Better title:
An Outline (underlined) for streamlined lines that draws the line between in line and on the line.
or something along those lines…
I draw the line at such responses. If this fraulein hadn’t maligned herself in the post line, what line of attack would we have? Her line of reasoning was less than straight, but we can all do a 180° when we have a straight line of sight.
So whats down the line for this thread?
I’m thinking… triangles.
A mobile phone etiquette test published by Sprint. I consider myself a fairly courteous cell phone user but I was suprised how low I scored(76 or so). I think a fair bit of that was because I said I don’t turn my phone off in a lot of places(sporting events, church, etc.) versus putting it on vibrate. In most other areas I think I did ok but I was suprised at some of the questions. I didn’t know it was possible to be rude in so many different ways with a cell phone.
Enjoy,
Steven
I understand what you’re saying completely, which is why I said I knew about being on-call. I’m one of those people who are on-call… or were, that is, until just recently.
I guess I should have qualified the statement a little more.
Ain’t it grand?
Really, it is, if used wisely and appropriately.
Be sure to put the box back in the corner so’s someone else can use it, panda 
My husband’s job is one that requires him to be on call 24/7. (He manages computers at a major military hospital.) He gets calls at all hours of the day or night that are work-related, but if he’s things there may be problems and he’s somewhere where a phone really needs to be turned to vibrate or off, he’ll see who’s calling, let it go to voicemail, and then go outside and return the call. And if he knows he’s going to be getting a lot of calls because of something going on at work, he simply doesn’t go somewhere where getting calls will be a problem for anyone else. Including me. Because I don’t enjoy going out to dinner with him and then sitting there eating alone while he’s out in the lobby making business calls, either.
I scored 91 on that cell phone courtesy test, so I must be doing something right…
This is the main reason that it’s now illegal to talk on your phone whilst driving in Britain (unless its hands-free).
I think thats a good idea. Too many people have little sense of courtesy when useing their phones and need some guidelines. A few days ago I was getting some takeout at a local Chinese place and a lady standing at the counter also ordering was talking non stop on her cell. Personal chatter. Neither the person at the counter or myself could tell if she wanted to order or not so the counter person turned to me and I began my order. "She interupted her call long enough to say “Hey I was next in line” She had no clue this was inappropriate or rude.
I heard of a lady who walked up to a bank teller while still on the phone. The teller told her to go finsh her call and then get back in line, and proceeded to wait on the next person who was ready. YAY!! I say. It’s out of hand. I only have a cell phone now but I don’t take it to work and leave it on vibrate most of the time I’m out.
Amen! If you have an ON-call job or are waiting for an important message then cool. Thats what the technology is for. I actually had customers the other day that got a call that a kidney was available for transplant and had to rush to the hospital. I understand honest. Other than that put it on vibrate and leave it alone. Your phone takes messages and will tell you who called. Take care of your business and then check to see if somone called. I think callers add to the problem. When you call a home phone you accept that they might not be home and you will have to leave a message. Some callers seem to expect imediate gratification if they call a cell. Hey it’s your cell. You’re supposed to answer.
No! No! NO! If you want to know what they’re having for supper or what their ex boy friend said, or if they’re meeting you later, then freakin WAIT!! until you’ve concluded your business.
I also agree that personal details aired in public is just ridiculous. Take it outside if you can. I had a customer walking around and useing the F word in a personal conversation. PLease have a clue about where you are and who else is around.
I’m probably going to get jumped on, but…
I talk to my friends on my cell phone while I’m grocery shopping, running errands, etc. Why? I get bored. Society gave me this short attention span, damnit!
[ul]
[li]I speak quietly while I am chatting and not about overly- personal things[/li][li]I put all human interaction first (IE I will set the phone down and say “excuse me” or whatever)[/li][li]As soon as I am around a few people (a busy aisle, the line, etc) I get off the phone[/li][li]Usually (not always, but most of the time) I am on the phone with a person I can’t talk to any other time because one or both of our schedules[/li][/ul]
I try to be observant of those around me. I do get off the phone when I’m going to interact with others in one for or another. Oh and I should mention that I’m not always on the phone- just sometimes.
I would like to make a preemptive apology if I ever offend any of you when I come across you at the grocery store 
.
It sounds like you’re polite and considerate most of the time. Cool. I have no problem in accpeting that some people like talking on their cell phone much more than I do. Different people like different things. That makes for a more interesting world. A couple of posters mentioned that they hate talking to people. That sounds like a personal issue to me and not really related to the OP. If you’re awaer of the people and things around you and taking care of business, then by all means, chat away. Have fun.
I found that people who have a lot of people wait in line are fond of fucking with you because they are bored, having a bad day, or don’t like the way your shoes match. I got cut in line three times by a deli clerk serving people behind me, for no other reason than “what would a fourteen year old want with salami?”
The federal government should legalize active cellphone jammers. As long as businesses put up warning signs (and the jammers don’t interfere with 911 radios) theres no reason not too. That way any theatre/restaurant/church/etc that cared enough to provide a distraction-free enviroment for it’s patrons could do soo. If you have to be on call 24/7 then you could choose not to patronize establishments with jamming equipment.
