The speaker phone. A tool of convenience. Not very convenient for those of us left to bear witness with our ears. At work, I just knew that in the end they would choose a sit down meal instead of finger foods for the baby shower. I knew the price difference, the pros and cons, what the mother of the honored mother to be herself wanted. I knew where her colleagues weighed in as well. All courtesy of the speaker phone. And, I thought for sure I would know when the baby was coming. I must have been out that day.
I learned more about another colleague, her style of message checking. Listen to the first 3 or four words, then to the next message, then to the next; never more than 4 words from each person. I never quite figured out what that was about. Was she skipping them, to return at a later time when she could give each message it’s proper undivided attention, carefully scribing the sentiment of each caller? Or, were they erased, completely wiped from the face of the earth with one quick yet careful touch of the 7 button on the phone?
I am always irritated by the interruption of the biggest speaker phone experience of them all, the overhead announcement. Yes, we all have to listen to the announcement, with no equity in the playing field; no ability to respond as publicly as the announcer. And, when the announcer adds to the person’s name , “If you are in the building …”. Well, if they are not in the building, they just won’t respond. Why lengthen the message by adding the “if you are in the building” part. Then comes the repeat. Because someone could have possibly missed the first round, even after the hideous tone that comes before the announcement to get our attention.
Then we have all been witness to the speaker cell phone in public areas. Gas stations, not so troubling and intrusive. Inside the grocery store, well, that’s just pretty bold. I once was this close to letting the woman on the grocery store end of the cell phone know that she in fact should not give Ben another chance ( and yes, Ben is his real name- she wasn’t interested in protecting her or Ben’s privacy, why should I). I was sure she would not mind getting my opinion on the matter, since she was choosing to include me and 12 others in the Cosco deli line.
I will continue to struggle with the speaker phone phenomenon. I am no closer to coming to an understanding of why people do what they do with this technology. But, I have unloaded some of my frustrations about the whole loud mess.