We were familiar with some such formula when at school and wanted to go to the toilet - but a call centre in Toulouse has installed a system onto its internal network to avoid pupils (sorry- employees) having to sit with one hand in the air trying to attract sir's attention.
Instead, they click a "coffee" icon to attract a supervisor and then indicate their need - a coffee break or a "pause pipi". Generally they will receive a permission "within three minutes", but claim it is often longer. The call centre deals with customer enquiries and complaints for SFR, the telecoms provider and the operators say that calls can often be long and stressful and if you are "desperate" it can be difficult to concentrate.
Previously employees had to ask to leave the room but feel that the new system is treating them like children. Management say the stream of calls received has to be managed to keep waiting times to a minimum but try to accommodate staff requests as quickly as possible.
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