At an American office / В американском офисе
The vast majority of people in America work at an office. Among office people may be those who are involved in any kind of business; counselors; doctors (when they see their patients out of the clinic); bookkeepers; managers, vice-presidents; market tellers, and many more. Each of them has their own experience and opinion about working at the office.
However, it is a sad state of affairs when the thought of spending another day at work is enough to make any American office worker think of throwing themselves in front of an oncoming car. It's not just the boring paper work or the office politics. It’s a little thing, like office etiquette that matters much. If everyone paid more attention to the phone talk topics, the photocopier, the printer, the communal kitchen, which always smells like milk gone bad, work would be certainly a better place.
If an American uses the office phone much, he/she will tell you that in the workplace phone calls should be direct, to the point, and kept on a professional level. There are some tips for keeping your phone conversation polite:
- when you answer the phone, identify yourself by stating your name;
- when placing a call, identify yourself and give the name of your company;
- keep conversations focused and direct;
- when leaving a voicemail message, remember to speak slowly and distinctly, and give your name, phone number, and date and time of your call;
- reply to all voice mail or other phone messages in a timely manner, allow no more than one day to pass;
- always notify the person on the other end that you are about to put them on speaker phone;
- when you are going on vacation, indicate the days you will be out of the office, so callers will know why you are not returning their calls.
To sum up, the office phone requires more attention. It is one step to make your office work pleasant.
(Adapted from "How to Behave")
Словарь
market teller (s) — работник биржевой организации
an oncoming car — приближающаяся машина .
the communal kitchen — общественная кухня
to put on speaker phone — перевести телефонный разговор в режим громкоговорителя
to go on vacation — уходить, уезжать в отпуск
to return one's calls — отвечать на чьи-либо звонки; перезванивать кому-либо
