I work in cubicle land

[wvjules]

So why do people insist on always using their speakerphone? It's loud enough in here with all the chatter. You really don't need to add to it.

And, I have a headache right now.

 

[FINFAN]

omg...I agree! I keep telling DH that we need to invent the sound-proof cubicle (kinda hard with no ceiling/top) we could retire and hopefully improve the cubbie-community!

 

[kelleigh1]

I hate speaker phone and I think it's the worst thing ever invented. I don't like sitting near anyone who is using it and I hate to be on the other end of it.

It's funny you post this because yesterday and the day before, the person in the office next to my cubicle has used her speaker phone and I keep closing her door. I did ask if we could please get her a headset, which she has said she would use, because I can't listen to her on speaker anymore. It goes right through me.

 

[kelleigh1]

I'm repeating myself.

 

[ols386]

That would be very annoying.

If one works in an area with cubicles, maybe they should get a conference room if they feel the need to use a speaker phone, so as not to disturb everyone else in the area.

 

[mickeyboat]

I hate speaker phones. It's just rude unless you are using it for a conference call where more than one person in the room needs to hear the call. Could she use a headset if she needs her hands free?

 

[Tralliam]

So why do people insist on always using their speakerphone? It's loud enough in here with all the chatter. You really don't need to add to it.

And, I have a headache right now.

wow, i would think you might work in the cube next to me. Over the wall, is a "bullpen" of 4 event planners. 45 min ago they all got on a con call via speaker phone. Just another hump day. since I can't concentrate over their chatting maybe I'll take a few to plan DW and I's 10th anniversary no kids trip to see the mouse.

 

[katrina1122]

Having lived in cubicle world for 10 years and am now in large room with 2 people world here are my observations.

For 10 years there were 2 people to a cube for a total of 10 of us in a tiny tiny space. I could hear conversations even without the speaker phone. Our office was so small our conference table was in the bosses office, so no speaker phone option there either. One person did the head set thing, but was just as annoying. We knew everything about each other and what everyone one was working on.

Now we've moved into a bigger office space. I split a huge room with one other person whom I can only sometimes hear. Everyone else has their own office and we have a separate conference room. We never know what's going on with each other anymore. There are days I don't even see some people.
Sure I have my own space now, but in some ways I miss cubicle world.

We get used to our environments, annoying as they may be, but no solution is perfect. I miss being able to toss a letter over the wall for signature sometimes, lol.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

I HATE speakers phones also,

who in the world wants their convo all out there, reguardless if it's a personal call or work related.

more than hearing others on speaker phones, I can't stand being put on speaker !

 

[jrmasm]

So why do people insist on always using their speakerphone? It's loud enough in here with all the chatter. You really don't need to add to it.

And, I have a headache right now.

They're either rude or stupid or both.

 

[SC Minnie]

How about 7 ppl in cube land in a room with no windows. Speaker phone on right this minute. Plus we have a couple of people that do not have an inside voice.

 

[deserrai]

The people who work in cubicles in our office are banned from speaker phone use. I don't know how people get any work done working in cubicles anyway...all the noise is so distracting, but I guess they get used to it. However, they are not allowed to use speaker phone.

 

[Coconut36]

Speakerphone was essentially banned in my company. There was no formal written policy or formal punishment but in general it was considered inconsiderate and inappropriate. Of course you always got those few that seemed to not get it and used them anyway..they were the minority not the majority though and peer pressure tended to end it or limit it.

 

[jen0610]

We have one guy that works for our sister company that loves his speaker phone. I refuse to talk to him while he is one it, because he does not know how to use it.

His phone sits in the upper right hand corner of his desk and his computer is on a computer desk behind his big desk. He LOVES to try talking to you while he is facing his computer, instead of facing his phone.

Each and every time I get the pleasure of talking to him, if I can tell he's on speaker, and it's not that hard to tell, he ends up repeating everything he says 3 or 4 times. I have ZERO issue telling him during a call, I can't understand you or what was that you said. I have even told him to turn his chair around and speak towards the phone, not the back wall of his office. The girls in his office, have told me that I am the only person he almost never uses the speaker with any more, just because I call him out on it.

 

[wvjules]

How about 7 ppl in cube land in a room with no windows. Speaker phone on right this minute. Plus we have a couple of people that do not have an inside voice.

I had to LOL at that. There is a guy here that I don't know why he bothers calling anyone. He is sooooo LOUD! People have complained about him being so loud. His response "they need to give me an office with a door". Which I find amusing because he's been in meetings behind a closed door and you can still hear him!

Our cubes are pretty tall. There are rows and rows of them, as far as the eye can see. In our old building we had cubicles but each division had their own room of cubicles. (I got lucky and actually had an office with a door.) Now everyone is together on one floor. I like that I've gotten to know people in other divisions better but I hate the noise.

 

[Arielle22]

I had to LOL at that. There is a guy here that I don't know why he bothers calling anyone. He is sooooo LOUD! People have complained about him being so loud. His response "they need to give me an office with a door". Which I find amusing because he's been in meetings behind a closed door and you can still hear him!

Our cubes are pretty tall. There are rows and rows of them, as far as the eye can see. In our old building we had cubicles but each division had their own room of cubicles. (I got lucky and actually had an office with a door.) Now everyone is together on one floor. I like that I've gotten to know people in other divisions better but I hate the noise.

My company just moved and my office is not close to my boss. It is close to a VP who likes to use speakerphone and has no indoor voice. Not only is she so loud I can hear her through her closed door and my closed door, but my boss can hear her even though there are offices and corridors between us.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I work in cubicle world and am on the phone almost constantly. The phones have speaker capabilities but we don't use that. Period.

When (if) things get too loud anyway, I do have a set of shooting earmuffs to block out the noise . I just need a letter from the doctor to be able to use them qt work.

 

[Tazicket]

I especially hate when there's 2 or 3 people who sit near each other and they're all on the same conference call, but they each have their speaker phones on. Then you get to hear everything with weird .5 second delay echo effects. Drives me freaking crazy.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I can think of one guy that does that. It's really irritating.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I especially hate when there's 2 or 3 people who sit near each other and they're all on the same conference call, but they each have their speaker phones on. Then you get to hear everything with weird .5 second delay echo effects. Drives me freaking crazy.

Um, why? I mean why are multiple individuals using multiple phones on 'speaker', especially if there's only one person at each phone???
Option 1: all persons in one department/office who need to be on a call with a person or persons outside that location meet in one place and use one phone on 'speaker' to carry on the conversation.
Option 2: each person in the above scenario meet in a conference room and proceed as above.
Option 3: use phone system's advanced features to set up conference call using individual handsets
Option 4: blatantly - with boss's permission - record them when they do this and play it back when they're trying to work