bf and working moms-would you have done this

mrs.marie.g

ok i work for a construction company. its  obviously male dominated. this one person was just hired and just had a baby. she typically usues this one conference room to pump. ok fine no problem. a meeting with an owner (a potential client) ran late and she kicked them OUT of the conference room.

now keep in mind. she could have gone into her vp's office which ALSO has a door and a lock and used that and he's out all day. or gone into the gym locker room (not totally convienant but an option other woman have done this) or one of the myraid of other conference rooms. she could have asked me about other options. heck the ceo and evp our on a client ski trip i have a key to their office she could have used their offices or our vp of finance would have given up her office

would you have kicked someone out. i never bf (and this is one of the reasons WHY i chose not to) and i understand their is usually in urgency to pump. but to kick someone out when there where other options.

 

laurenpetro

ok wait, was she in the process of pumping and they wanted to come in?  if that's the case then i'm fine with it. 

i suspect, however, that it is in fact NOT the case and she entered after they had gone in.  i also suspect that she does not have her pump set up in there for her to use at the drop of a hat.  if this is the case then that was just silly.  and stupid.

Kristen81603

maybe she didn't know she could ask to use another space? If she is new and this was the space she was told she could use- not that she should have kicked them out, but she just might not have been thinking- I would just tell her the next time it happens let try to find another space and if you need help I will call around for you-

mrs.marie.g

she schedules it everyday. and she had it scheduled but the PREVIOUS meeting ran over (if it was an inhouse meeting i would have been ok with this. i would have gone in there and said this is scheduled sorry guys get the f out. lol and she KNEW it was with a client). she keeps her bag of stuff at her desk

mrs.marie.g

Kristen81603:

maybe she didn't know she could ask to use another space? If she is new and this was the space she was told she could use- not that she should have kicked them out, but she just might not have been thinking- I would just tell her the next time it happens let try to find another space and if you need help I will call around for you-

nope she knows because her and i have talked about it and she knows other people that have pumped her. she likes this particular one beacuse it has a solid door. the others have a solid door and a window pane with blinds THAT CAN be shut

oct11bride03

If she knew (1) knew there were other options and (2) knowingly interrupted a client meeting then I say she isn't that bright.

I am ALL for moms pumping at work. I was going to do it but had to stop BFing before I came back. To risk pissing off a potential client when there were a ton of other places she could have pumped this one time was just plain bad judgement. 

AngRoMarSi

Um...yeah...not acceptable--especially with a client in the room.  She should have tried to find somewhere else.  (and I pumped at work until both my kids were 1).  

biochemgirl

Where I work we kick people out of conference rooms all the times when their meetings run late.  No I would not have done it to pump, but their meeting ran late and she asked them for the room which she had reserved for that time.  I don't think she was wrong.

Kristen81603

mrs.marie.g:

Kristen81603:

maybe she didn't know she could ask to use another space? If she is new and this was the space she was told she could use- not that she should have kicked them out, but she just might not have been thinking- I would just tell her the next time it happens let try to find another space and if you need help I will call around for you-

nope she knows because her and i have talked about it and she knows other people that have pumped her. she likes this particular one beacuse it has a solid door. the others have a solid door and a window pane with blinds THAT CAN be shut

then I would just reiterate to her, that if it is a client meeting, going forward to look for another place, and you will help if she can't- I would not have done that-  

hookersbabe

biochemgirl:

Where I work we kick people out of conference rooms all the times when their meetings run late.  No I would not have done it to pump, but their meeting ran late and she asked them for the room which she had reserved for that time.  I don't think she was wrong.

rachel with all due respect, you work for the government, you don't have clients to piss off...her actions could cost the company a contract, which would mean less work for the company, which could mean, people aren't  working so they aren't getting paid...it was a poor decision on her part, especially since there were equally as appropriate accomodations readily available.

if the equipment was stored in there, it was the only room with a lock that didn't include a toilet, or there was no other space, i would totally be on her side, but it is totally not the case here.

sandykins

that is ridiculous. I pumped at work for months and would NEVER do something like that. Just like you expect your employer to be flexible - you too have to be flexible.

biochemgirl

hookersbabe:

biochemgirl:

Where I work we kick people out of conference rooms all the times when their meetings run late.  No I would not have done it to pump, but their meeting ran late and she asked them for the room which she had reserved for that time.  I don't think she was wrong.

rachel with all due respect, you work for the government, you don't have clients to piss off...her actions could cost the company a contract, which would mean less work for the company, which could mean, people aren't  working so they aren't getting paid...it was a poor decision on her part, especially since there were equally as appropriate accomodations readily available.

if the equipment was stored in there, it was the only room with a lock that didn't include a toilet, or there was no other space, i would totally be on her side, but it is totally not the case here.

