Why I Don't Have Caller ID at Work

One of the guys I work with always ends his phone conversations with, "Well, I'm going to let you go now." The phrase is deeply gracious; the implied meaning is, "I would love to continue this conversation with you, but I realize you have more important things to do with your time than talk to me; so I'll make the sacrifice of getting off the phone now."

But he always says it so abruptly that I'm pretty sure he's cutting off the other person in mid-sentence.

After about seven panicked phone calls from my supervisor today, all of them interrupting me and hindering the work that she was calling to check up on, I kind of take his point.

Justin and I were agreeing this weekend that "I'm going to let you go now" has been used to death, as a means of ending a phone conversation. We were bandying about ideas for a few different approaches.

You could take "I'm going to let you go" to the level of unmitigated groveling: "I'm just not worthy to talk to you. Please - I know you mean to be kind, but you're only embarrassing me."

There's the brutally honest approach: "I'm tired of talking now. Goodbye!" and the even more brutally honest approach: click

You could dust off that pop psychobabble you haven't yet managed to forget from the 90s: "This conversation has really helped me grow as a person, but I feel that I've reached a stage in my development where it's time to let go and move on." Or just break it off cold: "I really think we should talk to other people."

You could feign amnesia. "Wait a minute - what were we talking about? -- Where am I?? --Who are you?!?" Or an emergency. "Oh my God! My car/iPod/pancreas/great-uncle just spontaneously combusted!"

And of course there's always the imperious, "I grow weary of you. Begone!"

I'm thinking of trying all of these in rotation on my supervisor until she just stops calling.