Can you get off the @#%&!!& phone for 5 minutes????

[FireDancer]

I don't even like being on the phone in line but if I am and I am coming up on my turn I either get out of line to finish the conversation or, more likely, tell the person I will call them back in a bit.

I find it rude and condescending to stay on the phone while you are conducting a transaction of any sort face to face with another person.

 

[sunnyday123]

I went to the bank last Friday with a check. I wanted to deposit 1/2 of it, and cash the remainder of it and receive the money. Wrote my slip out correctly, and explained it to the older woman working the drive thru. Who was on her cell phone. Talking the entire time. Finally she said, "Oh, did you want you deposit slip back?" Yes, I do with my money. She deposited it all and told me I could drive around to the ATM.

I put my car in park, turned off the engine, and told her I would wait for my money since she was on her cell phone and not paying attention.

 

[Mickeyistheman]

I will say that I am one of those people who do make phone calls on my way home from work. One main reason is, I can't have my phone on at work so I have to return calls while on my way home.

I also am on the phone constantly at work so when I get home I hate having the phone near my ear. My friends don't get it but I had always been that way. I do have the hands free bluetooth though.

I personally though don't care what people hear if I am in the store, however I try not to have real personal phone calls while shopping. However I rarely go to the mall so it might be in shoprite, but I try to be brief.

MY biggest pet peeve however is at the movies when someone has their phone ringing loudly and they answer it and have a full on conversation. THAT is worse than talking in line.

 

[Sonya]

And I can't count how many times I've seen people walk to their cars, start them and then make a phone call as they're trying to back out of a parking space. Why do you need to be on the phone so often????? Seriously. I'm also always amazed when I see people talking on their phones while driving to work. Who are you talking to at 7 a.m.??

Yeah, they are so important that they can't wait until they get to work? I understand maybe a CEO or the owner of a business, but when I'm driving to work in my little rural town and I see everyone on the phone I've got to ask, who are you calling and what are you talking about? Was last night that interesting that you need to call your BFF and let her/him know?

I teach high school and the next generation will be texting. They can do it from their pockets, inside of purses, and can do at least a few words while my back is turned. They FREAK when their phone is taken away. They will take disobeying a teacher and not turning over their phone to in school suspension. The reason is that their parents will not pick up that phone from their principal and they know they will be without one for a while so they take the suspension. Crazy, huh?

 

[Hillbeans]

Some woman did this on the train last week - had the phone on speaker and went on and on with this conversation. Everyone around her was annoyed and it was just the rudest thing ever. Of course when she was leaving she walked off without her bag and someone had to grab her and tell her to shut off her freakin' phone and pay attention.

My newest pet peeve is people on phones in the supermarket who stand right in the middle of the aisle oblivious to everyone around them.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

One time I was trying on clothes in a dept. store dressing room. There was a woman a few rooms over talking very, very loudly on her cell phone. From what I could figure out, her boyfriend or husband had cheated on her and she was telling him off. It sounded like other people kept coming on the line on his end and she kept yelling at them to put him back on. She useds every expletive you could possibly think of. Other people in the dressing room were laughing but she was oblivious and just kept going on and on. I was in there for at least 15 minutes trying things on and she was still at it when I left. My mom was browsing around the store and I asked her if she wanted to try anything on. She said no. I said, "Mom, you really need to try something on. You won't believe your ears!" So she stood in the doorway of the dressing rooms for a minute and got an earful and was just as floored as I was!

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I don't even like being on the phone in line but if I am and I am coming up on my turn I either get out of line to finish the conversation or, more likely, tell the person I will call them back in a bit.

I find it rude and condescending to stay on the phone while you are conducting a transaction of any sort face to face with another person.

Exactly.

I think it's also rude to talk on the phone with someone and be in car, or eating a meal, or something along these line with someone else. It's not hard to say 'Hey, I'm with so-and-so, can I call you back in 10 minutes?'

