I had an appt this afternoon with my doctor. Because I am sick I had called this morning to cancel. When I got back home from picking up my son from school I had a message on my answering machine on reference that I had not shown-up to the appt. I returned the call back and explain to the clerk that I had canceled the appt earlier this morning. While I was speaking to her she was whispering to someone else on reference to the call - which I had stated to her that I was a bother about the tone that was used when leaving the message. My question to you isn't unethical for a person to whisper to someone else while the other person on the receiver is talking and also where would I find the do' and don'ts on telephone ethics. Please advised. Thank You!

They should have put you on hold, talked to the other person or looked up the info.

But then complaining about the tone of their call is not really proper etiquette either.

It is standard procedure to get rude treatment at about 80% of the businesses of all types that I deal with.
This episode doesn't surprise me one bit.
It is disgraceful.
The only thing you can do is complain to the person's boss or find another Dr. which is just about imposssible in my recent experience.
And if you complain, your records get lost and you can't get an appointment.
Yes, it is improper but rampant.

It is rude to whisper in front of any person, regardless of the situation. (Unless, of course, if you are playing a game.) The impression given is that you are talking badly about someone and you want them to know it. This is also the same as speaking a different language in front of someone that is part of your immediate group.