In my busy agency, we learned to arrive at least 45 minutes before the open of business just to get a head-start on the voice mails left overnight. Upon unlocking the doors, most of the day you had a client in front of you, two waiting in the lobby, and a phone ringing off the hook next to you. Even while dealing with a client, you had to call vendors to check prices. An incredible 80% of the day was spent with the phone to your ear.
My mother raised me to be polite and courteous. Until I was a travel agent, I would have never considered NOT answering a ringing phone, even if I knew Hitler was on the other end. But many nights after agency work, I had no desire to talk to anyone via telephone and would often let all calls go straight to the answering machine.
This brought a realization - I came to understand that just because someone wants to talk to me, that doesn't mean that I have to talk to them. And ignoring their call doesn't mean I am being rude.
Please don't misunderstand me, I still answer 99% of the calls coming in. But now, when I see the data flashing across the screen as the call rings, I can make that conscious decision to answer or not.
Remember those good old days when screening was impossible?
Somehow I don't feel quite as guilty about this pleasure as I may once have .
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