 

[kaytieeldr]

My "favorite" are the conversations that are literally "ok, I'm walking out the door, pushing the cart now, heading to the car..." Really you are not that important.

If that's what they're saying on the phone, what deep, meaningful, insightful gems are they sharing with Twitter?

 

[kaytieeldr]

but try to look "unaware" of what's going on.

I don't. If you're holding a one-sided conversation in my presence, I can only deduce that you're talking to me... and join in the converstation

 

[kaytieeldr]

I also am on the phone constantly at work so when I get home I hate having the phone near my ear. My friends don't get it but I had always been that way. I do have the hands free bluetooth though.

Why not take the break from the phone while you're driving, and use a headset at home instead? That way, you can concentrate 100% on driving, and still have your conversations.

 

[Planogirl]

I just don't answer the phone unless it's DS and then I tell him to hold on for a minute. I can call back whoever is calling when I'm out of the way.

Some people are weird about phones. I remember a friend calling me from the shower...

 

[smidgy]

my pet peeve. I am a waitress. If you say you are not ready to order,come back, and I have time to come back and you are on the phone, tell the person the server is here now, you'll call them back.
If your phone rings while I am taking your order, I do not have the time to wait while you finish you conversation.
.Valentines day... a couple walks in... she is on the phone as they walk to the table. she is on the phone while I try to take their drink order. she is on the phone again when I try to take their meal order. but.. whenever she is OFF the phone, she is calling out for me to come over ... right away
, cause now she has the time to talk to me. (I don't think she ever had the time to talk to her poor hubby!)

 

[smidgy]

Of course, this was the same lady who only wanted bleu cheese stuffed olives in her martini, and wanted the crab legs, only if the chef could crack them for her, and later wanted a chocolate martini, but only if we had Godiva chocolate. and wanted me to give her my TOTAL attention when she wanted it, which was the few minutes in between phone conversations.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

my pet peeve. I am a waitress. If you say you are not ready to order,come back, and I have time to come back and you are on the phone, tell the person the server is here now, you'll call them back.
If your phone rings while I am taking your order, I do not have the time to wait while you finish you conversation.
.Valentines day... a couple walks in... she is on the phone as they walk to the table. she is on the phone while I try to take their drink order. she is on the phone again when I try to take their meal order. but.. whenever she is OFF the phone, she is calling out for me to come over ... right away
, cause now she has the time to talk to me. (I don't think she ever had the time to talk to her poor hubby!)

OMG I HATE THAT! And it's not just with being on the phone, it's any distraction really. It's ok for the wait staff to be ignored for 10 minutes but whenever the customer decides he/she is ready to order, it must be at that exact moment.

I know I'm there to serve you but really? Do you expect me to sit there for 15 minutes until you decide to acknowledge my presence?

 

[EMom]

OMG I HATE THAT! And it's not just with being on the phone, it's any distraction really. It's ok for the wait staff to be ignored for 10 minutes but whenever the customer decides he/she is ready to order, it must be at that exact moment.

I know I'm there to serve you but really? Do you expect me to sit there for 15 minutes until you decide to acknowledge my presence?

I don't chat on the phone at restaurants, but I can address this issue from the customer's POV. Last night, DH and I tried a new restaurant and it had a VERY long menu. The waiter took our drink order and when he brought our drinks, he asked if we were ready to order our meal. We told him we weren't and that we needed a few more minutes. I swear, every two minutes, he popped back over to ask for our order again. I barely had time to find my place on the menu before he'd interrupt us to ask for our order one more time. At some point, I wanted to say, "When you look over and no longer see my face buried in this menu, but instead see it placed on the table with me no longer reading it, THEN I will be ready to order."

I didn't say that. I resisted. But really, if a customer is clearly reading the menu (as is their dining companion) then they are NOT ready to order and rushing them won't help matters. I would think that when a diner puts the menu down, it usually signals their readiness to order.

If they're on the phone, I don't know WHAT that signals, except for them being the person I'd hate to be stuck at a table with.

