The Orbiter Electronic Listening Device:

At my last job I alway wanted to get one of these. The Orbitor lets you listen to sounds up to 300 feet away! When the bosses would go for a walk from our building to the coffee shop on the other side of the driveway (they would stroll along real slow), I always wanted to know what they were saying. This would have done the trick.

If anyone has used such a thing in this situation, let me know and I'll post your story. And if you haven't and have about $60 to burn, try it out!