Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Pet Peeve: Cellphone Etiquette

Cellphones. If only they had cellphones when I was dating..
I can't imagine not having to sit home waiting for that phone call from that cute guy.

As much as I enjoy the freedom my cellphone gives me, I don't always enjoy what comes with the cellphone. Here are the things that bug me .....

Answering when you can't talk.

It drives me crazy when I call someone and they tell me it's a bad time or they are in the middle of something. WHY DID YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? Back in the day, if you couldn't pick up the phone, you let the answering machine get it and called the person back. Now days, people think if their phone rings, they are obliged to answer it. Not so, folks!

If you are peeing, in the checkout lane at Shop 'n Save, naked, have your hands full of groceries, soaking wet from the shower, trying on swimsuits, getting romantic, are driving, have anything in your mouth, are sitting in the waiting room, working, sleeping, getting your haircut, or any other number of things... we can all wait. You can call us back when you can chat. Really. People in life and death situations should call 9-1-1 first anyway.

Being a bad customer.

I've worked retail and this one really, really bothers me.

It's incredibly rude to be on a cellphone when you are being waited on. Please give your full attention to the Starbucks guy, the waiter, the deli worker, the bank teller or the department store associate. You'd be offended if they were on the phone while helping you. At the very least, tell the person on the phone to wait until you are finished being waited on.

Cellphones and driving

Seriously. Don't do it. Don't call, talk, text or email when you are operating a motorized vehicle, You could kill someone! You could kill yourself! You could run into something and cause your insurance rates to rise! Have someone else in the car do it, pull over or WAIT... nothing is that important that you can't wait until you get there or get to a place you can safely pull over.

Not turning the phone off while in a movie theatre.

Hello? Leave it in the car or turn the ringer off. Do not take it out to text either, the light is distracting to the the people behind you. If you can't spend 2 hours watching a movie without talking or texting, stay home and get Netflix. Or therapy.

Talking in a restaurant.

The only time I wanna hear someone on their phone in a restaurant is when the person they are meeting is calling to tell them they are running late or need directions. I might answer my phone in a restaurant but once I determine it is not an emergency, I'll tell the person I'll call them back when I'm done. (see? I get the protests from people about babysitters) If you absolutely MUST take the call? Go outside.

I don't want to listen to your random chitchat .. it's bad enough to listen to the random chitchat between you and your dinner companion because you can't use your inside voice but hearing the one-sided version is worse.

Not answering your phone and making no attempts to turn it off.

I get that somtimes you don't want to answer it.. then at least acknowledge said call and turn it off so I don't have to listen to Rascal Flatts or Flight of the Bumblebee over and over and over while I'm trying to read nutrition labels. People that do this often ignore their children too. It' s annoying.

Ignoring the real people you are with by cybering others.

Ever been out to dinner with someone that sits across from you, says nothing and spends half the time emailing and/or texting other people? Bad manners. Pay attention to the real, live people you are with and let your cyber shit wait.

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