Cellphone Policies

[SG15Z]

Ok so just to let everyone know, I'm a little sad my thread got closed, but it was getting out of hand so thanks Boozy for doing that! And thanks to McG for starting one over here. I didn't realize it was such a hot topic.

Personally, I use to not take up phones, but I had already (repeatedly) told people to leave them in the car/locker/whatever or at least put it away while on the clock. But usually they just whip it back out and ignore me. Taking it up was really the only thing that got through to them that cell phones weren't aloud.

Thanks to Irv, Blas and everyone else who defended me over on CS. I do appreciate it. And I hope those of you who are against the taking up phones thing can understand where I'm coming from.

[AFPheonix]

What if you need to correct an error? What if something goes wrong and you need the customer to verify information? What if you have a question for the customer that pertains to their transaction?

Maybe not so much at a grocery store, but at least in my job, it is very important that I have the customer's attention. Between pricing, signing contracts and everything else, I have a lot of information to impart. As it is the process can (not always but CAN) take a half hour or more! if a line is forming, I don't have time to wait around for someone to finish telling Aunt Stacy about their foot fungus problems.

I just talk right over the top of them. If they didn't want the other person on the line to hear about their viagra purchase, they could have hung up before they got to me. ( halo )

I am naughty and keep my phone on me while at work. I don't answer if I have customers, and I use texts to let floaters know when they're scheduled and when I have openings available. I find it better than phone calls because I have an electronic record that makes it easier for me when I schedule.
That, and I've had people tell my husband that there's no one that works there with my name (it's not like I haven't been at this pharmacy since the dawn of time or anything) , so it's easier for him to text me if he needs me.

[powerboy]

don't work for a company that bans them.

Probably better to find somewhere to work that has policies you agree with.

Yeah, because we all can pull the perfect jobs out of our asses.

[Cats]

Remember 10-15 years ago before we had cellphones? People have had emergencies since long before any one of us came to be. People dealt with them then without cells, we can deal with them now.

Unless you're EXPECTING a potential emergency phone call (such as, say, your wife is pregnant and due soon), you can live without a phone and deal with people contacting you at work the old way.

No one expect an emergency, so it's no guarentee you're going to be able to REACH the person you're trying to call anyway! A few years back, my grandfather died unexpectedly of a sudden heart attack. My aunt tried calling us to let us know, but since I was online at the time, she couldn't get through. She had a cop come over to bring the news. No one was angry at the fact that I was online and thus clogging up the phone line, since it wasn't expected at all. Shit happens, and sometimes you're not there. One can't live their life constantly feeling like they're going to need to be able to respond immediately to an emergency (unless you're in that line of work, obviously!).

The only time when an emergency does depend on a quicker response IS if you are in the aforementioned line of emergency response work. In all other cases, needing to get a hold someone immediately and ASAP are NOT the same thing. Most likey it's going to be the latter and not the former.

Yes, work needs to respect people's property. HOWEVER, the employees need to respect the rule of the place of employment. If they say no cell phones, that MEANS NO CELL PHONES. Following the rules is (suppsed to be; as we all know with spineless managers, that isn't always the case) part of the agreement of your employment at a place of work. In a nutshell, when you are on the clock, you are the company's bitch (don't take that too literally, it's an overgeneralization to get my point across as quickly as possible). Don't want to follow the rules? Then don't expect to be there for long. No one said you had to LIKE the rules; they just said you had to follow them.


Personally, I don't care if someone has a phone but doesn't use it at work. But then again, if you're not using it, what's the point of having it on you in the first place? Having it available to use can be a temptation TO use it.

[blas87]

With that kind of mindset, then try to find a job without any kind of rules or policies whatsoever. You won't, and you can't.

It's a fucking phone. Oh my God....huge deal.

I have a boyfriend and I have lots of friends, don't get me wrong. And maybe it's because I work over-nights that I don't really think of my phone very much unless I'm bored on break.....but is everyone really to that point where they have no other way to entertain themselves at work or on their break than to play with their phone? Seriously? Do you not have anyone to talk to face to face? Can you not read a magazine or a book or a newspaper? Am I the only person left on this planet that does NOT have a phone with internet and other cool stuff on it? For the love of God...really, people......if there were such a thing as a time machine, I dare you cell phone junkies to hop in it and go back 20, 30 years ago and see how you'd even make it a day without your precious phone.

And checking for missed calls on the clock is playing with your phone, if you are on the floor and supposed to be waiting on customers or stocking shelves or whatever you are assigned. Unless you are given a company phone or a phone that is paid for by your boss/company that you are required to have on you at all times at work....which is a totally different story.

[Greenday]

Am I the only person left on this planet that does NOT have a phone with internet and other cool stuff on it?

Mine has internet, but I don't know how to use it. Phones like the iPhone and the phones with keypads are much easier for that sort of thing. I also don't have AIM on my cell phone. I'm not wasting money on that.

[blas87]

Glad I'm not the only one out there who uses their phone for communication and not for entertainment.

[MannersMakethMan]

Am I the only person left on this planet that does NOT have a phone with internet and other cool stuff on it?

Nope. My phone hasn't hardly got a thing on it. No camera, no internet, no games, no nothing. It calls and it texts, and that's all I want. If I wanted another computer, I'd have gone and bought one. The clue's in the question. PHONE.

[DesignFox]

<snip>
Personally, I use to not take up phones, but I had already (repeatedly) told people to leave them in the car/locker/whatever or at least put it away while on the clock. But usually they just whip it back out and ignore me. Taking it up was really the only thing that got through to them that cell phones weren't aloud.

<snip>

It wasn't until after I saw this thread that I read the thread over on CS.

