Sun-Sentinel Cracking down on long distance calls

Of course, we're all just one bad break away from robbing a bank -- or improperly using long distance codes.

 

First graf appeared chock full o' sarcasma, but I'll take you at your word. But the two aren't always mutually exclusive goals. I've worked alongside people who I'd give the front page to in a heartbeat while making sure the supply closet has three deadbolts locked and The Club on the doorknob.

 

Fair enough.
The idea is to win a Pulitzer, not to steal one.

 

For the last decade, I've had a company-issued cell phone... I probably make 99 percent of my calls work and personal on that phone. Nobody has ever said a single thing to me. I don't feel like I abuse it, it's just the phone I use.

As far as the calls from work, almost every paper has a 1-800 number... Just tell people to call that...

 

Shoot, I've been at this long enough that, at one of the places I worked while in school, you had to let the secretary/receptionist know that you wanted to make an LD call and she'd set you up on the "WATS" line. About as close as I ever got to a Mayberry-like situation with Sarah patching me through to Juanita down at the diner.

 

I think I've made one personal call on my phone in the nearly three years I've worked here. It was less than a minute long.

However, I probably use 100-200 minutes on my personal cell for work purposes. More on weekends, but those are free. But unless I go over my monthly limit, I don't think I can put those calls in for reimbursement.

 

No, but you can claim your cell phone bill (or part of it) as work-related expense on your tax return. If you do the long form.

 

Yeah, I never itemize. I have no large payments, no car payments, no nothing. Not worth it. I would never deduct more than the standard.

 

When I worked at my college paper, we had personal ID codes to call long distance. It wasn't really that effective, since a couple people used my code, I'd used a buddy's code and so forth, but we never went crazy on our long distance calls.

Though there was one co-worker who used to use the paper's phones to make regular long distance calls home ... to Scotland.

Yeah, the suits weren't too happy when they discovered that bill. He might still be paying those things off.