Trouble in The Office

TELECONFERENCE

The dial-in number was most especially complicated
Because aside from two codes, there were three
Plus a voice key that needed to be said at the beep
The Malaysians were early and cranky
The Thais chatted to themselves
The Chinese kept their secrets
While the Americans were groggy
(It was eleven PM, way past their bedtime)
The Filipinos buzzed in ten minutes late
The Australians haughty and didactic
Of course only some us had gone through
Culture Sensitivity Seminars as
Most of us were new to the set-up
In a moment there were a million things
Unsaid, misunderstood, restated
Needed paraphrasing or a simpler way
Of explaining why the costs were higher
Than the one dollar and twenty cents we knew
In the end, we politely said our goodbyes
And promised to email agreements
Of course even in emails, things were
Unsaid, misundersood, restated
Paraphrased
If only the Babel tower makers had a preview
Of the mess thousands of years into
The future, they would have dropped
The idea, and started building something else
Like static-free telephone lines

posted by Elyss @ 8:37 PM