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Cell Phone Ettiquette

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yu888
Board Deity

Joined: Jan 25, 2003
Posts: 17973
Location: ZhongShanParkArea SH

Posted: Sep 03, 2003 - 07:45 AM
Post subject: Cell Phone Ettiquette

Ettiquette? HA! I thought it was getting bad in the States, but here...we all know how well mannered the masses here can be. I am sure we all have some wonderful Cell Phones Faux Pas stories to share?

Anyway, I read an article written by a New Yorker who was disgusted by what we have eveolved into...rude cell phone users. She made a list of Do\'s and Don\'ts that I thought made sense though may not ever get implemented witthout some serious awareness training here in SH. Nonetheless, I thought I\'d share them:

Don\'ts
1. Never take a personal mobile call during a business meeting. This includes interviews and meetings with co-workers or subordinates.
2. Maintain at least a 10-foot zone from anyone while talking.
3. Never talk in elevators, libraries, museums, restaurants, theaters, dentist or doctor waiting rooms, places of worship, auditoriums or other enclosed public spaces, such as hospital emergency rooms or buses. And don\'t have any emotional conversations in public — ever.
4. Don\'t use loud and annoying ring tones that destroy concentration and eardrums. Grow up!
5. Never \"multi-task\" by making calls while shopping, banking, waiting in line or conducting other personal business.

Do\'s
1. Keep all cellular congress brief and to the point.
2.Use an earpiece in high-traffic or noisy locations. That lets you hear the amplification — how loud you sound at the other end — so you can modulate your voice.
3.Tell callers when you\'re on a cell phone and where you are — so they can anticipate distractions or disconnections.
4. Demand \"quiet zones\" and \"phone-free areas\" at work and in public venues, like the quiet cars on the Metroliner.
5. Inform everyone on your stored-number list that you\'ve just adopted the new rules for mobile manners. Ask them to do likewise. Please.

[Edited on 2/9/2003 by yu888]

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qiqirui

Talker

Joined: May 14, 2003
Posts: 123
Location: Temporary in HK, missing Shanghai
Status: Offline

Posted: Sep 03, 2003 - 09:12 AM
Post subject: Cell Phone Ettiquette

I believe the (good) list of do and do not is far too advanced to be applied in Shanghai (and in many, many other places).

Yesterday I was in a cinema, and during the movie at least 20 people received a call on their mobiles, answering loudly... in order to overcome the movie\'s noise. No one of them thought to , at least, move outside. In restaurants such as in hospitals the ringing of cellphones is almost continuous.

I believe it is not only a matter of politeness: it is more something linked to the way of perceiving job as a full-time engagement, fulfilling any moment of our lives even while in the toilet.

This culture of full-immersion in job, of not considering privacy as a value, has been spreaded by companies which are more and more demanding about their employees time, as if they bought your soul instead of renting your professional skills.

Just to make a non Shanghainese example: in Italy, from where I come, cell phones must be kept off in cinemas, museums, schools and other public places; they are also forbidden in most restaurants (otherwise people will look at you as to a wild barbarian and you will also be fined)
Meanwhile, if I forget to switch off my phone in the evening, I will continuously receive calls from my company up to late in the night. :casstet:

In my opinion is more a matter of imposed lifestyle than a pure matter of politeness

Brad

Barker

Joined: Apr 02, 2003
Posts: 134

Status: Offline

Posted: Sep 03, 2003 - 11:54 AM
Post subject: Cell Phone Ettiquette

TXMOM
Raver
Raver

Joined: Mar 20, 2003
Posts: 445
Location: Shanghai

Posted: Sep 03, 2003 - 12:22 PM
Post subject: Cell Phone Ettiquette

I generally agree with Brad, but would throw back in the \"Don\'t\" about the loud and annoying ring tones and the \"DO\" about modulating your voice (which I would actually expand to say \"Don\'t yell into the phone and do modulate your voice at all times, so we don\'t all have to listen to your loud conversation.\")

Benoist_Shanghai
Low Seater

Joined: May 18, 2003
Posts: 3057

Posted: Sep 07, 2003 - 05:19 PM
Post subject: Cell Phone Ettiquette

Quote:

I can\'t stand the neo-Luddite anti-cell phone attitude that\'s so popular in Europe and the US right now. It\'s not rude to talk out loud in public, and talking to a phone is no different from talking to a person. Why is it considered rude to use a cell phone in a restaurant? There are dozens of people around, all having their own conversations; why can\'t I?

Here are a few basic rules that don\'t require justifications beginning with \"In my day...\"
1. Don\'t use a cell phone (and turn off the ringer) during any public performance or presentation. This includes the theatre, cinema, and concerts.
2. It\'s fine to multi-task, but only if you can handle all the tasks efficiently. Feel free to talk on your phone while waiting in line, but when you get to the head of the line, don\'t let the call delay your transaction.
3. In the office: If you\'re leaving your desk, take your phone with you or turn off the ringer.

Agree with your Do\'s but you get the most common explanation on the anti-cell phone attitude in TXMOM\'s comment. Most people who would talk normally to a person face to face tend to yell over the phone not being aware of their tone...

Qiqirui, come on, it is definitely a matter of politeness and courtesy. Nothing at all linked to the way of perceiving job as a full-time engagement, fulfilling any moment of our lives even while in the toilet.

Drizzle

Veejay

Joined: Apr 02, 2003
Posts: 2036

Status: Offline

Posted: Sep 08, 2003 - 02:00 AM
Post subject: Cell Phone Ettiquette

Crimes of Paris - How could I have missed this topic! I HATE mobile phones with a passion - I never had one in the UK and it is only here I do because it was given to me for free. I always forget to switch it on, and the only time I ever need to use it, is when I find out the credit has run out - bl**dy marvellous.

Has anyone here in Shanghai noticed the trend for local people to opt for jingle bells as their mobile ring tone?

Benoist_Shanghai
Low Seater

Joined: May 18, 2003
Posts: 3057

Posted: Sep 08, 2003 - 02:50 AM
Post subject: Cell Phone Ettiquette

Quote:

Cant tell you ; all I know is that it\'s hell far too loud...!!!

b.

yekknil

Seeker

Joined: Aug 15, 2003
Posts: 46

Status: Offline

Posted: Sep 10, 2003 - 04:35 PM
Post subject: Cell Phone Ettiquette

a staff in my office wanted to talk to someone sitting across the room from her. That person was on the phone. so this gal dialed his mobile as a way to 'cut in'... yah right, that guy never hesitated to drop whoever was online with him (except his boss), to pick up a call on his mobile - because his mobile sounds weird and he could even be embarrassed by that! haha!

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