Posted by
danna
17 yrs ago
Has anyone tried barring the phone (i.e do not disturb feature). I have talked to my helper regarding limited calls to our home number. Most of the calls come from lending companies, not to mention friends. I have no problem letting her use the phone it is just that it affects the way she performs her tasks. Often there would be missed out to do items. How do we know that she talks forever on the phone? The phone is busy from 8 am to 1 pm (she leaves house at this time to pick up my son). When we go home early (unexpectedly) we would find here glued in the phone.
When me or m spouse would be on sick leave, we get so many calls for her. She has her own hand phone and I am contributing a partial amount to that and this is what I recommend to her to use for personal calls but obviously she gets a BIG bill because she over use it, so for her to save is to use the landline.
Some are emergency calls that has to be responded asap. I feel guilty about suspending the phone but there's just too many issues attached to that.
Do you have any recommendations, or constructive advises on how to deal with it?
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personally I never allow my helper to use our home phone, we bought her a mobile phone (she pays for the bill) and we told her that the only people she can give our home phone number are her family, in case of emergency and they can't contact her mobile number.
It works well, occasionally she uses the phone when she calls overseas using phone card, but thats fine, its not everyday.
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danna
17 yrs ago
thanks for the advise. at least i am now aware that other families would "limit" or disallow the use of their home phones. so i am guilt free to enable the password feature of our line.
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Jctom
17 yrs ago
i salute you for being kind to your helper for allowing her to use the landline phone. i believe it's better if you continue to allow her to use the landline phone, but i hope both of you will have a heart to heart talk regarding what you expect her to do, including the limiting of phone calls, etc. I believe everything will be taken care with proper communication. Do continue being kind, that's great!
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mrsl
17 yrs ago
This may make part of the problem worse, but have you considered giving her a landline of her own? It sounds as if you'd have to set rules about making sure that she still gets her work done etc., but at least you will not be bothered by her calls. I hate getting calls at night, so our helper's calls go straight to her room, do not bother us and do not tie up our line. I cannot remember exactly how much it costs, but it is not expensive. She is responsible for any long distance call charges etc. herself (we just pay for the line rental).
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that is exactly what we did - ours has a landline of her own and pays for it completely - there are pretty good deals that she gets with her rates to Phil, etc. Of course it would not solve the problem of her spending hours on the phone tho...
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If you have a wireless network you can equip her with a Skype phone. SkypeOut is all prepaid so even if you have to do the actual paying (helpers typically don't have credit cards) at least it's easy to just get cash from her or take it from her salary.
"fire your helper"
As a last resort, sure. But there are plenty of intermediate steps. Warn her for example. You should also remove the source of the problem. She might be a great person who just has a hard time letting go of some things. If you stop making it available she might even be relieved since the onus of quitting will not be on her.
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i have access to my bosses land phone.. i can use for personal calls.. but i hardly ever do.. only if my phone minutes are about to run out... or if i have to make long distance phone calls using a card..
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"i have access to my bosses land phone.. i can use for personal calls.. but i hardly ever do.. only if my phone minutes are about to run out... or if i have to make long distance phone calls using a card.."
Seems that you have a good attitude. However some don't have the same attitude or are sloppy or absent minded.
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danna
17 yrs ago
I haven't placed the password yet but when I do, i think i will keep it open to a maximum 1-2 hours so she can focus on her work 1st and she won't be tempted to a lenghty hours of talking. i plan to discuss that with her too. in that way i am not totally removing her access on my phone.
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some employers have their broadband connections and let their domestic helpers used their computers once she finishes her duties about 8-10pm at night. Then the helper limits her time in spending too much on the phone. I can see the kind attitude you have, have an open talk to your helper to limit her time of using the phone in a day. Lets say 1-2 hours in a day. ... not longer than 15 minutes each friend.
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