The Cell Phone; A great example on how morons destroy...
- Thread starter Thespeckledkiwi
- Start date
I'm pretty sure those were not part of my argument for using a phone in a store. In fact, I do find the medical emergency excuse to be amusing. If it's that bad, why call someone who's likely not equipped to do all that much for you and will likely take longer to get to you when you have the means to contact emergency personnel?
So what? Big deal. Personally, I don't care what people do with their phones as long as they're quiet about it and don't behave like an asshole toward me while they're on it.
Unless the phone in question in question is interrupting one of my theater productions (whether I'm on stage or in the audience) or distracts me from a movie I'm watching. I care a great deal then.
That seems fair enough to me actually. When I mentioned being okay with stores not waiting on someone using phone at the registers, I did actually mean to include the deli and bakery staffs and even the person stocking the shelves or the kid collecting the carts from outside.
My job deals with financial assistance for child care and I get some of the same nonsense when I'm at the front desk in my office with clients coming in to turn in paperwork. There are times when I need to inform a client that she or he forgot to sign something or that something is missing. If I interrupt, half the time I'll get a nasty look. If I don't and just wait for the client to wrap it up? It holds up the line if there is one, and it keeps me from getting back to doing the rest of my job. I've also had clients decide that taking or continuing a call while I'm trying to finish enrolling them on the program, which involves a whole spiel of Do's and Don't's. I get it.
This recurring topic always cracks me up in its "storm in a teacup-itude". Of all the petty little things to get so riled up about? Ooh, I heard someone using a cellphone and it had a loud ringtone and they also spoke really loudly! 
*faints from shock*
It doesn't make the blindest bit of difference whether someone is on the phone while paying for groceries or whatever. It's not exactly a transaction requiring 100% of both the customer & cashier's attention. 90% of cashiers are half-asleep doing their job anyway. Not courteous or polite? This is an absolutely ridiculous argument - social expectations of what politeness entails change and evolve. Most of what people say, do, wear, etc, etc today would be considered absolutely scandalous by standards of the past.
Cellphone usage in public is clearly a very widely accepted fact of modern life and to take actual offence at someone on the phone while they're paying for a bill or ordered a couple of burgers is taking yourself a little too seriously. There's no intention on the part of the person on the cell to be rude to you, they're just doing something else with the large part of their brain that isn't required for the mundane transaction.
Remember, you're working there and are paid to concentrate, so you notice all these things; they're not working and so their mind is spread out on a dozen different things. They probably don't even realise they're both on the phone and dealing with you. They concentrate when they're working and will no doubt be faced with plenty of customers in their own job who aren't, in return.
And I love some of the inventive "solutions" to this incredibly minor "problem"... using/ringing the store phone? Using a payphone? What is this, the 1950s? And as for blocking signals, yeah that will really please your customers who actually, you know, enjoy using their phone in your stores and incidentally, pay your salary
I actually don't use my phone all that heavily, but yes, I have at times taken calls while paying for stuff or whatever. Can't say I feel the slightest bit guilty about it. And on the other side of the equation, I've had patients in appointments take cell calls. Can't say I gave a monkey's about that either. Gives me a chance to catch up on paperwork, usually. Fact of life, these days; no harm, no foul.
Obviously, stuff like taking a call in a movie theatre DOES cause harm, and I can't condone that. But even there, I'd say this only applies if they take the call after the reminder is played to turn your phone off. Before then, the film hasn't started and it's fine. The regular theatre equivalent would be to make sure your phone is off by the time the lights go down. Making/taking calls in intermissions? No problem.
No doubt I'll get a stream of posts accusing me of being uncaring and inconsiderate. Have fun venting.
*faints from shock*It doesn't make the blindest bit of difference whether someone is on the phone while paying for groceries or whatever. It's not exactly a transaction requiring 100% of both the customer & cashier's attention. 90% of cashiers are half-asleep doing their job anyway. Not courteous or polite? This is an absolutely ridiculous argument - social expectations of what politeness entails change and evolve. Most of what people say, do, wear, etc, etc today would be considered absolutely scandalous by standards of the past.
