Cool reception for cell phone yakkity-yakker
October 22, 2004
The
ubiquitous cell phone has met its match in The Vineyard restaurant in
Bentonville, Ark.
The owners of the restaurant have set aside a "No Cell Phone" area
after customers complained they had to listen to cell phone conversations of
other patrons.
The most irritating example some patrons cited was the therapist who conducted
marriage counseling over the phone for half an hour during the meal.
Cell phones have changed the way we interact with each other and not for the
good.
When people are talking almost 24/7 on their cell phones, they're not talking to
each other.
Most of us have witnessed a patron coming into a convenience store on the phone
and remaining on the phone throughout the entire transaction with a clerk. There
is no acknowledgment that an actual person is standing behind the counter
Most people have also walked by someone with an earpiece and a cell phone,
seemingly talking to themselves, oblivious to anyone else around them.
No place is free of cell phone use. Cell phone chatter occurs in theaters,
churches and, yes, even the bathroom. We can't imagine what conversation
couldn't wait.
LetsTalk.com has come up with a cell phone
etiquette guide.
1. No citizen should take a call at a theater or in the movies.
2. Please respect the rules and when asked by an establishment or airline to
refrain from using a cell phone, do so.
3. All citizens should be mindful of how close they are to others when using a
cell phone in a public place.
4. All citizens should remember to keep conversations private and not shout into
the phone.
5. All citizens should act responsibly when walking or driving while on a cell
phone.
6. We would add one more to that. All citizens who walk into a convenience store
talking on the cell phone, walk up and down the aisles in deep conversation
about their tennis game, take items to the counter and pay for them without
acknowledging the clerk shall have their phone taken away and dumped in the ICEE
machine.
http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=38&screen=news&news_id=36669
…and some readers’ opinions also posted on the
website:
By: Loner
on 10-22-2004
I just came back from Nashville and I must say that I was surprised and somewhat
alarmed at the number of folks who gab on the phone while driving in heavy
traffic. Driving a vehicle while talking on the phone is illegal in New York
State; an exception is made for hands-off cell phones. Of course, the law is
virtually unenforceable.
The number of 18-wheeler pilots who yak while driving their
behemoths at 70+ MPH on the interstates is astonishingly high. Many smoke
cigarettes, talk on the phone, check out the seat covers and drive their semis
simultaneously. What a species!
After viewing your large compliment of homeless people it
might make sense to hand out fake cell-phones to all of them so that they
won’t appear to be talking to themselves. Just kidding.
By: adamwood
on 10-22-2004
My cell phone, as far as I know, is still in the median of I-65 somewhere
between Armory Drive and Harding Place. 6 calls in under 4 minutes prompted me
to get rid of the thing once and for all. Now, no one can complain that I didn't
have my cell phone on! Eureka!
By: StillWaters
on 10-22-2004
When I was in Calgary last spring I purchased a "cell blocker", a
legal electronic device in Canada but illegal in U.S. I use it in restaurants
and at the movies. I'm never bothered my discourteous people rambling on their
cells. The devices are portable and effective. Mine is a small unit which blocks
cell calls for only a few yards, but works great. Ask me if I care it's illegal.
By: yank283
on 10-22-2004
Hey, at least our homeless people are honest...and some
even play the guitar...
By: Loner
on 10-22-2004
Yank, you are awesome! Are there any openings for a sax playing homeless dude?
That could be me down the road.
By: nemesis
on 10-22-2004
It use to not bother me, when people talked on thier cell phone and drive.
However I have run up on drivers talking so intensely that they were doing 10
mph, on West End and worse. 40 mph on the I-40. I think it is time that
something has to be done. Oh! I do use the cell and drive. I notice that my
driving skills are greatly reduced. So when I can, I pull over somewhere saft or
just call back.
