Sign Of The Times
This note was pasted to the counter at Groundworks in Venice, where I buy the coffee filters for my Chemex. Naturally, I buy all my coffee by mail order from Ristretto Roasters, where the beans are roasted by a coffee psycho -- and I mean that in the nicest way. No word on Ristretto's cell phone policy, but I wish more businesses would have signs like Groundworks'.
I also wish more people would suggest to more cafes and restaurants that they adopt "no cell phones" policies. Okay, I understand that, if you live on the Arctic Circle, or if you're in Chicago in January, in an emergency, you might need to talk quietly indoors for a moment or two.
In California? Go the fuck outdoors. And that doesn't mean sit outdoors, next to people in an outdoor cafe who are trying to have conversations with people across from them, and yammer into your phone.
THAT is just perfect! I'm going to print some of these signs and pass them around to the stores I frequent. Maybe SOMEONE, someday, will get the hint!
Flynne at March 25, 2008 6:39 AM
Ok, not sure I get your hatred of cell phones. As long as I can't hear you from across the cafe I don't care. If you are screaming at the person at your table your just as obnoxious as the person screaming into the phone. Why does the cell phone make a difference?
vlad at March 25, 2008 6:56 AM
Loud conversations are rude, too, but your brain is compelled to listen to a one-sided conversation, where one side of the conversation is missing, in a way it doesn't focus on a two-sided conversation.
There are people whose cell phone conversations don't bother me -- those who operate on the principle that there are other people in the world, and they shouldn't have your business jammed into their ears. Also, those who understand that the microphone on a cell phone is a little bit better technologically than that of a paper stadium horn.
Amy Alkon at March 25, 2008 7:02 AM
Actually I've seen that exact same sign at a few pharmacies I patronize. I love it. There are too many places where the entire queue is held up because the person at the front of the line isn't paying attention to the cashier because they haven't finished their cellular conversation yet.
On a completely unrelated note: Amy, if you get the chance, you might enjoy the posts by an angry scientist friend of mine. Renegadescience.tv, frequently irreverent, always informative. John recently blogged about how difficult it is to teach the concept of weightlessness in space, which reminded me of my ONE year in a Protestant private school - and arguing with the teacher that it wasn't "God's Will" (as opposed to gravity) that kept planets in orbit.
Jamie at March 25, 2008 7:09 AM
Amy, you might enjoy Passive Aggressive Notes.
http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/
What do you like about using a Chemex instead of a traditional electric coffee maker or French Press?
I have an electric one w/ auto-brew for the mornings I have to wake up at 5 AM. I enjoy my Bodum French Press for when I have time to relax - usually a Saturday afternoon around 4 before I start getting ready for the night.
I scolded my bf recently for answering his cell phone in a restaurant. It WAS a very important call and he said as much ("but it was important!") and I reminded him that many people have many important things going on. "Important" can be very subjective but the key is to be quiet about it. I told him never to try it again in my presence (I was mortified). "But what should I have done?" GO OUT TO THE VESTIBULE WHERE NO ONE WILL HEAR YOU!!!!
He told me I was uptight. I told him he was rude. And we moved on.
Gretchen at March 25, 2008 7:14 AM
(I'll grant that "no cell phones" type of signs aren't passive aggressive - but notes posted in public are just fun to read in general.)
Gretchen at March 25, 2008 7:17 AM
Thanks for the link Gretchen. My wife is exceedingly Passive Aggressive at times. She'll get a kick out of that. :)
Jamie at March 25, 2008 7:28 AM
Cell Phonies as discussed here and before in Amy's blog are just jerks; narcissitic assholes that make the rest of us suffer through their incessant self-important blathering. I do the best I can to ignore them, but now and again I will confront them on the spot. They are usually frightened beyond words, and I certainly don't do this to someone who could easily kick my ass. But like everyone here, they drive me crazy, so if I die a horrible cell phone related death (or have to have one surgically removed from my ass), at least I will have tried to make the world a more pleasant place for the rest of us.
