The Office Three Way

Well, you can go ahead and get your mind out of the gutter right now because if you got all hot and bother reading the title to this post, thinking you’d be reading the steamy details of three co-workers caught in a forbidden act in the copy room, you are sorely mistaken. Though I am sure that happens in some offices but not in mine. Well, I don’t think it happens in mine. Hmm.

This post is all about three way calling, as in conference calls. Much like their sexual counterparts they might seem like a good idea before hand but when all is said and done chances are someone is left highly unsatisfied.

“What are you talking about? Conference calls are great? I use them all the time?”

Really? Then kind sir, I think you are lacking in a great many ways.

The need for a three way call just means that you have some sort of insecurity and that you need a crutch in the form of another person on the line to get you through the conversation. We used to do this all the time in junior high. Girl A would like Boy A but she was all kinds of nervous about talking to him so she would make Girl B do it while she listened in. I know it seemed like a good idea to Girl A; a way to hear her crush and get an inside track into what he likes.

But you know what always happened? While Girl A was in La La Land listening in Boy A was starting to realize how cool Girl B was and the two of them would end up dating (though at the age of 13 I use that term loosely) until they broke up over something dumb, like Pogs or Slap Bracelets.

The same thing happens in the corporate world, without all the early 90’s fad toys.

While you are letting your c-worker explain the details of the situation while you sit all quiet on the other line, that client is no longer thinking you are the top dog. They start to doubt your ability to get things done and before you know it, your clients have run away with your co-worker.

So trust me, no matter what someone might tell you, three ways are never a good idea.

~The Office Scribe