We actually do kick people out of rooms even when we are meeting with "clients," although you are right, they are not clients in the traditional sense.  I personally just think that the meeting running over is not her fault and that she was not wrong to say she had reserved the room.  If she rushed in there and said get out now I need to pump I certainly think her approch is an issue but, the people holding the meeting ran over and that is not her problem.

mrs.marie.g

i feel bad because i happened to be over in that area when it went down and she looked to me for justification. and i just couldn't.know whether to be upset or sorry. he took the owner to his office and their was like 6 of them huddled over his conference room tab i pulled her aside and said next time let me go in and talk to the person OR i can pull OUT the vp and talk to them. because the way she went about it was VERY abrupt and rude. again in house meeting fine. but seriously we have a ton of conference rooms in this building.im ALL for bf'ing if that is what you chose to do and want to do. but i just feel the way it was handled was messy and could have totally avoided an unpleasant situation with a potential million dollar client

Pixiestx

I would only do that if there was no where else to go and I did run into that problem except that the person using the room did not have it scheduled and I had to go searching the floor for a place to use. (none of which had locks)

ghl

mrs.marie.g:

i feel bad because i happened to be over in that area when it went down and she looked to me for justification. and i just couldn't.know whether to be upset or sorry. he took the owner to his office and their was like 6 of them huddled over his conference room tab i pulled her aside and said next time let me go in and talk to the person OR i can pull OUT the vp and talk to them. because the way she went about it was VERY abrupt and rude. again in house meeting fine. but seriously we have a ton of conference rooms in this building.im ALL for bf'ing if that is what you chose to do and want to do. but i just feel the way it was handled was messy and could have totally avoided an unpleasant situation with a potential million dollar client

I don't have issue with requesting that a meeting maintain the time slot to which it is scheduled if she scheduled the time after it for any reason, whether it was another meeting or to pump. I would have issue with for any reason being rude about it in front of a customer. It sounds like the issue is how she approached those occupying the room, and again, whether it's to pump or for any other reason, that's not the way to go about it from a business perspective. She could have looked for other options or she could have requested the attention of the person hosting the meeting privately in order for that person to be able to arrange a hasty but tactful exit for the meeting.

Unfortunately, examples like this do not help other nursing moms who are trying to make a case for balancing work and BFing and asking for the flexibility from the company to do so.

Leeba25

I feel like this is only half the story. There had to be a reason she needed to use that particular room. Did you ask her? If not, I'd do so, and say hey look, in the future, ask me and I'll help you find a place.

mrs.marie.g

read farther down. she likes THAT particular one because its a solid wood door. the others have are sold but glass panel WITH blinds that CAN be closed. she told me thats the reason she likes that particular conference room. (when i first came back she said we could share that room because she assumed i was bf) so i know thats why she likes that one.

LizDP

Not acceptable. She could have waited or gone somewhere else. I'm not really shy about nursing or pumping though, you gotta do what you gotta do. I just nursed Anna at an office meeting. They told me to bring her and the kid's gotta eat!

N&V0514

hookersbabe:

biochemgirl:

Where I work we kick people out of conference rooms all the times when their meetings run late.  No I would not have done it to pump, but their meeting ran late and she asked them for the room which she had reserved for that time.  I don't think she was wrong.

rachel with all due respect, you work for the government, you don't have clients to piss off...her actions could cost the company a contract, which would mean less work for the company, which could mean, people aren't  working so they aren't getting paid...it was a poor decision on her part, especially since there were equally as appropriate accomodations readily available.

if the equipment was stored in there, it was the only room with a lock that didn't include a toilet, or there was no other space, i would totally be on her side, but it is totally not the case here.

I totally agree with this.  We always kick people out of rooms doing internal things for client meetings. They take precedence over everything.  

AmyRob04

biochemgirl:

Where I work we kick people out of conference rooms all the times when their meetings run late.  No I would not have done it to pump, but their meeting ran late and she asked them for the room which she had reserved for that time.  I don't think she was wrong.

yeah, for internal meeti GS sure. But not when there's a client and when it's for something personal like pumping, especially when there are other options.

kellyann1972

God no. Completely unprofessional when its a client meeting, she had other resources.

Liz051405

I don't think it's acceptable to rudely kick anyone out of a conference for any purpose be it with a client or not. I don't think it's acceptable to kick a client meeting out of a conference room even politely if you have another place to go. If it had been a polite "Will you be much longer or should I find another place?" I'd have more sympathy.

And this is why I had to fight everyday to be ALLOWED to pump at my small company. The assumption that I'd come in and demand a place makes it even harder for bfing moms.