Cell phone etiquette??? Who really is qualified to set those high standards?

Question

I just read an article by a "cell-phone ranter" who confessed her guilt over breaking one of the cardinal rules about using her cell phone at the time of checking out a cash register in a store....Okay, I understand one needs to be polite, and when I am on the phone at what SOME may think is a not so good time, there are times that for one reason or another that reason I am on the phone happens to be an important one...Not necessarily a fluffy non-sense reason as a "So what movie are we seeing tonight" conversation...and then I always briefly break the conversation on the phone to be polite through the transactions being made, and acknowledge the cashier as well. My question is, why do people rant, and complain...and those same people also are guilty of "their almighty important reason to be on the phone at a quote unquote improper time"... somehow they can do that and its at that point an "exception"...when the "need" hits, but yet they roll their eyes and make a fuss when someone else does it. Why?????? To a large extent, life is 24/7 now, business is 24/7 and people can only squeeze so much time in to be able to catch up with their family and friends these days...what is so difficult for some people to grasp about that? After all the confession of a "ranter" proves WE ALL get busy on occasion...Right? Any input would be nice to hear about...I am a peaceful person, and have nothing against what a persons opinion is on this...this is simply just a hmmm what do you think about this? topic. Take care and have a great day.

Answer 1

There is no good reason to be on your cell phone at a check-out line. It might not be a big deal to the person on the phone, and it wouldn't be a big deal to the cashier if it only happened a couple times a week or so. But imagine if every other customer is talking on a cell phone, acting like you're just a machine to check out their groceries. I also have to wonder if the decline of customer service is related to things like this: like, if customers are treating the salespeople like this, they have no reason to be nice back to the customers. I hate to think what will happen 20 years in the future. Oh yeah, everyone will be replaced by robots.

Answer 2

i never thought it was rude? i do alot of the time talk during checking out at stores... wow! i really don't mean an any way to be rude to anyone, but when im at home im to busy to talk on the phone, i have a newborn baby and 3 other kids and a hubby. so when im out and about i got my time to myself an my friends to play catch up, when i pull up to my house i usually hang up, cause i can't get through a conversation with the kids an the hubby. well anyways im sorry to everyone out there! but thats why i do it.   :)

Answer 3

Life can be busy, for instance I usually just walk with my arms out so I can push people aside while I walk down the street. Don't they realize I need to get where I'm going? I live a 24/7 lifestyle. That's why I also cut in front of lines. I'm being facetious. As a cashier when some one is talking on their telephone I make it a point to be exceedingly slow or sometimes start pretending to talk on the phone myself. The half of the conversation I hear is usually just gossip. People were able to shop for decades without cellphones and they didn't lose their business. Wait until they replace us with robots before you talk on the phone while interacting with cashiers, you crass pigs.  

Answer 4

Being a cashier is hard and rude customers (cell phone talkers) just make it worse. It IS rude. If your call is important leave the store and talk in your car.

Thats what I always do.

Answer 5

I am a cross country trucker by trade. I have to have my phone with me 24/7 when I am under a load or if I am sitting around waiting for a load. Think I might be kidding?? Next time that you enjoy anything in your life, think about how it go to you or to the store that you bought it at. I need to be in constant touch with the shipper, the reciever, my dispatcher, and my family.

If I am 1,800 miles away from home, and someone in my family needs me for whatever reason, believe me, I will be available to them. I can't be home in an hour, so it is always important when it is my family.

My customer's may have special directions/instructions for the load that I am covering for them. If they need to contact me, it is an emergency in their eye's as well as mine.

People who talk on a cell phone in an inappropriate time, might actually have a life and death issue that they are dealing with, so everyone needs to relax in life.

If the conversation is silly things like you suggested, and you are in a check out line, you can always ask the person that you are talking to to hold on a moment please. I do that if a family member is calling me and it isn't an emergency, and they understand that I will ask them to wait for a moment. If it is an emergency, I will actually step out of line if I can so as to not be a problem. If I can't sorry to those of you who will one day be behind me in a line, but my life isn't an easy place to be sometimes.

Answer 6

I'm a cashier and i don't find it rude at all. I'm there to serve cutomer, not to chat or make friends. I don't mind at all.

Answer 7

I enjoy being on the cell phone while taking a p**p so the person on the other line can be a part of the nutty goodness coming out of my ****....

Answer 8

No one is qualified to tell you how to live your life, but there are those ettiquette rules that people like to use to put themselves on a higher standard than others.

Don't worry about it most of the time the cashiers probably do not want to talk to you anyways.

Getting worked up about the rules is just the same as getting worked up about those who do not follow them.