To not answer the work phone outside of work hours?

[troobleflooble]

I work in a tiny company, literally just myself and my boss. The place we work from can't be fitted with a landline phone so we use our mobiles for customer orders, etc.

I'm not completely comfortable with random customers having my mobile number so I am going to get a cheap phone with a separate sim to be used just for work, to be kept at work. Very few outgoing calls/messages will be made from it, it's really just for incoming calls.

Until I get that sorted, WIBU to not answer the phone outside of work hours (unless it's obviously a personal call?). I'm just getting increasingly annoyed with work related calls coming through to my mobile when I'm either at home on my days off or on my breaks. When I'm not at work, I'm not at work!

One particular insistent customer phoned THREE fucking times in the space of 10 minutes just to find out if we were open (opening times are on the website/social media) and he was a regular anyway so should know them. I had to call him back in the end just to tell him I was not at work!

Absolutely!!!

The customers probably assume that the number IS your work mobile, and that it will be switched off if you're not ready to take calls.

I used to have to use my home number for work, and I had to make it very clear to people that it was a home number - otherwise they will think "I'll ring and leave a message for when she gets in in the morning". Some of my colleagues in that job did equip themselves with a work-only mobile.

You ought to be able to sort a second phone very quickly - if it only needs to be able to take calls, then ask around and see if anyone has an old one lying around.

In the meantime, you needn't answer, but you've seen the problem there. If not many people phone you, you could put the phone on do not disturb but with friends numbers as exceptions (I think most phones have the facility to do this so you don't get calls at night except from nearest and dearest).

Leave a voice message saying work calls are taken between X to Z, out side these times please call …..then give your bosses number

Just get cheap phone today / boss should pay. Then it’s no issue.

It's inappropriate for customers to have your personal number. And wierd. What if your dh or children answered it, or you were abroad on holiday, or off ill?

Stop giving out your personal number for starters.

Then request how the business can sort one for you. Easy fix.

What would they do if yours broke, or you didn't own one,etc?

Personally I've had this situation once where I gave my number for HR contact details then found it on staff Comms lists for work matters. I pointed out the inappropriate use of info, then my personal mobile went broken (aka left in my bag during work hours) for 2 weeks. It suddenly dawned on work that they needed proper (appropriate) processes in place. First one being, if you need a contact number for customers, personal ones are off limits.

Unfortunately I can't get one today @Dixiechickonhols, I'm at work all day and by the time I finish the shops will be shut. There isn't a place near by I can get one.

Fortunately it's my days off coming up so I'll be able to sort one then, my boss is going on holiday soon so I'm sure she'll appreciate not being disturbed while she's away! 😂

I got woken up the other morning 2hrs before I was due to be in work so I started the day really irritated and it's made me feel like this is now a matter of urgency 😡 FFS people, if you phoned up for a takeaway at 3pm and they only opened at 5pm would you expect a response?!?! People must think I have no life outside work 🙄

Rather than carrying two phones, better get a dual sim model. You can then turn off the business sim outside hours.

Put your phone on Do Not Disturb outside of work hours and then the calls won't go through.

If I use my own phone for work I always withhold the number by putting 141 first.
But yes, don’t answer out of work and get another phone ASAP.

Why did you even allow this to happen.

Personal mobiles are for personal use. Any decent company would never have expected this.

Tell work to get voip. 1 number, several extentions that then ring the app on your phones. Can be switched to whoever is working for leave and different ring tones so you always know if its a work phone. Not great for your phone battery, but the benefits outway charging more often.

Sorted!

Agree re voip - we have this exact setup for small business. Ours routes calls to laptops (with headsets) and can also route to mobiles (via app or forwarding) plus has business voicemail

Ours is with voipstudio.

@troobleflooble

Unfortunately I can't get one today *@Dixiechickonhols*, I'm at work all day and by the time I finish the shops will be shut. There isn't a place near by I can get one.

Fortunately it's my days off coming up so I'll be able to sort one then, my boss is going on holiday soon so I'm sure she'll appreciate not being disturbed while she's away! 😂

I got woken up the other morning 2hrs before I was due to be in work so I started the day really irritated and it's made me feel like this is now a matter of urgency 😡 FFS people, if you phoned up for a takeaway at 3pm and they only opened at 5pm would you expect a response?!?! People must think I have no life outside work 🙄

I don’t think you can blame the customers for calling. If I phoned up a place when it wasn’t open I’d expect to get through to a recorded message telling me when it was open. I would not expect a service provider to have given me the personal number of one of their employees.

YANBU to answer the phone only in work hours. Your boss is an absolute numpty to have thought it was acceptable to have you use your personal phone in this situation. Presumably some of those customers are still going to have your personal number after you switch to a work only phone. Who do you think they’re going to call when that work only phone isn’t picked up?

You should be picking the work only phone up in work hours and charging it to your work. Your boss is taking the piss.

If there was a phone number on your website I would expect to call it at any time outside of work hours and leave a message to be dealt with when you reopen, I don't know why you think they are calling you deliberately.