Confessions of a Corporate Shopaholic

If you have been following my earlier blog entries, you will know why my job covers at least regional if not global markets.  It makes both strategic and financial sense in order to fulfill my promised ROI for the company.  Taking any regional roles means that we have to manage teams virtually, and by teams it can be my colleagues in procurement, or my internal and external clients across various countries and time zones.

Handling all these conference calls is exhausting.  First there are bi-weekly calls with my boss, and then there are monthly regional calls where they have to happen during our lunch hour because it is the only time that fits everyone’s time zones from Australia to India.  The global calls happen either in our early mornings or late evenings when my European and American colleagues attend.   It seems that all I do at work is babbling on the telephone all day, and not til 5 or 6pm can I return to my quieter time at work. 

This is all a fact of life, but I still have to rant about a few of my frustrations on this topic.

1. Physical endangerment

No time for proper meals.  One could really develop a bad case of stomach ulcer from irregular eating times.  Sometimes I won’t have time for lunch until 4pm.  Plus, whenever people on my floor see me running (apologetically) across, it’s for the restroom.  Speaking on the phone all day requires the intake of plenty of water, and naturally all that intake needs an outlet.  While my rich neighboring department staff can afford those fancy wireless headsets that they can carry around everywhere (including restroom, which I surely won’t recommend), I have to leave my clumsily-wired headset and run to the restroom, hopefully all within a minute and a half.  “Yes…..exactly and I agree….,” I continued babbling as if I have never left.

2. Idiots on the phone

You would think that in the year 2010, people would have developed a proper sense of phone etiquette.   Oh no.  There are people who put everyone on hold forcing all of us to listen to blaring elevator music.  There are dogs barking and TV noises in the background.  There are people seemingly eating potato chips while talking.  Alright, I know everyone is multi-tasking, but please don’t insult us by yapping on your cell phone while everyone can hear.  Your signals provide much hated interference to line quality.  I cannot believe we still need to repeat call etiquette guidelines every time when we start a call, and every time there will be idiots repeating the same mistakes.

3. Lazy folks

Well, to be fair, they are perhaps not lazy.  Their bosses may not have given them the budget to buy head sets.  If this is the case, I won’t complain too much about them abusing the hands-free button on their desktop phones.  All we hear are people mumbling.  The hands-free function only works in quiet environment and not in open offices.  I am hearing everyone else’s conversation instead of this poor soul.  There is also nothing more insulting when I keep hearing a few conference attendees apparently sharing inside jokes while yapping away from the same hands-free desktop phone.  I feel like a clown performing for their amusement.  Not cool, guys.

Sometimes when things really get out of hand, I will simply suggest to reschedule the call altogether.  I don’t have time to waste on unproductive calls where people don’t even respect others.   Grow up.