I would think that the forum should be roiling today. It will also give me some time to finish a post about the aftermath of the humiliating performance by the three college presidents before Congress this week..
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Ethics Alarms 
Here is an article worth commenting about.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-indictment-justice-department-takeover-democracy-threats-7b399ab628db7330ed99fac8c3784170
Some time ago, there was a suggestion of coming up with a phone etiquette list. I’ve thought a lot about this. Phone etiquette hasn’t really changed all that much since the inception of telephones. What has changed is technology.
Beginning with answering machines, missed calls – especially important ones – could be returned. Call screening came into vogue in order to avoid telemarketers or other callers to whom the recipients didn’t wish to speak. Caller ID technology helped the screening process move along nicely.
Finally, the mobile phone became affordable for nearly everyone and has changed the way we communicate. It’s only where we use telephones now that has changed, not the rules of their use. Unfortunately, instead of landline etiquette informing mobile phone etiquette, the use of cell phones has caused bad habits to emerge that are now affecting landline use, as well.
Let me preface my telephone rules by stating as a given that there will be times in which using a phone in a public place is essential. Essential is not always a life or death situation. It’s far more efficient to call one’s spouse at the grocery store to clarify which brand of butter is needed rather than taking a guess and risk being wrong. There are still such things as manners, though.
I’m going to start off with the assertion that telephone etiquette requires that one first understands how to use one’s phone. The owner must know how to: turn the phone on and off, answer or reject calls, access voicemail, switch alerts to mute, vibrate and back to audio, turn alarms on and off, turn speakerphone on and off, activate dialpad/keypad, hide or minimize screens, check and send text messages and emails, mute/unmute one’s end of a conversation, place a call on hold and take it off hold, and raise and lower volume.
And be able to do these things without disconnecting a live call.
Understanding how to use the phone is the first step in practicing good phone etiquette. Now, onto the rules themselves.
1. The Basics Rule: A proper greeting and farewell is requisite. A polite “hello” combined with identifying yourself starts the call off right. When it’s time for the call to end, make sure it’s clear that you are getting off the phone. A simple “good-bye”, “talk to you later” or “Thanks for your assistance” should suffice.
2. The Civility Rule: If you are going into the call upset, impatient or angry, take a few moments to take a deep breath and calm down. Shouting, cursing, name-calling and other personal attacks do not result in better service. They also reflect poorly on you personally which makes it easier to minimize your problem and could cause negative consequences for you.
3. The Undivided Attention Rule: If you know you are going to make or receive a call, try to do so in a quiet place free of distractions. Turn off televisions, radios and ask others around you to speak softly and avoid interrupting you while on the call.
Yes, this is often easier said than done. If your child begins screaming or the postman needs your signature on an important package right now, ask your caller to hold and handle the situation.
You should not be on the phone while driving. Besides being dangerous, bad connections can cause communication problems and dropped calls.
Trying to conduct business and having a personal conversation at the same time causes misunderstandings, causes delays to others and is rude. Restaurants are pushing back on customers on the phone at the same time orders are being placed because it causes mistakes when the customer is not paying attention. A customer service representative on the phone may not be able to determine who you are talking to if it is clear you are also having a conversation with someone else at the same time.
Ask your caller to hold while you take care of your business or let the customer behind you go ahead until you are ready.
4. The Hold Button is Your Friend Rule: It is unacceptable to ask the caller to hold and then put the phone down, allowing your caller to hear a personal conversation or other private matter happening. Use your hold or mute button to protect the privacy of yourself and anyone with you.
5. The Speakerphone Rule: Avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.
Speakerphone makes hearing someone difficult when that person walks away from the phone and keeps talking.
If you do use it, inform the other person on the line that the conversation is not private and identify who else can hear what’s being said.
It is jarring to be listening to someone and suddenly hear a completely different voice jump in speaking or asking questions without preamble. The use of speakerphone does not give license to cut in on a phone call without greeting the person on the other line and introducing oneself…regardless of who is on the other line.
Remember that Bluetooth latency is a known issue, as well, and causes delays transmitting voices that often results in participants accidentally interrupting each other.
6. The Soul of Wit Rule: Make any public calls as brief as possible and try to keep your voice down. No one wants to hear even one side of a long personal conversation in the middle of a grocery store aisle or while walking a dog in the park.
7. The Flush Rule: Eating, using the bathroom and causing other unpleasant recognizable noises should be avoided while on the phone.
8. The Be Prepared Rule: When you know you will be conducting important business via phone, have all pertinent documents and information ready, such as account numbers, billing statements, payment methods or letters. You know you will be asked for this, so why not make the process smoother, faster and more efficient?
9. The Silence Rule: Your phone should be off, set to vibrate and not visible when you are at a public event, such as a wedding, funeral, speech, concert, religious service, play or any performance. If you must take a call, leave discreetly and have your discussion elsewhere.
10. The Camera Rule: Someone’s bad day is not your ticket to stardom. Treat others the way you would want to be treated and keep your phone off when another person falls, spills food or is having an argument.
In our office, when I have a client at the desk, the general rule is not to answer the phone, whether it’s the office phone or my cell phone. I think this is only proper, as you should be giving all your attention to your client. I might make an exception if it were my sister, as that would be more likely to be a health situation, but still….
Some clients do the same, some just take calls like they were at home.
I think one of the problems is that most of us have been conditioned that we must always answer the phone. At home, we’ve pretty much stopped answering the landline unless we recognize the caller id — but 98% of those calls are spam.
Civility is very important, I think, if for pragmatic reasons only. If you want someone to do something for you, will cursing them or berating them make it more likely to happen? And it’s rude.
Yes, that is why voice mail exists.
In other new, Maryland’s AG has had to reinstate Zainab Chaudry to the Maryland Commission on Hate Crimes. He had suspended her for antisemitic remarks about the Oct 7 attacks.
Jack covered this a week or so ago.
On this article:
This occurred in Ohio, not England.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67619012?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_link_type=web_link&at_link_origin=BBCWorld&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_format=link&at_link_id=A107798A-9456-11EE-BEBB-40BAE03B214A&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_medium=social&at_campaign_type=owned&fbclid=IwAR2fubK_AjBYJR-85-jJD9yghwoNy_DtFCcXdST79yj775OzOsMPlduvVWU
Creative sentencing? Proportionate to the offense? Or is it unethical to sentence someone to work for a business for profit? I assume she will be paid. What restaurant would want to hire someone like that?