Mobile Phone Etiquette

smokiewater

A check-out girl in M&S refuses to pack your bags if you go through her checkout on a mobile phone!

I think it is rude to go through the checkout while on the moby - juggling handing money to the cashier and expecting them to pack for you - hubby thinks if you are on the phone you are on the phone and would go through the checkout.

What does everyone else think - when is it rude to use the mobile and when is it OK

drew2k9

that is a very rude one!

i also dont like it on buses (i dont think its rude, just not private at all, and i hate when people ring me on the bus, i mute it!)

i have been paying for something when the staff member operating the till answered their mobile! that was very annoying, i don't think they should even answer a work phone if they are serving you!

tara747

I think it's rude to be on the phone when being served in a shop, and if someone rings me in the checkout queue (as they invariably do), I answer and tell them that I will ring them back.

On public transport, I HATE it when someone has a really loud conversation on their phone that everyone can hear, usually involving personal details - theirs and other people's. Ugh.

And if someone with whom I was having a drink/meal answered their phone, I would be very offended. Equally, I would never answer mine - unless it's my mum (she only rings my mobile in an emergency). I usually check the display to see if it's her - if not, I let it go to voicemail and make a mental note to ring the person back.

drew2k9 - :eek: What shop was this?

D.A.

It's no worse than those (normally students) on the train who use Apple's crappy earphones to listen to music extremely loudly on their iPods/iPhones, especially at 7 o'clock in the morning...

smokiewater

She works in Marks & Spencers, on the grocery tills, but I am not saying which branch!!!!

I think it is bad manners to use the phone when going through the checkout, also agree that is is rude to answer phone when out for a meal - though as a small business owner we often find ourselves having to excuse ourselves and go outside to take a call!

Benet

Working on the Fish Counter in a supermarket, I would say that customers using their phones whilst asking me for something is my biggest 'pet hate'. I don't refuse to serve them, but they won't exactly get my normal cheery customer service, either.

tara747

smokiewater wrote: »

She works in Marks & Spencers, on the grocery tills, but I am not saying which branch!!!!

I think it is bad manners to use the phone when going through the checkout, also agree that is is rude to answer phone when out for a meal - though as a small business owner we often find ourselves having to excuse ourselves and go outside to take a call!

My friend has a very demanding small business but she won't compromise on mobile phone calls while she is out - after all, she needs to unwind and spend time with her OH/family. She records a voicemail message which says: 'Sorry, I'm unavailable at the moment, but if you leave a message I will call you back after [time]'. It works a treat.

Snoozle

I was once on a bus where a girl had a long drawn out loud phonecall with a male 'friend' about how from now on, he could no longer turn up on her doorstep out of the blue and expect to sleep with her. She actually used the sentence 'no, we are no longer f*** buddies'. It was hillarious. I was convinced there was a hidden camera somewhere recording the other passengers reactions, because I just couldn't believe that someone would actually have a conversation like that in public! But apparently people do......

SnowyOwl_2

As a former check out assistant in a branch of Sainsbury's I can confirm that being ignored by a customer because that customer is yapping on their phone is exceptionally bad manners. I used to ask them lots of questions - would you like help to pack? is it still raining? gosh it's busy today isn't it? - that annoyed them back. People seem to assume that supermarket workers are mostly unintelligent underachievers and therefore inferior to the general public - that may or may not be true of some supermarket workers, but that is no excuse for being so rude.

liz-paul

Surely it depends on whether or not it is the check out persons job to pack as well as scan shopping? If its part of your job then you should do it whether someone is on the phone or not and if its not part of your job then you shouldn't be expected to do it just because the customer is busy..... Having said that I don't know how many times I've been talking to/shouting at/pleading with/bribing my children while paying for shopping and as far as I'm concerned i'm as distracted doing that as talking on the phone. Maybe it depends on what shopping your doing; if I was in the supermarket doing a weekly then I wouldn't even check my phone til I was done. But if I did answer my phone in a shop I would excuse myself to the assistant and make sure I was still polite. Mobile phones are exactly that: mobile.... And some people have to answer for work or family reasons....

tara747

Like I've said, the only caller ID I ever answer no matter what is 'MUM', because she only ever rings my mobile in an emergency (thankfully few and far between), otherwise she rings my landline and leaves a message if I'm not in.

Anything else - OH, work, friends, etc - can wait if I'm in company or being served in a shop/bar/restaurant. I just call them back.