Cell Phones or Hell Phones?

By: Jake Jakubuwski

Copyright, 2012

All rights reserved

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PREFACE:

I often take part in a business-to-business forum where various participants ask questions about problems that they’ve encountered and seek possible solutions to those problems.

The question that I answered below was one, as you will see, regarding personal cell phone use in the workplace.

For my part, I dislike cell phones. Sure, they are great for staying in touch and emergencies and letting folks know that you’re tied up in traffic and will be late for a meeting, church service, or your wedding.

I also realize that cell phones have changed the way we communicate. Some of that is good. Some of it I find distasteful, rude, and an infringement on my privacy.

Anyway, here’s my answer to the question that was asked:

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“Pam,

Robert said that he might be “Old School” in the way he deals with the issue of personal cell phone use in the workplace. I guess that makes me an antiquated boor and my ideas about this issue totally archaic.

Robert also said that his “worst offender” chalked up a whopping 45 hours of personal calls made during one month! Roughly translated that means that person only worked for Robert three weeks out of an entire month! That individual “stole” over a week’s worth of production from Robert’s company!

Figuratively, I’ll probably be lynched for this statement: To my way of thinking stealing a week’s worth of production from an employer is no different then stealing a week’s pay out of the cash box!

The pathetic thing is that this type of ‘theft” is happening everyday, of every week, across the employment spectrum — employees subverting production time by using their cell phones to text and talk to friends, neighbors, play games and participate in “Social media”. None of which is germane, and certainly not beneficial, to the employers interests.

Yes, Pam, this is definitely a rant.

On the other hand, I must make it clear that since I now work alone, and free lance, I no longer have direct employee issues regarding this matter. Yet, I can readily empathize with employers who have to deal with the topic — a problem that is growing exponentially everyday!

As a consumer and observer, Pam, I DO have issues regarding cell phone use in the workplace.

I find it distasteful for the counter personnel at Mickey D’s, BK and Wendy’s to be talking on a cell phone while trying to ring up my order.

I find it irritating to be shopping and have the salesperson talking, or texting, on their cell phone.

I think it is totally ridiculous, as well as unsafe, for the sanitation worker to be talking on a cell phone while trying to wrestle a 90 gallon trash container into position to be dumped in the truck.

I have refused to deal with service personnel who come to my office with a Blue Tooth hanging out of their ear and while I’m trying to explain my problem and they give me “THE HAND” while they take a call! After all, I am paying for their time, so technically they are my employee for a given period.

I have had business dinners, lunches, breakfasts where the person I’m trying to interact with (on a personal or business level) interrupts the meal to take a call or text a message. That’s rude and constitutes stealing my time.

As a result, I don’t think any employer should have to be sensitive to any “issues” that an employee has regarding their “dependence” on cell phones and develop a “more accepting approach” as Andrew suggested.

After all, the individual works for the employer — not the other way around — which means that it is the employer who loses money for the production hours that are eaten up with personal calls, texts and game playing.

My personal feeling is that employees should be told up front (And apparently, Pam, your firm has done just that) that personal use of company cell phones is prohibited — and the use of personal cell phones are forbidden on company time. If necessary, spell the rules out as an official statement of company policy and have the employee read, agree to, and sign the policy statement. Then enforce it!

Long before cell phones became ever-present trappings for professional and personal use alike, calls of a personal nature were made to an employee through the employer’s office. Non-emergency calls were frowned upon and often harshly discouraged.

The problem, today, goes beyond emergency calls…it has become an issue that has grown to be of truly epic proportions and highly expensive practice in many workplaces. Stop to think about Robert’s single example. An employee stole 45 hours of time from Robert’s company — how many times a month are employees stealing time, with cell phones, throughout the American workplace?

In my mind, this issue is one that every employer, manager and HR department should take very seriously and work assiduously to control; if not eliminate.

I also believe that organizations that send their personnel to interact with customers on a face-to-face, one-on-one, basis should “train” those representatives to but their cell phone on “MESSAGE” until the interview, service call or whatever is complete.

Pam, thanks again for asking this question. And, thanks for giving me an opportunity to offer my probable, and potentially archaic, solutions — sometimes the old ideas really are the best. But, that’s for you and your other readers to decide.”

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In closing: You, my blog readers,  may agree with my assessment or you may disagree with it. One thing you can be sure of: It’s PURE JAKE to the core!

Jake Jakubuwski

 

NOTICE!   NOTICE!  NOTICE!

A FaceBook friend posted the following notice in an FB group that I belong to and I thought  might pass it on. If you’re into treasure hunting this could be a really fun day for you and your family.

Kenneth W Briggs Crl

Three Seasons Treasure Hunters LLC

The Three Seasons Treasure Hunters LLC will host there 2nd Annual Open Seeded Treasure Hunt/Contest June 2nd, 2012 at the River View Park in Cadott, WI. There will be Raffles and drawings throughout the day. We will be raffling a Tesoro Metal Detector. There will be 2 timed hunts. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. This will be held rain or shine. If you have a metal detector and want to try your hand at a timed hunt for prizes, contact Ken Briggs, President of Three Seasons Treasure Hunters at (715) 577-0235 Entry fee is $30.00 for the day. Cut off is May 15th, 2012 so we have a head count for food and prizes.

If you call ’em to reserve a slot…mention the PURE JAKE blog…