Dear Queenie,
The other day my wife brought me my cell phone while I was in the bathroom! It was my boss wanting to know some trivial thing that could have waited until I got to work the next day.
Queenie, why are people so rude? Is there no privacy anymore?—Feeling exposed
Dear Feeling exposed,
Some people are, as they have always been, as inconsiderate as others let them get away with. The solution, as it has always been, is to “just say no.”
Unless you are in a profession that requires you to be “on call” at all times or at odd hours, you are perfectly justified to refuse to answer the phone when you don’t wish to do so. And you certainly have no obligation to talk to someone when you are in the bathroom or otherwise indisposed. Your wife should have told your boss you would call him (her?) back later.
However, it is a courtesy to your callers, and a convenience for yourself, to have an answering machine or voice mail service to record the call so you can return it at your leisure if you so desire.
