Ring-a-ling-ding!

So we were in his office, sitting down and having a serious discussion. Then he got a phone call. Without hesitation, he picked up the phone and answered it. It turned out to be a telemarketing call from a credit card company, so he hung up promptly. Two minutes later, the phone rang again. This time it was the Vice President of the company asking him for a favor. The teleconversation lasted 15 minutes until he finally hung up again.

All this time, there was one subject who wasn’t part of the picture. Me. I was in the room before the telephone calls came. During the first call, I wondered if it would take long. Then the second call came, and I knew it was all over. I was sitting in the room for 15 minutes, trying my best not to lose my train of thought that had been the conversation with him before it was interrupted time and time again. All the while I wore a stupid expression on my face, hoping no one would peer into his cubicle and notice an utterly jobless person sitting for 15 minutes with nothing at all to do.

All of you have encountered such a situation numerous times. And you have been on the other side, receiving calls when in the middle of a conversation. Who is supposed to be given priority? The person in front of you, or the unknown caller? I believe that the person in front of you is more important, and the phone should be ignored unless you are expecting an important call at that time. If the phone is picked up multiple times during the conversation, it becomes a nuisance and gives an impression that the meeting is not worth the personal attention; I’d rather talk to this stranger because he seems to be of more interest at the moment.

Of course, there is always the call-back feature in every telephone which can be used when the personal meeting is over. Any thoughts and suggestions on this topic welcome.

By the way, did anybody want to issue a death warrant against telemarketers who call at the office? I'll be the first one to sign the bill.