Speakerphones at work, just aggravating?

Question

Just because you have a office does that give you the right to use the speakerphone every time you make or take a phone call so everyone can hear your conversation?

Answer 1

Sounds very annoying !! I think the speakerphone should be used for impromtue conference calls only !! And scheduled conference calls should be held in a conference room !!

All such calls should be held with the door CLOSED to minimize disturbing those outside... and to keep the call private !!

I used to work at a small telecom company, and we ALL had headsets for our phones... holding the handset all day is ergonomically painful.

The ONLY open conference calls were held in Ops office, CEO's office, or in the switching room.

However... one of our clients, a large real estate firm... the agents would ALL love using their speakerphone... I guess so other agents would hear them tossing about home-prices !!

Answer 2

I think it's terribly rude to others in the office and to the person on the other end of the phone to use the speakerphone for every call. Speaker phones should only be used for conference calls and in appropriate offices with doors that close, not in open areas - ever. When possible, other technology should be used for conference calls, since there are quite a few options available. Speaker phones make it more difficult for the person on the other end of the phone to understand what is being said. If I call a business to request a type of service and receive someone who answers with a speaker phone, unless the person makes it absolutely certain why they have "had" to use the speaker phone and I feel that it is a legitimate reason, I will not do business with that person. Also, even in a business setting, you are calling to discuss an issue specifically with the person on the phone, not with everyone in the office. Many details that can take place in the office, such as in a real estate office, are quite personal and private information, and it's not only rude but also unethical for speaker phones to be used when one is transmitting/requesting these types of information such as bids or personal identifying information.

Answer 3

There's this lady who sits adjacent to me and my coworkers who was ALWAYS using the speaker phone. I mean if she needed to talk to one of her co-workers (who sits like 20 ft away) she would turn on the speaker phone and call them and then I'd have to hear the their conversation being broadcast through the office with delay because they were sitting so close to me.

I have no problem with people using speaker phone if they're on a conference call and they need to do some work at the same time (at a low volume), that's ok, but when you're using it to talk to a co-worker who is like 15 feet away, come on!!!

Eventually, one of my co-workers asked her to stop using the speakerphone and get a headset. things have been okay since then...I guess sometimes people don't realise how annoying they can be, so i'd ask them if they could either: a) close their door when using it or b) get a headset if it is really important that they are able to have thier hands free to do work. it's just common courtesy on their part.

Answer 4

Speakerphones should be used by people with office doors that are closed while they're using the speakerphone. That's common courtesy (or it should be at least).

Answer 5

The worst of all is using speakerphone when checking voicemail - it is inexcusable if others are within earshot

Answer 6

That is annoying. Best thing to do would be follow chain of command at work. If not, wait for the next staff meeting and bring up the issue, and ask others for what suggestions they might have (without naming names of course).

Answer 7

I agree. I think people who use a speaker phone are trying to let other people know how nice they are on the phone. Crap, usually these people are nasty as can be to other people and are just showing off.