Week 12 post 3

Review the etiquette rules suggested in the text. Respond to each one. Have you ever been bothered by cell phone, answering machines, or beepers? What do you feel about call waiting? Is it rude to put people on hold to take another call?

I think etiquette for cellular phones should be followed not only in business settings but also in other occasions. In Japan, text messaging is more common than talking. I don’t like my friend text messaging to someone when we are having conversation because I feel bad talking to her and destructing her. If there are other friends, maybe one of them can text message, but if there are only two people, I think it is rude for the other.
I also believe it is rude to put people on hold to take another call. I think we should call the person back after finish talking with the current person.

As for etiquette for answering machines, I agree with the textbook. It is okay to make jokes among friends, but making jokes on business answering machines is deadly. I also think when we are leaving a message, we should inform the person if he/she should call us back after the message.

During a conference call, we need to be especially cautious for telling a joke. A conference call is a serious and a professional situation, so we should behave as professional as possible.

I think we need to be very careful for etiquette for faxes because as the textbook states, “a fax may be seen by many people in an office” (242). I also call the would-be recipient to make sure that he/she received the fax if the fax is important.

Timing our communications is also important. I see some people use cell phone while they drive, but it is extremely dangerous. I also think business calls at night and weekends should be avoided.

I agree with the textbook that screen names and ring tones should be appropriate. When I wrote resume, I was always told that I need to create a new e-mail account or change e-mail address that is appropriate for professional settings.