Sterling at March 25, 2008 7:35 AM
It is a very rare occasion indeed that I will answer my phone at the table or in a store. If I'm in a store and there's nobody near me, I'll usually get out of the way and answer it (if it's a customer or something). If I'm talking with someone and it's a customer call, I'll sometimes excuse myself, step away, and take the call. Most times I hit the STFU button and let it go to voicemail.
There's rarely anything so important that it can't wait five minutes.
brian at March 25, 2008 7:40 AM
Gretchen
Thanks for the link. Going to shareit on another site I post on. hehehehe.
rsj at March 25, 2008 7:43 AM
It's one thing in a restaurant sure anyone who uses a cell phone is bad. I have almost always hit the silent button or occasionally gone outside. However I'm not sure what the gripe about cell phone at the store is (obviously depends on the store). Given all the screaming kids you run into at say Shaws why would my quite "So I got XYZ what else should I get" be an issue.
vlad at March 25, 2008 8:38 AM
Vlad, I'll answer my cell if I'm just wandering through the aisles of a store and someone calls. But as soon as I'm headed for the register, I hang up, so that I can keep tabs on my stuff and how it's being rung up, and so I can actually pay attention to the cashier, and not hold up the line for the people behind me. People who don't do this are R-U-D-E beyond belief, IMNSHO (In My Not So Humble Opinion).
Flynne at March 25, 2008 9:05 AM
"People who don't do this are R-U-D-E beyond belief, IMNSHO (In My Not So Humble Opinion)." Right no argumemnt.
vlad at March 25, 2008 10:11 AM
Flynne,
And speaking for human-kind we collectively appreciate you hanging up. My social life isn't tied to my cell at all, so the only people that have the number is my wife/kids, parents, and work. Very few phone calls. I'm tethered to my e-mail/Skype/IM, and refuse to send/receive text from my phone. "I'm too cyber for my cell." (alternative lyrics for Right Said Fred)
Jamie at March 25, 2008 10:43 AM
Saw a similar sign in the doctors exam room this weekend.
The nurse said it has nothing to do with interfering with the medical equipment. It's just that they get people who actually take calls while being examined by the doctor.
Just how important do you have to be before your time is worth more than the doctor, who bills out at around $500/hour ($125 gets you about 10 minutes of his time.)
smurfy at March 25, 2008 10:48 AM
Try this at home:
http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2008/mobile-call-interrupts-gig-p1.php
Norman at March 25, 2008 10:58 AM
Okay...there is never that MANY dup posts from so many people. M.T. still being worked on, I take it?
Jamie at March 25, 2008 11:57 AM
I have a friend who answers her cell phone/texts while having dinner with me. I hate it.
Funny story: I was at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure a couple weeks ago at a food stand near one of the water rides. This dad was with his small daughter and YELLING into his cell about work-related stuff. 15 minutes went by, and I felt awful for this kid. You're hanging with dad at an amusement park, and all he's doing is yammering on the phone? The dad starts wandering aimlessly in circles, like public cell phone talkers often do...and walks right by TWO signs that say "Splash zone.". It's exactly what it sounds like--the cart comes zooming down the final drop of the water ride, drenching anyone standing in the "splash zone"--you only want to be there IF you want to be wet. Not a single person in the crowd of about 20 people at this food stand warned him. I got my camera ready. A couple people set their cell phones to record. We all waited patiently for the inevitable. It was every bit as wondeful as we imagined.
sofar at March 26, 2008 6:52 AM
I have a friend who answers her cell phone/texts while having dinner with me. I hate it.
Funny story: I was at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure a couple weeks ago at a food stand near one of the water rides. This dad was with his small daughter and YELLING into his cell about work-related stuff. 15 minutes went by, and I felt awful for this kid. You're hanging with dad at an amusement park, and all he's doing is yammering on the phone? The dad starts wandering aimlessly in circles, like public cell phone talkers often do...and walks right by TWO signs that say "Splash zone.". It's exactly what it sounds like--the cart comes zooming down the final drop of the water ride, drenching anyone standing in the "splash zone"--you only want to be there IF you want to be wet. Not a single person in the crowd of about 20 people at this food stand warned him. I got my camera ready. A couple people set their cell phones to record. We all waited patiently for the inevitable. It was every bit as wondeful as we imagined.
sofar at March 26, 2008 6:54 AM
I have a friend who answers her cell phone/texts while having dinner with me. I hate it.