Cellphone usage in public is clearly a very widely accepted fact of modern life and to take actual offence at someone on the phone while they're paying for a bill or ordered a couple of burgers is taking yourself a little too seriously. There's no intention on the part of the person on the cell to be rude to you, they're just doing something else with the large part of their brain that isn't required for the mundane transaction.
Remember, you're working there and are paid to concentrate, so you notice all these things; they're not working and so their mind is spread out on a dozen different things. They probably don't even realise they're both on the phone and dealing with you. They concentrate when they're working and will no doubt be faced with plenty of customers in their own job who aren't, in return.
And I love some of the inventive "solutions" to this incredibly minor "problem"... using/ringing the store phone? Using a payphone? What is this, the 1950s? And as for blocking signals, yeah that will really please your customers who actually, you know, enjoy using their phone in your stores and incidentally, pay your salary
I actually don't use my phone all that heavily, but yes, I have at times taken calls while paying for stuff or whatever. Can't say I feel the slightest bit guilty about it. And on the other side of the equation, I've had patients in appointments take cell calls. Can't say I gave a monkey's about that either. Gives me a chance to catch up on paperwork, usually. Fact of life, these days; no harm, no foul.
Obviously, stuff like taking a call in a movie theatre DOES cause harm, and I can't condone that. But even there, I'd say this only applies if they take the call after the reminder is played to turn your phone off. Before then, the film hasn't started and it's fine. The regular theatre equivalent would be to make sure your phone is off by the time the lights go down. Making/taking calls in intermissions? No problem.
No doubt I'll get a stream of posts accusing me of being uncaring and inconsiderate. Have fun venting.
Well said.
And as for blocking signals, yeah that will really please your customers who actually, you know, enjoy using their phone in your stores and incidentally, pay your salary
Two things about that:
- We do care about customers, but that doesn't mean they just have the right to do whatever the hell they want. There are things we would kick them out for, or things we wouldn't let them do (like buy booze or smokes if they're underage).
- If blocking signals really could be done, and we lost customers because of it? For every one we lose, there'd be a hundred more to pick up the slack. So pardon me if I can't remember where I happened to put my 'care' face.
Highly dubious.
How many people occasionally use their phones in stores vs the number who never ever do? I'd lay a large wager that a massive majority of the cellphone-carrying public (which is in turn a vast majority of the overall public) have at some point used their phone in a store to either make or receive a call. It's widespread and socially accepted behaviour.
People clearly both enjoy and find it useful to use their phone in public and in stores. Moreover, they now expect to be able to do so. They'll be annoyed if they can't. Unless all stores banned them simultaneously, it's a business risk few managers would take. Chances are, a vocal minority of cellphone haters will be delighted and a vast majority of cellphone users will be annoyed. Why piss customers off? Your store will certainly be quieter, in more ways than one.
There are a few entertainment/recreation venues where cellphone use is prohibited and usually, it's done with a specific PR purpose in mind (often to become the designated refuge from the cellphone world in that local area. It's not something with very wide appeal or it would already be more widespread to ask people to turn their phones off in stores).
Given that the trend of humanity is one of increasingly intertwined forms of communication, I can't see this changing. People increasingly compartmentalise different activities and increasingly can multitask. Cellphone use while shopping is just part of that overall societal trend.
Well, we can't be obligated to indulge every whim that the customer might "expect".
Remember when businessmen would receive phone calls at restaurants? "There's a call for you, Mr. Smith" Good ole' days.
Sometimes I feel we're too reachable. Not answering is a necessity if you're the type that has to concentrate on work, yet often times that's perceived as an offense since you may be blowing the caller off. I would like to experiment by answering every call, no matter how inconvenient, and play the straightforward approach. See if that has better results.
Sometimes I feel we're too reachable. Not answering is a necessity if you're the type that has to concentrate on work, yet often times that's perceived as an offense since you may be blowing the caller off. I would like to experiment by answering every call, no matter how inconvenient, and play the straightforward approach. See if that has better results.
There is a way to ban employees from using cell phones while at work. It's called a company policy and discipline. And it's not all that hard. All that has to be done is that someone has to ammend the employee handbook to say something like "Personnel on the clock are required to have all cellular telephones turned off (leave in their car, locker, etc). Use of a cellular telephone while on company time/premises is subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Delivery personnel using a cell for company business are exempted from these requirements while they are on the clock but not on the premises."
