[ilc]

My desk is situated oddly and I have an open window space that people can come up to. When they do, they'll see me talking on my headset (what looks like I'm talking to myself), but regardless, I am talking, but they continue to talk to me! I can put my hand up to to gesture "a few minutes please", or point to my headset, but they still continue to talk to me! I just think this is plain rude.

Please let me know if others are encountering the same problem? I'm finding this frustrating.

[Chrissy Scivicque]

Hi ILC, are these customers or your co-workers?

I used to work in a bank branch and customers would ALWAYS come up to me while I was on the phone. I used to get so irritated because a lot of the times I was talking about sensitive information that the person on the other line would not have wanted an eavesdropper to hear. But clients can be demanding and there was little I could do other than physically turning around to continue my phone conversation. I considered creating some kind of sign that said, "Please respect privacy and have a seat. I'll be with you as soon as possible" to put up while I was on the phone, but I never did it...something like that might work for you. Of course, a lot of clients think that if they show up "in person" they should get priority over those on the phone. It's up to you and your company to determine if that's the way you want to run the business.

If it's co-workers, I would address the issue in a staff meeting or something. You can do it in a light-hearted way and still get the point across. It's rude and it also can break concentration. When I was an executive assistant, my boss would come up and try to silently mime things to me while I was on the phone. I finally just told him to make one gesture and I'd put my call on hold - that way I didn't have to interpret his little dance while still trying to pay attention to the person on the other end of the phone.

You're 100% right that it's a matter of respect, but there's one thing I've learned: YOU show people the way you want to be treated by the things you accept. Don't accept behavior that causes problems for you. If this is a serious distraction and it's happening all the time, address it head on.

Let me know what you decide to do and good luck!!

[ilc]

Originally Posted by Chrissy Scivicque

Hi ILC, are these customers or your co-workers?

I used to work in a bank branch and customers would ALWAYS come up to me while I was on the phone. I used to get so irritated because a lot of the times I was talking about sensitive information that the person on the other line would not have wanted an eavesdropper to hear. But clients can be demanding and there was little I could do other than physically turning around to continue my phone conversation. I considered creating some kind of sign that said, "Please respect privacy and have a seat. I'll be with you as soon as possible" to put up while I was on the phone, but I never did it...something like that might work for you. Of course, a lot of clients think that if they show up "in person" they should get priority over those on the phone. It's up to you and your company to determine if that's the way you want to run the business.

If it's co-workers, I would address the issue in a staff meeting or something. You can do it in a light-hearted way and still get the point across. It's rude and it also can break concentration. When I was an executive assistant, my boss would come up and try to silently mime things to me while I was on the phone. I finally just told him to make one gesture and I'd put my call on hold - that way I didn't have to interpret his little dance while still trying to pay attention to the person on the other end of the phone.

You're 100% right that it's a matter of respect, but there's one thing I've learned: YOU show people the way you want to be treated by the things you accept. Don't accept behavior that causes problems for you. If this is a serious distraction and it's happening all the time, address it head on.

Let me know what you decide to do and good luck!!

Hi Chrissy,

These are coworkers and managers. My own boss never interupts and will even ask if I'm on the phone or not, since it's hard to tell if I am. I may leave my headset on if I'm waiting for a call.

I know this is going to sound harsh, but if I'm in a complex call, I ignore the person and they'll see that I'm writing notes and talking, but they "still" linger, which I find even more rude. When I put my caller on hold to ask this person if it's urgent, they say it's not.

It really does annoy me and I truly find it rude. I would never do this to someone else and if I can hear someone on the phone, I'll come back, but I won't stick around, and if it's urgent, I'll pass a sticky note on to them.

We have a lot of people in our office, so a staff meeting wouldn't address this issue, and there is not a lot of respect for an EA at my workplace. I'm the only admin person in the entire office and everyone else is above me (and shows it).

I would not want to discuss this with my boss because I remember asking him for advice when people were not responding to my emails and the impression I got was to deal with it, so I wouldn't want to bother him for something like this.

[Robin Holtson]

No one likes anyone listening in to their telephone conversations. If I am on a call and someone walks into my office and decides to hang around, I let the person on the phone know by saying, "Can you hold just a minute? Someone just came into my office". Then, I turn to the person and say, "I'm going to be on this call for a while; I'll get back to you when I'm available."

But, don't be surprised when the same individuals continue their bad behavior!

I find that people who are on hands-free phones tend to think we all know they are on the phone, but it really is hard to tell for outsiders. I had a boss who used a hands-free phone and to me he was just sitting there doodling on his notepad or sitting with a thoughtful look. When I poked my head in the office to ask him a question he would almost bite my head off. "I'm on the phone!" he would mouth. Well, excuse me, but it wasn't obvious to the onlooker. I think we need to be patient with each other as we adapt to new technology and the challenges they pose and not assume people are doing it on purpose. I realize it is hard when you are the one on the phone because it is very obvious to you and the person you are speaking to and it is easy to come to the conclusion that people should know and they are interrupting, but we really don't.

If you are on the phone and do not want interruptions if you have the option of closing your door that would be helpful, or put up a sign on your cubicle "Do not disturb" and point to that when people come wandering by.

I too have people come in my office when I am on a 'regular' phone call and they just hang around and I wonder why because then they really can see I am on the phone. In that case I would agree with Robin Holtson above. Ask your caller to hold a moment and turn to the person and say you are on the phone and will get back to them later.

Patricia
Laughing All the Way to Work: A Survival Blog for Today's Administrative Assistant