Top Ten Cell Phone Usage Offenses and Remedies

March 4, 2008

I really don't get too many e-mails from communications companies that I would put in the funny basket so when I opened my e-mail inbox today and received the SpinVox 10-Point guide to Polite Cell Phone Practices, I felt it worth sharing.

Spinvox is a leading voicemail to text/voicemail transcription service allowing your cellphone voicemails to be transcribed and e-mailed or SMSed to you.

The set up for this list is the following fact:

Eighty-two percent of all Americans report being irritated at least occasionally by loud and annoying mobile phone users who conduct their calls in public places, according to a 2006 study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

And here is the list:

The Offense: `Loud Speakers` - People talking at a volume that’s loud enough for everyone around them to hear. Your conversation is really not interesting to others, even if you’re name dropping.

The Remedy: Try finding a more appropriate location to have your conversation.

The Offense: `Taste Blasters` - People that shout their musical preferences through their ringtones.

The Remedy: Consider your environment and adjust the volume of your ringer accordingly.

The Offense: `Chow Chatterers` - People that use their cell phones at the dinner table… eating and talking at the same time!

The Remedy: If you need to take the call, consider leaving the table and finding a more suitable area to have your conversation.

The Offense: `Spinal Tappers` - People with their speaker volumes `turned up to eleven`, or having conversations in public through their speakerphones.

The Remedy: Be courteous to those around you by adjusting your speaker volume and only using your speakerphone at home or in your office.

The Offense: `Text Maniacs` - People that are constantly texting – during conversations, meetings, meals, etc. That’s just rude…

The Remedy: If you absolutely cannot wait to generate or reply to a text, politely excuse yourself from whatever you are doing before texting.

The Offense: `Check-Out Blockers` - People that are talking on the phone at the check-out station when they should be paying and collecting their things. Those people waiting behind you are there for a reason…

The Remedy: When it is your turn, put the cell phone away. If you must continue your conversation, consider letting others skip ahead in line.

The Offense: `Ring Cyclists` - People that let their cell phones ring and ring, rather than answer or silence them. No one wants to hear the repeating bars of your “thong song” ring tone…

The Remedy: Have your cell phone in a convenient place where you can answer it quickly, instead of in a deep pocket or at the bottom of a handbag.

The Offense: `Free Samplers` - People that select their ringtones in public by freely sampling each and every one… loudly…

The Remedy: Be considerate of those around you and sample your ringtones in private – other people simply aren’t interested.

The Offense: `Walk ‘n Scrollers` - People texting or hunting through their contacts while walking. A great way to multitask, but be careful who or what you bump into!

The Remedy: Before texting or searching through your phone, consider stopping and stepping aside instead of walking.

The Offense: `Can Conversationalists` - People that take calls in public bathroom stalls. Restrooms are for taking care of business, not taking calls…

The Remedy: Just don’t do this.