And follow it up.
This is correct. Many is the time when I've used my cell to call someone because I'm picking something up for them and have forgotten what the hell it is.
Another situation....on the first Wednesday of the month, a local grocery chain offers a senior discount day where they give 10% off of any food purchase to anyone over 55. I usually will take either Dad or Mom shopping on this day. We try to pick up every non-perishable item that either of us needs, sale items, and regular weekly perishables on this day. The bill for all of it regularly runs $350 and we fill two carts.
When we do this, we take two copies of the entire list and start at opposite ends of the store using our cell phones to keep track of where the other person is and what they've picked up. Took the shopping from 3 hours to just over 1.
You come in my store, you'll be ordered around whenever we deem it proper. That's true in ANY store - you abide by the rules of the store owner.
Relax.
He's simply exhibiting the mentality that the store is public property.
Quite simply put, the store is PRIVATE property. They simply allow the public to come in as a part of doing business. The store owners or their representives (local store management) have a right to tell you to do whatever the hell they want. You have the right to refuse, however they also have the right to have you forcibly ejected from the store. Been there, done that and guess what? Whenever I have seen this happen, I make it a point to shop there more often. They care enough about their company and their other customers to not lie down and take it when someone is walking all over them, then I respect the fact that they take pride in their store and their customer's overall shopping experience. Any company that will do this deserves even more of my hard earned cash.
I'm with you. I would not shop in a grocery or department store that did this throughout the entire store. However, if they jam the signal at the deli case, meat counter, cashier, etc. with a localized jamming signal, then I would go out of my way to shop there.
Likewise, if a theater or restaurant started jamming cell phone signals in their facilities, I would make it a point to go out of my way to patronize them.
If I have company or whatever, I'll usually answer the phone to see if it's important, if not I'll say I am with friends and I'll call back later.
I have a medical condition and like to be able to get in touch with people in case of emergency, or just to be able to ask for someone to come and pick me up should I start feeling ill. Also, some people with health problems need to have that line of contact should their doctors/hospitals need to get in touch.
Seems to me people are too eager to say "there's no reason people should use them here" and want to block signals, when you're just confusing the fact there are just some impolite people who piss them off, rather than some people who do need access to their phone at all/most times.
I have a medical condition and like to be able to get in touch with people in case of emergency, or just to be able to ask for someone to come and pick me up should I start feeling ill. Also, some people with health problems need to have that line of contact should their doctors/hospitals need to get in touch.
Seems to me people are too eager to say "there's no reason people should use them here" and want to block signals, when you're just confusing the fact there are just some impolite people who piss them off, rather than some people who do need access to their phone at all/most times.
I have friends who get annoyed with me for not having my phone on 24/7. Because I have the audacity to turn the fucking thing off when I'm doing something important like... I dunno, spending time with my family or working.
And the majority of my friends, bless them, never have anything interesting to tell me, usually because I've read whatever it was on the same website they did. I just didn't feel the need to text all my friends about the new Trek 11 trailer, sorry.
And the majority of my friends, bless them, never have anything interesting to tell me, usually because I've read whatever it was on the same website they did. I just didn't feel the need to text all my friends about the new Trek 11 trailer, sorry.
I generally have my phone on all the time, but I do put it on silent and answer any missed call after I'm finished doing whatever I'm doing. But what bugs me is when people will text you, and try and carry on a full conversation... just fucking ring me, we'll have the same conversation in 2 minutes instead of taking 35 minutes to say the same thing in text form.
Nothing any store that wanted to stay in business would kick someone out for in any way equates to using a cell phone in store, not even being slightly rude by talking on the phone at the checkout. The other things you mention are illegal and equally irrelevant to what is at worst a mild inconvenience for the cashier, which, begging your pardon, is part of your job to deal with when you're in customer service. If you started booting every customer who did something that annoyed a cashier every once in a while you'd soon have no one left shopping there.
If that was the case, then how big of a problem can it really be? You're making it out as if it's some kind of epidemic, yet you assert that there are a hundredfold more people who don't do it. Seems like a rather minor issue if that's an accurate statistic, don't you think?
