Work at Home Productivity Tips -

I wrote on a previous post about organizing phone calls that I am not a phone person. Looking back, it really is no wonder.

I thought that you might enjoy three “phone hell” stories that come to mind.

Phone Hell #1

I was on a small teleclass call that consisted of only a few online marketing professionals who had volunteered to hash ideas around for the hostess, who I had dealt with for quite awhile as a student in her membership club.

So I prepared for the call by second guessing everything that could interrupt, be noisy etc., I really didn’t want to appear to be some kind of backwoods girl with no couth (actually, I don’t even know how to spell it), one of the girls on the call was a bonafide California girl (!).

I went outside to enjoy the call, it was a beautiful summer day. (note: I had posted this picture to represent events you will read about further down, upon seeing it here, I couldn’t help but notice that it might look like this is where I went to enjoy the call. I thought it looked so funny that I had to keep it this way. It wasn’t where I took the call, but in retrospect, it would have been a good idea!)

As soon as the call started, the dog started barking. Oops, should have brought him in. No problem, I had left our front door open in the even that I would have to come back in, it is very loud.

Someone had already shut it - it’s been at least 5 whole minutes since I’ve been on the call. Open door, make lots of noise, come in. Over the course of the next 10 minutes, daughter is in and out of door about 4 times, slamming it shut each time. BANG!

Crisis upstairs, I don’t even remember what, so up I go with the phone trying to quietly deal with it. As I am walking by the bathroom, my daughter flushes the toilet. Our wall are thin, need I say more. It was all too much. Flushing during teleclasses is just not cool. I don’t think I ever participated in another call again.

I have always wondered when I hear coaches etc chatting about strange people on their calls flushing toilets, if they think it was me :0)

PHONE HELL #2

I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to speak with a very well known internet marketing mom. I’ve admired her skills for years and was very much looking forward to talking to her. It was like something I would have never thought would happen in a million years.

The kids where not home, so I was relatively confident. I put our small dog outside of my office because she can be a bit of a distraction. Bad move. First minute on the call she starts relentlessly scratching at my door. Get up, open the door let dog in.

In order to do this, I need to get off of very squeaky chair that I have in my office. It must have sounded like we were doing construction on the other end. Or something else.

Sit down again, amid much more squeaking of chair. Dog jumps on my lap, so much for note taking etc, the chair squeaks every time she or I make even a minuscule move.

Then I hear my husband working outside of my office window.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t be spontaneous and carry on a conversation when I know someone can hear every word I am saying.

It’s just me. So now I can’t move, I can’t write (I love to doodle when I am talking, it helps me think) and I can’t talk.

Between the dog, the husband, the squeaking, I could barely concentrate.

Oh, I forgot to mention that my phone sucks. I can barely hear on it at the best of times and our connection wasn’t good, so rather than ask her to repeat her every other word, I was hoping that my replies where making a small semblance of sense to her. For all I know she now thinks I am that weird girl over in Ontario who doesn’t know how to put a full sentence together and who has either lives in a construction zone or has major digestive problems:0)

PHONE HELL #3

This one takes the cake. You may have had a similar situation if you take baths, have kids and a broken dishwasher and washing machine (I was on a roll).

I was trying to relax in the tub after a stressful day of dealing with another line up of broken things when my daughter comes in (knocking in this house is for other people, although they have improved on this skill as they have gotten older).

Actually, I think she did knock on the way in, what am I going to say when she’s standing there holding the phone.

She hands me the phone, no word of a lie.

It was the repairman.

I was trying very hard not to make even a hint of a splashing noise which is quite hard when you have to reach for it from the water. If I had been creative in my naked talk to the repairman (don’t they make movies about that :0), maybe I could have gotten my repairs for free! Too bad I’m not that quick on my feet, or in the tub either for that matter.

I still don’t know if he knew he was talking to me stark naked with Mr. Bubble. Some things are better left unsaid. Especially when you are in the tub.