 

[smidgy]

Emom, I understand your frustration. obviously this server couldn't read signals. however, this a a thread about annoying and rude cell phone behavior. (if a customer has not yet decided what they want to order, by all means, take your time.. relax, have another cocktail, sip your coffee, whatever. I have customers who want to sip their cocktail for a half hour before they even want to look at the menu.!this is not a fast food joint!)
I was giving an exampleof what is a common occurrence these days in a restaurant; ie, customers on their phone, ignoring the waitstaff. then, wanting the waitstaff to be there.. pronto, when they are no longer on the phone.
"Are you ready to order" "Yes" phone rings. customer actually answers the phone! in the middle of a conversation with the server! (ever hear of voice mail? is the server a non-entity.. or clerk in a store, whichever the case may be).
after a bit of standing there, you say, "I;ll come back in a bit" are we supposed to stand there while you talk to your friend on the phone about.. who knows? I mean, if you take the call, I'll wait, while you tell the person you'll call them back. but I can't stand there while you have a full conversation with them! so, I go take care of other customers....
now phone lady is off the phone, and calls out my name..NOW she's ready to order.. and wants to .. right now.
(even if I am in the middle of a conversation with other customers, who are asking me questions about the specials, or ordering drinks, etc... because phone lady feels like "she was first".

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I don't chat on the phone at restaurants, but I can address this issue from the customer's POV. Last night, DH and I tried a new restaurant and it had a VERY long menu. The waiter took our drink order and when he brought our drinks, he asked if we were ready to order our meal. We told him we weren't and that we needed a few more minutes. I swear, every two minutes, he popped back over to ask for our order again. I barely had time to find my place on the menu before he'd interrupt us to ask for our order one more time. At some point, I wanted to say, "When you look over and no longer see my face buried in this menu, but instead see it placed on the table with me no longer reading it, THEN I will be ready to order."

I didn't say that. I resisted. But really, if a customer is clearly reading the menu (as is their dining companion) then they are NOT ready to order and rushing them won't help matters. I would think that when a diner puts the menu down, it usually signals their readiness to order.

If they're on the phone, I don't know WHAT that signals, except for them being the person I'd hate to be stuck at a table with.

That wasn't even what I am talking about. It's when someone's in a conversation with someone at the table, not even attempting to decide what they want. Then they decide in 2 seconds after glancing at the menu and get mad at me when I don't immediately address them after they've spent 10 minutes ignoring me, the menu or both.

Sometimes I want to punch the customers. And it's usually these people I want to punch who leave terrible tips which makes me want to punch twice... and I'm not a violet person at all. It's a really good thing for school so I can get out of this business.

 

[eliza61]

LOL, op I totally agree. Last week after we had that blizzard, I saw a mom with 2 small kids trudging through the snow in the middle of a major street (not a highway though) and the entire time she was gabbing on the phone. I kept watching the little ones behind her falling, slipping and sliding and she had absolutely no clue.

I got rid of my cell last September. Don't miss it one bit. Most of the "emergencies" were my kids calling to ask me "whats for dinner", "pick up some bread" stupid stuff like that. Now they bug their dad. LOL.

 

[Angelhalo]

My "favorite" are the conversations that are literally "ok, I'm walking out the door, pushing the cart now, heading to the car..." Really you are not that important.

I have a friend who does this because she has an abusive husband, so for her, because she unwilling to leave him...it IS that important

 

[agnes!]

I went to the bank last Friday with a check. I wanted to deposit 1/2 of it, and cash the remainder of it and receive the money. Wrote my slip out correctly, and explained it to the older woman working the drive thru. Who was on her cell phone. Talking the entire time. Finally she said, "Oh, did you want you deposit slip back?" Yes, I do with my money. She deposited it all and told me I could drive around to the ATM.

I put my car in park, turned off the engine, and told her I would wait for my money since she was on her cell phone and not paying attention.

Good for you .

agnes!