He is not at his desk

R

runnery

Senior Member
China,Chinese
Hi all,

Very often, our customer call us and would like to talk to my colleague. Here is one example:

Customer: Hello, can I speak to John please?
Me: Sorry, John is not here.
Customer: Is he in the company?
Me: Yes, he is in the company, but he is not in the office now (maybe in the manufacturing line or other departments)

So, When someone is in the company, but he is just going away, can I say this: He is not at his desk.

Your suggestions will be most appreciated.

Thanks.

Runnery
 
    • "He's not at his desk" and "he's away from his desk" are what I would say. (AE)

    Personally, I wouldn't say "he is in the company." I might say that "he is in the office today" or that "he will be in the office today."
     
    I also find it strange that they would assume that John is not with the company simply because you said he was not there. In addition to the idiomatic expressions suggested by bilbliolept, you could just add "right now" to your original response:

    He's not here right now.
     
    mtmjr said:
    I also find it strange that they would assume that John is not with the company simply because you said he was not there. In addition to the idiomatic expressions suggested by bilbliolept, you could just add "right now" to your original response:

    He's not here right now.
    Click to expand...

    "Here" is a relative term, of course. He could be said to be "here" even if he's on the premises but in a different building and not available to take the call in his office.
     
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