The office I work in has a funny culture of people just barging into your office and talking at you for ten minutes or more. As you can imagine, it is hard to stay productive some days. It doesn’t matter if your door is closed or not, and you can only tell people to leave you alone so many times before you start looking rude.
Some co-workers and I want to have some kind of system to alert each other when we get cornered, so that someone might be able to call the cornered party’s office, thereby creating an excuse to boot the unwelcome visitor out.
My question is how?
I’d love a bank-teller style button mounted under the desk that either alerted someone to call me or drop in with some “emergency”, but I am open to any suggestions. Anyone know enough about arduino to be able to program something up to make our VOIP Cisco phone ring with a remote button? Or maybe turn on some red lights in other offices wirelessly?
Open to crazy suggestions- otherwise I wouldn't have asked this forum. 
Do you guys use instant messaging at your office? Office Communicator would be a godsend for things like that.
Use this fed by a remote control somehow.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/8c52/
If you get "attacked," just turn it on and wait for whomever is talking to get distracted and lose their train of thought, which is really embarrassing in a professional environment.
We do have an instant messenger- Barracuda IM Client... The trick is not noticeably going to your computer to send a message. That is one of the kinks of our culture- it is very rude to work on your computer while someone is in your office. But apparently NOT rude to just walk in on someone.
Have your cell phone dial your work phone.
wbjones
UberDork
12/31/12 4:48 p.m.
I'm for just telling them to get the berkeley out ... that I've got work to do even if they don't ... 'course I don't have any problem with being rude to people that don't get it ... sooner or later their boss HAS to figure out the these folk aren't pulling their weight ... and by them complaining that you were rude to them, that could only speed up the process
oldtin
UltraDork
12/31/12 5:00 p.m.
you don't have to be rude but it's also ok to let em know you're busy - maybe something like, hey I don't want to be rude, but I need to take care of some things now. I'd love to chat with you though, maybe you could swing by around 6:00 (you leave at 5:30 right?).
My uncle (a sprinkler-fitter) had one guy keep bugging him as he was trying to build the fire system. After he got fed up with the guys bullE36 M3, he took care the problem rather simply. The next time the guy came in to start talking to him, there was a stickey-note on my uncle's forehead that said "berkeley OFF!" This tactic may work well for you and get the message across quickly. Hell, just stick it on your door.
(This attitude runs in the family. Some of you may understand me more after knowing this.)
wbjones
UberDork
12/31/12 5:11 p.m.
oldtin wrote:
you don't have to be rude but it's also ok to let em know you're busy - maybe something like, hey I don't want to be rude, but I need to take care of some things now. I'd love to chat with you though, maybe you could swing by around 6:00 (you leave at 5:30 right?).
no ... actually sometimes you do have to be rude ... some people are just totally oblivious to the gentle approach
My brother's old website had his list of ways to get out of a conversation. My favorite was to simply remove your shoe and start talking into it.
You just have to learn how to make people know they are being ignored. I do it by continuing to work until I hear silence for a few seconds, then say, "Uh huh." They leave shortly afterwards.
wbjones
UberDork
12/31/12 7:20 p.m.
I guess ignoring them would be a bit less rude than my way 
Seriously, tell them to go away. You're there to work, not socialize. You can be nice about it at first to see if the "clue gun" will penetrate. If after that they persist, then turn up the wick.
Of course if you do have a moment to chat then go ahead, but if you're busy don't be beholden to them.
Wire a foot switch into the fire alarm...oh wait, you wanted to get them to leave so you could get some work done. I guess I'm not gonna be very helpful.
JThw8
PowerDork
12/31/12 10:15 p.m.
Streetwiseguy wrote:
You just have to learn how to make people know they are being ignored. I do it by continuing to work until I hear silence for a few seconds, then say, "Uh huh." They leave shortly afterwards.
^This, especially if they are just there to be chatty, I'll continue to type away at my computer and do other things.
Doesn't the head of the office notice the chatty slackers? Thats why they are a department head and get paid the money for it, bring your concerns to him/her let them be the badguy to tell the talkers to quit distracting the people who are their to actually work.
wbjones wrote:
oldtin wrote:
you don't have to be rude but it's also ok to let em know you're busy - maybe something like, hey I don't want to be rude, but I need to take care of some things now. I'd love to chat with you though, maybe you could swing by around 6:00 (you leave at 5:30 right?).
no ... actually sometimes you do have to be rude ... some people are just totally oblivious to the gentle approach
berkeley off with a base ball bat doesn't get through to some people. Besides being rude can be fun.
I used to keep a 3 minute sand timer on my desk for "drivebys". They'd walk into the shop and say: "Got a minute?". I'd flip the timer and reply: "You can have three. Go."
It worked great.
Does your company have a policy on tazers? Working outside has it's advantages. When I had a regular post I had a deal with one of the panhandlers to come bail me out when I had certain visitors
There is a android app named "Fake Call Me". In just a couple dicreate key strokes you can set your phone to ring in minutes or seconds.
I work at a parts store and we have developed a method for getting rid of chatty customers. I don't mind chatty customers as long as they are buying something, but we get lots of window shoppers that will talk as long as you let them. So here's what we came up with:
I'm stuck with some putz that is telling me his life story, co worker at the next register notices and steps in. He picks up the phone and calls the store number. I answer it, the coworker asks me to look up a part. (keep in mind that the coworker is literraly 10 feet from me) I start looking up whatever BS he just told me, and the customer typically leaves shortly since we are 'busy' on the phone. Works pretty well and the funny part is that noone has caught on yet, even though it's pretty obvious that my coworker and I are talking to each other on the phone lol.
