Big ears!!!

Did you know that Walls have ears!!!

They also have sausages, although I realise not everyone will get that joke.

Nevertheless, you should be careful what you say, when you say it and who you say it to.

As a parent, I’ve lost count of the number of times that I forgot my children were in the back of the car, only to hear them subsequently repeat the bad language I had been using.  This got particularly interesting when they would wait for one of my in laws to be around, or a teacher!!!

And we’ve all heard about (or perhaps experienced directly) the embarrassment of someone talking about a third party in less than flattering terms, only to find out that the person you are talking to is their friend.

Whoops!

But in my situation, the person in question had no idea that he could be heard.

For those of you who have never visited my office (seriously, what is wrong with you, we’re not that far away and we serve amazing coffee!) we have a small reception area before you get into the office itself.  What people don’t know is that despite the fact that there is a wall and door between the two spaces, anything you say in the reception area can be heard loud and clear in the office, even though the reverse is not the same.  No idea why – probably an acoustic thing.

Every few days, we have a delivery, and our delivery person is the same gentleman most of the time.  He is of a certain era who has a certain way of talking that some of us may find, erm, inappropriate, particularly in a work environment.  He certainly wouldn’t talk to me in such a familiar and unprofessional way, but apparently, he thought this was ok when talking to younger (prettier!) members of my team.

Now they are all very robust woman with thick skins (you have to be to work in our industry) and whilst they all comment on his behaviour, none of them are bothered.

I, on the other hand, do not take things like this so well and I’m quite protective of my team.  I happened to be in the office recently when I overheard him bringing in a particularly heavy box, dumping it down and telling one of my colleagues that she would need a “big strong man” to help her (I assume he was hoping that she’d ask him to come to her rescue!).

Not only was this quite an insult (I can bench press twice as much as the box without breaking a sweat) I didn’t like his assumption that we can’t function without his help.

So, I marched into reception, told him that I was more than capable, picked up the box (without any difficulty) and started to march out.

What appeared to shock him, however, was not that I could lift the box (seriously, I deserve a bit of credit for my level of fitness) but the fact that I had heard every word he’d said.  He asked me how I knew, and I told him about how we can hear everything that gets said in reception and we always heard what he said to whoever greeted him.  He did at least have the decency to look embarrassed, no doubt recalling a few of the more memorable lines he’s used.  To be fair, the heavy box comment was quite mild compared to other stories I’ve been told about him.

But here’s the point – he clearly knew full well that what he was doing/saying was inappropriate.  This is particularly relevant because I’ve noticed that he now comes in, drops his delivery, and leaves without saying a word.  If he’d known we could hear, he’d never have said it before.

Which shows that you should only ever say things that you would not be embarrassed for others to hear, even if you have no reason to believe that anyone else will ever know.  You never know who else might be listening, or who might be recording you on their phone.

If you wouldn’t want a judge to hear/read it, don’t say/write it.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full service law firm.  We’re all ears!