You Just Can’t Make Some People Hear You

My coworker is on the phone with a customer.

Coworker #1: “This line is really bad. Could you call me back in a moment in case it fixes it?”

They call back.

Coworker #1: “Hey, guys, the phones here are really quiet. Is there a button that will adjust the volume?”

Coworker #2: *Without looking up* “Yeah, there is one somewhere, but they are already set to max and none of the rest of us are having any issues with them.”

I look over and see that [Coworker #1] is wearing a thick, wooly hat in the office, with a thick edge where it is rolled up. Our workspace AC is dysfunctional — it always puts out cold air instead of heat on cold days like today — so the hat is totally reasonable. Except…

Me: “Maybe you could try putting the phone under your hat to your ear instead of on the outside of the thick brim of your hat?”

The edge of her hat has to be almost an inch thick of layers of wool and it’s sitting directly over her ear.

Coworker #1: “No, that wouldn’t affect it. The phones here are just really quiet.”