The episode was almost universally praised by critics. Abby West of "Entertainment Weekly" complimented the writing of B.J. Novak in the episode, saying that "This was another gem... kept a very nice light touch on the whole love triangle thing, only giving us that one wonderfully uncomfortable moment at Pam's desk when they were betting on how many jelly beans were in the container." IGN's Brian Zoromski rated it 10 out of 10, making it only one of two third-season episodes he deemed a "masterpiece". He stated that "Another truly brilliant episode of "The Office" aired this week, with more humor packed into the half-hour than you get in many feature-length comedies." Zoromski also praised the acting by minor characters, such as Creed Bratton and Mindy Kaling, who portrays customer service representative Kelly Kapoor.