At Betacowork we state to everyone that we are an office not a library, so calls are made and expected to be made. People self regulate quite good and only a couple are annoying mostly because of their very powerful and theatrical voicesj. The rest you barely notice.
We have the chance that our space is split in 3 rooms, so if you find somebody being really disturbing in one room you can just move to another one. Others just put on headphones (I fing it really helpful to concentrate, but I use them without any sound.) Some just take their calls to the cafeteria area or to one of the meeting rooms. When there are complaints we explain all this again and people react quite positively. In fact, we were more like a library when we started and that caused more problems, with complaints about the space being to quiet and hard to work at. I think that trying to be to quiet also beats the purpose of coworking and thwarts serendipity. Whan you can do is test some white noise <http://simplynoise.com/> with a speaker. Spaces like Grind use it and it helps reduce the volume differences from silent to voice: you notice noises less. Others like Link just have music, but I personally find music with voices very distracting. I saw a TEDxBrussels presentation<http://www.tedxbrussels.eu/will-henshall/#.UwM6C9sfT4M>by the founder of https://www.focusatwill.com . It may help you if you want to use music that helps people concentrate (I have not tested it myself). Using elements that block sound or reduce it can help too, like plants, panels, etc. Some tips:http://smallbusiness.chron.com/tips-absorbing-sound-office-32127.html Good luck! Ramon Suarez Serendipity Accelerator, Betacowork Writing: http://coworkinghandbook.com Phone: +3227376769 Twitter:http://twitter.com/ramonsuarez Try coworking: http://betacowork.com <http://betacowork.com/free-coworking-tryout/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=468x60_banner&utm_content=girl-home&utm_campaign=ramon-signature> On Tuesday, February 18, 2014 12:52:52 AM UTC+1, Jerome wrote: > > I agree w/ Alex here and applaud his insight to dig deeper into the more > fundamental issue. > Oren, have you introduced this new guy to his neighbors? Has he gone to > coffee w/ you and/or others? Lunch? Was there any kind of orientation? > > > *JEROME CHANG* > > *Mid-Wilshire* > 5405 Wilshire Blvd (2 blocks west of La Brea) | Los Angeles CA 90036 > ph: (323) 330-9505 > > *Downtown* > 529 S. Broadway, Suite 4000 (@Pershing Square) | Los Angeles CA 90013 > ph: (213) 550-2235 > > > <http://www.yelp.com/biz/blankspaces-los-angeles><https://twitter.com/BLANKSPACES><https://www.facebook.com/pages/BLANKSPACES/132257631339><https://www.facebook.com/pages/BLANKSPACES/132257631339><http://www.linkedin.com/company/blankspaces?trk=top_nav_home> > > <http://vimeo.com/blankspaces> > <http://vimeo.com/blankspaces> > On Feb 17, 2014, at 3:45 PM, Alex Hillman > <[email protected]<javascript:>> > wrote: > > That's kinda what I suspected. The phone issue is just a proxy for a > bigger problem. > > With that said, it's only been a week and this stuff takes time. > > People don't care about the things they share - physical space and > equipment, as well as soundspace - unless they care about the people they > share them with. This is a two-way street, though. Your existing "well > integrated" members don't know him any better than he knows them. > > In all cases, people who know each other have a far better chance of > sharing expectations of each other, too. > > So it's your job to open that up. He might not be as "easy" as others, but > I wouldn't write him off yet either. His concern for his stuff/space is > just a reaction that most people are programmed to have when they feel > "threatened". Nobody likes having things done to them, so asking him to > move "because he's disturbing others" quickly creates that sense of "why is > this happening to *me*?" > > I'd look for some sort of project/event/effort that will benefit more than > just him, but something he's interested in contributing to. Help him and > other members connect through that effort, and see how things change. It > might take more than one of these "facilitations" before you notice a > change, but I can say from experience that I've seen just as many tough > personalities cracked by this process than I have people who ultimately > went the other way and self-selected themselves out. > > -Alex > > > > > > -- > > /ah > indyhall.org > coworking in philadelphia > > > On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 6:34 PM, [email protected] <javascript:> < > [email protected] <javascript:>> wrote: > >> Alex, he's new (been here about a week) and to be perfectly honest is not >> integrating that well. >> >> He'll talk to people during breaks in the kitchen, but I don't think he's >> made a big effort to make friends or be helpful to anyone. Most of the time >> just talks about a new diet he's on with his wife. He said that the reason >> he joined was he couldn't be productive at home. He asked about a private >> office, but balked at the price. >> >> When I mentioned to him the issue of bothering another member, he seemed >> more concerned about his monitor setup than inconveniencing someone. >> >> >> >> >> On Monday, February 17, 2014 4:38:12 PM UTC-6, Alex Hillman wrote: >> >>> How does this member interact with other people? How well does he know >>> the people he's bothering? >>> >>> -Alex >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> /ah >>> indyhall.org >>> coworking in philadelphia >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 5:31 PM, [email protected] < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Hi there everyone, >>>> >>>> I know this is a topic that's come up again and again and been handled >>>> many different ways, but I'm curious how to handle this socially moreso >>>> than from any other dimension. >>>> >>>> Members have to take phone calls. This is a fact of life. Most people >>>> just find a quiet corner or take up the conference room for a call >>>> whenever >>>> they need. This was a pretty self-regulating problem. >>>> >>>> Until recently when a member signed up that seems to be on the phone >>>> all day long in the main coworking area. Other members are complaining >>>> specifically about this one member because he's ruining their ability to >>>> focus. He refuses to take up in one of the side rooms or corners because >>>> they don't have a table big enough to fit his computer and monitor and he >>>> doesn't seem too keen on moving his stuff around either. >>>> >>>> I've never asked a member to leave the community and I'd hate to do it >>>> because of a workstyle issue, but I don't see a way around this. >>>> >>>> Any ideas? >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >>>> --- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "Coworking" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to [email protected]. >>>> >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>> >>> >> -- >> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> > > > -- > Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] <javascript:>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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