have to look up to see if it was our direct line or the main line. I reset the phone to ring only in the back and at her desk. She complained that now she couldn't hear it if she was in the kitchen or file room....so I set the one closest to the kitchen and file room to ring.

I realize now, thanks to this thread, that by doing things when I had time (dishwasher) or to help out, she took that for weakness or something. Now that I am no longer going out of my way to help her in her job, she is doing her job, even if she still is trying to trip me up. As long as I do my job and use e-mail to communicate, she can't do that.

We found out through the grapevine today that they may close our office and merge with a larger one in another town at the end of the year. OMG...she came to me like her sister....what if they fire us, wahhh, wahhh.... I told her that as long as we make the company money and have the right attitude, we have nothing to worry about. It will be interesting to see how this news affects the way she works with me.

Thank all of you for your comments. You helped me put things in perspective and have given me some great tools/ideas.