Funny story: I was at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure a couple weeks ago at a food stand near one of the water rides. This dad was with his small daughter and YELLING into his cell about work-related stuff. 15 minutes went by, and I felt awful for this kid. You're hanging with dad at an amusement park, and all he's doing is yammering on the phone? The dad starts wandering aimlessly in circles, like public cell phone talkers often do...and walks right by TWO signs that say "Splash zone.". It's exactly what it sounds like--the cart comes zooming down the final drop of the water ride, drenching anyone standing in the "splash zone"--you only want to be there IF you want to be wet. Not a single person in the crowd of about 20 people at this food stand warned him. I got my camera ready. A couple people set their cell phones to record. We all waited patiently for the inevitable. It was every bit as wonderful as we imagined.
sofar at March 26, 2008 6:55 AM
It's usually fairly obvious when it's an important phone call and when it's just BS. And if it is important, as Amy said, step outside for a moment. Or keep your voice down. It's all fine & good to say "As long as I can't hear you from across the cafe I don't care" but really, when was the last time you saw someone talking on a cell phone and didn't hear them? People practically yell when talking on their cells. I have had people call me when I was on the subway (just as bad as a restaurant) and I either ignore the call, or pick up and quietly say, "I'm on the Metro. Can I call you back later?"
fft5305 at March 26, 2008 7:46 AM
My very "favorite" is the assholes that take calls in the fucking library. Irritating enough that they can't turn the fucking ringer off (vibrate does a keen job of letting me know I need to step out to one of the lobby vestibules), but to have the irritating ring followed by some fucking moron just really rankles.
Following Amy's suit, I am carrying my digi camera with me to catch assholes like that. I will be posting them online, hopefully on a local community/news site. I figure it might actually get back to some of these dumbfucks if posted there. I already make a point of walking up to such dips and rather than saying anything, just standing there staring at them. The few that don't take the hint, get my "gratitude" for interfering with my use of the library. Along the lines of; "Thanks for being such a selfish moron."
I am also keen on talking about things I overhear from their end.
RE; Doctors offices and hospitals...
I was allowed to use my phone inside the delivery room, when the four month old was born. I took the pics and grandma had them in her email, fifteen minutes after he was born. The only real oddity, was that they wouldn't let me take pics of him coming out (on my cell or with the digi cam)
I also had to take the six year old to the ER a couple weeks ago (after he was almost twenty-four hours throwing up everything, even fluids) and they had the sign going into the ER mentioning I needed to turn off the phone. While we were in the room, I needed to make a rather important call to reset a bid I was supposed to do. I asked the nurse if I could use the phone in the room and she said that was certainly fine, but it would also be fine to use my cellphone (I had it out so I could get the number off my list, having set my phone on "airplane" mode). I asked the doctor there about it and he explained that he had actually had parents take phone calls, while he was explaining to them what was going on with their child. Not to mention people taking calls while being examined.
fft5305 -
I actually occasionally take calls on the MAX (Portland's light rail) but I also talk in a normal conversational voice in the phone. I never do so if the train is packed, but that is mostly because if the call is important enough to take, it's work related and a crowded train is not conducive. I just get off at the next stop if I really need to get the call.
What I find far more objectionable on the trains, is the assholes who listen to their music without headphones. This is usually people listening to the songs they have in their phones as ringtones. I'm one of those folks who has zero issues with confronting people about that. If they want to be dicks and not turn it off, I will get on the intercom to the driver at the next stop. They will tell the person to turn it off, if they don't the transit cops will meet the train, pull them off and give them a $250 ticket for refusal to comply.
DuWayne at March 26, 2008 9:49 AM
Unfortunately, the downside of technology is that it is available to the masses, giving a massive amount of idiots access to it. People were slightly more respectful (not full of themselves) before the proliferation of technology. Now, the once private thoughts of the idiocracy are broadcast all-to-effortlessly, on a whim.
Reposting the humorous link from above aboutinterrupting a caller.
kbling at March 26, 2008 12:55 PM
Now this is a jihad I can get behind...
COOP at March 29, 2008 11:08 AM
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