While I don't agree with the prospect of any employer being able to take away my property, I definitely think you did the right thing. Company policy stated that if the employees are using their phones on the sales floor, they get confiscated for the remainder of their shift, right?

You did everything in your power to avoid having to take the phones away, and the employees still didn't follow policy.

Obviously, being nice and trying to do people a favor by issuing a warning rather than going straight to confiscation and write-ups wasn't working.

So, fuck 'em. They had been warned, they chose to ignore you.

In my opinion, it's a sad world we live in where employees even have to be warned to put their phones away and do their damn jobs.

[telecom_goddess]

Personally, if my family has an emergency, I want them to be able to reach me *NOW*, not when the phone tag of trying to track me finally manages to figure out where I am...If they bother.

I agree. I have a desk phone yes, plus two other phone numbers I an answer. However if i happen to be somewhere other than my desk and something happens to one of the kids or my b/f or whatever I would want to be reachable at any moment. I have my cell phone out at my desk and so does everyone else.....

[the_std]

I think a desk job is a bit different, because you're not constantly interacting face to face with the customers. It's not as disrespectful. Plus, if it's just sitting there and you're not playing with it or checking it all the time, it'd be the same as a retail worker having it in their pocket so that they are available if it rings.

[katie kaboom]

Plus, if it's just sitting there and you're not playing with it or checking it all the time, it'd be the same as a retail worker having it in their pocket so that they are available if it rings.

Yes but most people here are saying that that is wrong, when in fact it is a personal choice to keep your cell phone on you while you work, no matter where you work or what you do.

I just don't understand all the rage directed at those people who don't think it's a sin to have their cell phone on them while they're working.

[DrFaroohk]

I just read all 4 pages of this, and I don't really think I can go back to quote everyone's specific statement, so please bare with me...


First - I think the people who are getting all upset about their rights and "no one's taking my phone!" are mistakenly thinking that managers are just randomly taking people's phones. "You got a phone?" "Yep." <SMACK> "GIVE IT TO ME NOW!"

That's not what's happening. It's most likely something like this:

Boss: Jim, get off your phone.
Jim: But it's an emerrrrrrrrgency! WAAH!
<later>
Boss: Jim, I told you before - no cellphones.
Jim: But WAAAAH I WANNA TXT WITH PEOPLE!
<later>
Boss: This is the third time I've had to tell you Jim, that does it - give me the damn phone.

Professionalism is a big argument here, and that's all good, but it also depends on what the job is. Yeah, it'd be rude if say, Senator Talksalot was constantly on his cellphone talking about his beach house, even during important government meetings. But does anyone really care if Skippy McGoo at the donut shop answers a text while your muffin is still cooking?

Furthermore, while I do agree that most of the time, use of phones at work is distracting, unproductive, and rude, I think it depends on the person too. If it's NOT interfering with their work then I wouldn't see a problem...i.e. if Skippy's job is to bake 1000 muffins an hour, and he's meeting or exceeding that quota, who cares if he's texting, calling, chatting, reading, playing World of Warcraft or what? He's getting his work done, go harass someone who ISN'T getting their work done. I understand that rules are rules, but rules have a POINT. The POINT is that cellphones detract from work. And in the case of Skippy, it clearly isn't.

The emergency thing is crap anyway. If you work at, say, 7-11, how hard is it to scout out a 400 square foot store to find Skippy and tell him he has an emergency? If it's a huge super-walmart, guess what? Intercom! Page him and let him know what's up. Or just go find him. Or get several people to find him. "Hey Skippy's wife just went into labor, let's split up and find him!" You'd have him in 5-10 minutes. Unless the hospital didn't call until the baby was crowning, he's gonna get there in time. Probably the only time a message doesn't get delivered is when the receiver knows its a bullcrap emergency. "Tell Skippy that I burned dinner and I have to make something else instead. HURRY!" Yeah, I'll get right on that.

[McDreidel09]

I think that if you are going to text during your shift, be sneaky about it. Go to the back to get something.

As for my emergency, this is my little sister. If something happened, like say, getting kidnapped, it would be much sneakier to text me.

Is it kinda out there that I would think she could be abducted? Not at all. No place is an exception. We live on a block with a sex offender (who actually raped girls my sister's age). If it's something like her getting sick, then she doesn't do anything.

At my job, you aren't always going to get the message because of the unpredictability of rushes. When we are busy, the phone isn't even answered.

I do ask my managers first,however. Most of them are understanding. If a manager tells me no, then I don't argue and put it in the cellphone part of my purse, not to be touched until my break or the end of my shift. As long as I'm not typing away and it is used for the intention I told them, they are really cool about it.

Am I texting away at work? Hell no. I know that I have work to do and I get it done,only stopping to attend to customers.

[Evandril]

I happen to agree. Nobody NEEDS to have their cell phone on them. Period.

I'm active duty military, in a deployable job. There have been times were I was not at work, and my job *needed* me...Should I give them the phone numbers of every place I might visit, and tell them the routes I tend to drive, so they can put out street signs? If I have my cell on me, the only way you're going to know is if I get a call...If I can spare a moment to look at it, I'll see who's calling, and if it's someone highly important, I'll take it, answering with 'I'm busy, is this something that can wait?' or some variation. The fact that I've seen people get told *days* later of small little issues...like their Father being on their death bed...Makes me tend to prefer being *available* to get calls. If I'm working, I'll be around a phone for 10-15 minutes out of my day...and the phone they'd be calling will most likely NOT have anyone near it for most of that time.

I'm certain if you are seeing a doctor for a time critical issue, they will be relieved to know they don't need to have a cell phone, and if your condition worsens suddenly, you'll get ahold of them when you can...since, of course, they don't NEED a cell phone... My Wife would have *DIED* if her doctor hadn't had one, but that's no big deal, eh?