My gf is very much against cellphone use at the table. I care about how she feels, so I attempt to comply.
One time when I very discreetly looked at a text and quickly responded, she felt it necessary to harshly whisper “must you do that” in a way that drew everyone’s attention. I responded loudly and angrily, “it was an emergency involving your family, and I’ve taken care of it”.
She apologized and, I think, learned from the experience.
That would never happen on my line. I bagged while he talked. And since we are being taped at all times, the manager was able to review the tape and see the guy talking on the store’s phone for six minutes.
I have used my phone at the store, usually to check bus schedules if I 'm asked to work late. I always ask first, and do it away from the register.
IMHO, the problem is that some people have an odd definition of what constitutes an emergency.
In a true emergency, such as a fire, home invasion, or heart attack, one should call 911, not text a relative.
For example, I have in-laws who think that everything is an “emergency”. Such as claiming that the furnace is broken, when in reality they forgot how to set/program the thermostat. :rolleyes: In any case, there’s very little we can do about it from 1,000 miles away.
+1
I’m 100% on your side with your decision. It’s not only about individual employee, but about the customers experience/impression of their visit to the store, which may be their and those they tell directly or indirectly via things like social media last visit to that store/chain.
Edit: Yes, the call may have been truly important, even an emergency, but if that was the case, the employee should have moved the call to a phone out of way and sight of customers. Again, customer perceptions and voice, especially today, travel fast to dozens, hundreds or sometimes millions (viral posts, videos) who don’t know the circumstances.
Unless you’re in a private social situation (e.g. dinner at a home), it’s not only those in your group that may object to your use of the phone, but those outside your group. No one likes to hear a one-sided conversation.
But it’s just a 10 second text! The thing about bad habits is that you become oblivious to them. One 10 second text response may not be considered rude, but one, becomes two, two becomes three and so on.
I rarely see my mother and father as they live in 2 different states that aren’t particularly close to Illinois.
I remember my first dinners with them on my first time seeing them in the smartphone era and their displeasure with my phone use. Now, I wasn’t sending texts. I simply tried to explain how it’s common for smartphone users to use their phones in casual conversation. For example, for my dad who lives in a warm weather climate, I reached for my phone to show him pictures of some of the Chicago snowstorms. I think he eventually understood. And I’m not one of ‘those kids and their damn phones!’
Absolutely in that sort of emergency the first thing to do is call 911. But often the second thing to do is call/text someone else. Like the parents of the kids you are babysitting.
Or the adult child(ren) of the neighbor who had a heart attack. Not to mention the other issues that don’t merit calling 911 but also aren’t your in-laws 1000 miles away forgetting how to set the thermostat. Such as a parent not picking a child up from daycare, or my mother having no heat. That could be because she, too, forgot how to set the thermostat - but she also lives only 5 miles from me. I’m not going to leave her in a cold house all night because someone might think I’m rude to look at my phone.
The last two “emergency” texts I recieved were not 911 situations, but warranted timely intervention. One was the house sitter asking how to reset the gas heater in our sunroom after a short power outage. Our birds appreciated my responding.
The other was the pet sitter asking about some odd behavior involving one of my gf’s horses. She was worried about colic, and was going to call the vet, but it was just an odd behavior he has always done. An “emergency” text saved us a couple of hundred bucks.
I think it’s rude when people talk on the phone in the bus. Do they think people want to hear that? Or are other people not bothered by it? Or do most people have headphones in listening to music or something anyway. I wear earplugs on the bus but I can still hear people talking on phones. Strangely, people talking to another person who’s actually there doesn’t usually bother me.
And since the introduction of the phone-system where you can talk to someone while hearing them on headphones, it seems that I hardly ever ride the bus without hearing at least one person yakking away, and often more than one person, like in stereo. Ugh. I’m fed up with all this yack-ophony. I wish buses could have quiet sections like some trains.
I agree, I hate hearing one side of someone’s phone conversation. We have a pretty nice resident lounge in my apartment building with a coffee machine, pool table, and tv. A perfect place to relax in the morning and people also work remotely from there as there’s good WiFi. However, I don’t want to be sitting there having a coffee and then have to listen to someone on a 30 minute conference call. And they goes double for self important jerks who mute the not too loud TV because they need to throw around some buzzwords
Heh. If I’m bothered by other people talking (and I don’t have earbuds in, a rarity) I just remove my hearing aid and the talking goes away like magic.
Yes, when I used to ride commuter rail, there were designated quiet cars. Not sure how closely that was enforced. (Of course, I remember the smoking cars as well!)
I’m occasionally stricken by the change in convention - before cellphones, a common practice when speaking on a phone with others around would be to speak softly, directly into the receiver, and even cup your hand around the receiver. An acknowledgment that you didn’t want others to hear what you were saying, as well as that others didn’t want to hear it either. That has clearly changed - each of us can decide whether we think that is for the good or not.
It often strikes me as odd when someone will be just walking down the street, carrying on their side of a conversation in a normal (or louder than normal) conversational tone. I wonder why I find that more irritating/distracting than a couple walking along having a conversation?
Slightly different topic - can people explain what is up with people who use their phones on speaker setting? Not while driving - I see people walking along, or just sitting somewhere, using their phone on speaker. And they aren’t eating or doing anything else that requires use of their hands.
When I was growing up, listening to other people’s phone conversations was considered extremely rude. Phone conversations were private.
Nowadays you cannot avoid it. But I’ve learned something: Phone conversations are boring. Do I really need to hear about what Janie’s cat did on the carpet, or your ordering a pizza? In my long career as a store cashier, I’ve heard two interesting cell phone conversations.
And, yes, I agree with the"what constituents an emergency." No sense of priorities these days. Your friend’s problem with picking out a dress is as important as a person breaking into her house.
Explain why this is rude. Other than you being perturbed that you are missing out on part of the conversation. How is it any ruder than two people talking? (I am not talking about yelling. Obviously if they are yelling it’s rude no matter what.) But simple phone use on the bus is rude because… 
When talking to someone else in person, you’re usually at least partially facing that person and their head and body muffles some of the sound. Most people talking on the phone face forward and their voice projects further and is louder, into the back of your head if they’re in the back of you. Ever have someone talking behind you in a movie? Same idea.
Are you sure they’re not on FaceTime or another video chat? I have a couple of friends who always insist on video chat when we talk.
I’ll let Mark Twain explain it:
Insist, huh? I have FaceTime on my phone, but I’ve never used it. In fact, I very rarely use the phone on my phone, preferring to communicate via text.
OK, so it’s like I thought. It’s not that it’s rude, it’s that the listener can’t easily eavesdrop and follow the conversation.
My biggest rules with my phone - it is ALWAYS on vibrate. I don’t like making obnoxious noises with my phone. Also, just because I always carry a phone on me does not make me obligated to be available to you at your whim.
I will always check my phone if it vibrates, whether in a meeting or elsewhere, just in case it is my wife or kids (or any unexpected family) calling with an emergency. I have disabled notifications on pretty much all other apps, so if my phone vibrates, somebody is trying to get ahold of me. If it is a text for a non-emergency, phone goes right back into my pocket, text unanswered if I am otherwise busy.