Perhaps she thought you were going to sniff it. On second thoughts, sure she could see you?
Believe it. I went into a bank a few months ago, one where you take a numbered ticket and wait rather than queuing. I walk in, there’s a free teller and no-one waiting anywhere so I walk right up to the teller.
“I’m sorry sir, but you’ll have to take a ticket”
“Why? There’s no-one else here, what does it matter?”
“I’m sorry sir, but you’ll have to take a ticket”
etc
So I stalk back and snatch a ticket out of the stupid machine. And, you guessed it, when I turn around there are now three people waiting before me and a 2 minute transaction takes 20 minutes. Boy am I glad it’s not my bank.
Heh, this made me laugh. We had a death in the family over the holiday weekend, and on Saturday we were out and about while waiting for a phone call from Mr. S’s sister, with whom he’d only been able to play phone tag until he finally gave her his cell number. We were just about to order a late lunch when his phone rang, and since we knew it was her, he had to take the call. I ordered his lunch for him while he was on the phone. (We were the only diners in that section.) Then he lost the signal and had to go outside to call her back. Our lunches came . . . I finished mine . . . I played Snake . . . I subtracted my checkbook. The waitress kept coming back to see if everything was OK, if she should box up his lunch; I’m sure she thought I was a poor put-upon corporate wife. I explained what was going on and that I’d wait until he came back, since I didn’t know if we’d have to buzz out or if he’d be able to finish his food. When he did return about 30 minutes later, the waitress brought him a fresh, hot cup of soup to replace the one that had gone cold. We left her a nice fat 70% tip for all her trips back to our table.
I had a job requiring me to be reachable 24/7 by the security company keeping tabs on our warehouse, so I understand how some people can’t do without their cell phone at inapropriate places during off hours.
I also usually had to answer my phone during business hours if it was a client. Due to the nature of our business, they expected to have access to me when they felt like it. However I drew the line when I was already working with a client. I figured the one in front of me was more important than anyone who might be calling on my phone.
But I had a boss who would stop whatever he was doing to answer his phone, even if he was with a client! He never took the hint that it was rude to whoever he was already with.
And as for people who expect to be able to reach you at any time just because you have a cell phone… our receptionist would call my desk phone, then my cell phone, then page me even if I was already with a client, just to tell me another client had called and left me a message on my voice mail! Arrghh. That was so frustrating and she never learned.
… Lastly, I had a co-worker who used to despise cell phones and those who used them in public… so he got ahold of a broken phone and carried it with him. If he spotted someone talking on their phone in public, he would whip his out and pretend to be having a conversation… and start arguing in a loud voice with the imaginary person on the other end. He would keep this up until the person on the phone decided to hang up, and then he would end his agrument and pretend to hang up too. … He called it ‘street theater’ and thought he was teaching them a lesson by his antics. The rest of us thought he was slightly crazy, but at least he had fun with it.
My dad had a few toys in his truck left by my kids and my brother’s kids. One was a pink plastic toy phone. When dad sees someone yakking on a cell phone in their car, he picks up the pink toy phone and motions toward the other driver to call him.
Yeah, dad’s special, all right.
That’s brilliant!
RE: The idiot postal clerk Taber encountered-- You would have loved my Dad. In his 34 years as a clerk, he tolerated absolutely NO bullshit from the customers. He was polite and fair, yes. But he had no problem putting assholish customers in their place. Dad would have bypassed the Cell Phone Addict and made her wait until he’d helped 2 or 3 other customers… And when she got lippy, he’d have said, “Oh, I’m so sorry ma’am. I didn’t realize you had removed that grotesque tumor from your head.” ::cue applause from other customers::
He was the Postal Service’s counterpart to the Soup Nazi. “No stamps for YOU!”
I miss his entertaining stories of jerkish customers. ::sniff::
Lots of times when my SO and I are out to dinner he has to take at least one work related phone call. If he’s in the country, he’s on call. His phone is on vibrate so no ringing disturbs other diners and his speaking volume is normal. I don’t get why other people get upset about what’s going on at my table. There’s no obnoxious ring, no elevated voice volume and he’s not pacing up and down the floor while talking.
Why the antagonism towards people who use their cellphone during a meal if it doesn’t disturb you? Isn’t it for the person’s dining partner to decide if they feel slighted or not?
I was at a business lunch earlier this week, about 15 people at a nice, Italian restaurant. At one point, I noticed 9 different people talking on their cell phones during lunch. Maybe it’s the nature of the industry (real estate), but it struck me as odd that 9 urgent matters cropped up at the same time. I admit, I know that one call was of extreme importance, with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake. The other 8? I rather doubt it.
I don’t even have a cell phone anymore. I refuse to have one for work, because there is no possible reason anyone would need to reach me after hours. Hell, I don’t even answer my office phone at work. I don’t want to talk to people; they always want me to do something, and I already have quite enough to do.