iann22's picture Submitted by iann22 on
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Management and Leadership

Just a short moan of things that irritate me...

Why do people answer their phone and then say 'Can I call you back, I'm in a meeting'.

Am I alone in thinking / inferring that (i) they shouldn't answer the phone in a meeting and (ii) they would have talked to me if I was someone else.

... and relax, got that off my chest now.

TomW's picture
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Submitted by TomW on Monday February 25th, 2008 6:40 am

yes, it's really silly.

First, if they are in a meeting then they should have their phone off.
Second, they are disturbing the meeting for no reason.
Third, they are showing you total lack of respect, implying there are some people that they would take the call from.

rthibode's picture
Submitted by rthibode on Monday February 25th, 2008 9:51 am

I agree it's rude to take the phone when you're in a meeting.

I do read this situation a bit differently. The person you're calling thinks that maybe they can help you in a minute or less, therefore they feel the disruption is justified. Once they speak with you and discover it will take longer, they ask to call you back.

Still a bad idea, though.

WillDuke's picture
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Submitted by WillDuke on Monday February 25th, 2008 10:36 am

I don't understand the behavior either. I will applaud yours though. You had something you needed to relieve yourself of and came to a safe place to do so. Nice work.

tcomeau's picture
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Submitted by tcomeau on Monday February 25th, 2008 2:47 pm

[quote="iann22"]Just a short moan of things that irritate me...

Why do people answer their phone and then say 'Can I call you back, I'm in a meeting'. [/quote]

I echo your moan.

I think this suggests a lack of planning. He answered because he didn't know what else to do, and didn't have a plan for dealing with it. I'd plan accordingly for anything I needed from that person.

tc>
(And I agree, you chose a more positive behavior!)