You watch as Maestro Claire Fox Hillard commands the soft flutes, harmonizing violins and booming timpani, creating an atmosphere of musical surroundings that almost captivate you.
But somewhere behind you, a muffled version of “Who Let the Dogs Out” interrupts your enjoyment.
It’s a ringing cell phone, and as the Baha Men’s only hit gets louder, other audience members turn and give its owner cold glares as the interrupting patron hurries to silence the device.
If there is anybody who is overwhelmingly annoyed by cell phone interruptions, Hillard said he would be the first.
“It’s almost gotten to be standard with auditoriums that there’s an announcement beforehand to please turn off cell phones,” Hillard said. “It’s gotten to the point that everyone is annoyed by cell phones. There’s always bound to be one person who forgets.
“It makes me upset but everybody around that person is upset and they turn and glare,” he added. “There’s nothing you can do. You can’t stop the performance.”
Jacqueline Whitmore, founder of the Protocol School of Palm Beach Inc. in Palm Beach, Fla., and cell phone etiquette expert for Sprint, said many inquiries about cell phone etiquette prompted her to make July National Cell Phone Courtesy Month.
“I founded Cell Phone Courtesy Month about seven years ago as a result of me getting a lot of questions in my seminars,” Whitmore said. “Cell phones were becoming more of a nuisance than they were a help at the time.
“My job is to help get the word out that a cell phone can be used in a courteous manner if you use its functions,” she added. “When we tend to use our technologies we are creating an invisible barrier around ourselves and we forget our actions are being looked at or listened to. With technology, there are a lot of different issues that come up that we didn’t have before.”
Issues like taking a call during dinner, a meeting or a one-on-one conversation, loud ringtones and loud personal phone conversations are what Whitmore said she finds herself giving etiquette advise on the most.
“Those are just basic topics that come up, but it seems like people can’t seem to master the basics,” she said. “I think the average person doesn’t necessarily think about their cell phone. Because it has become such a part of who we are, we have to start thinking about it more and how our behavior is impacting others around us, especially in a business situation.”
Though some may find unregulated cell phone use to be annoying, it hasn’t become a pressing enough matter for the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, now known as CTIA-The Wireless Association, to get involved.
In fact, Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Joe Farren said CTIA-The Wireless Association has found cell phones to have far more benefits than annoyances.
“I think they’ve made people’s lives safer, more productive and more efficient,” he said. “I’m sure there are examples of folks who haven’t yet realized the different ways you can use it and not be a disturbance to people.
“But there’s a reason there is an off button and you can turn it off at any time,” he laughed.
As an organization, CTIA-The Wireless Association serves as an advocate for cell phone service providers before the executive branch of government, the Federal Communications Commission, Congress, and state regulatory and legislative bodies.
Farren said he doubts there will be any need for cell phone usage regulation as people will generally be able to solve the problem themselves.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I think as the device continues to evolve, people will naturally recognize ways to use it without being intrusive. As more and more people become wireless users and use the device more frequently, the etiquette issue is really addressing itself.”
Hillard agreed, saying the embarrasment of being the one who interrupts everyone else is reason enough to be mindful.
“I think when a situation like that happens to someone one time, it kind of takes care of itself,” Hillard said.
Even if it is addressing itself, Whitmore said there is no reason why cell phone service providers could take more initiative in pushing cell phone courtesy.
“They can probably start with putting something in their product manual, not that anybody reads that, but it’s a start,” Whitmore said. “They can probably add cell phone etiquette tips in their advertising in a humorous way. It’s catchy and it’s fun.”
And since sending text messages has become hugely popular among teens and tweens, Whitmore suggested making cell phone etiquette more mainstream in schools.
“We could also have cell phone courtesy education classes in school,” she said. “The teacher could talk about the do’s and don’ts of using cell phones and make it part of a social etiquette.”
But communication technology companies like SpinVox aren’t waiting for cell phone service providers to give users a more socially convenient method for touching bases.
Among other features, a SpinVox subscription allows cell phone users to have their voice mail converted into a text message so that instead of having to be excused from the setting, users can simply read the message via text or several other methods of the user’s choosing.
Beverly Wilks, vice president of consumer marketing at SpinVox, said SpinVox service not only makes receiving voice messages more convenient, but it helps users to be more cell phone etiquette friendly when they otherwise would not have been.
“The most important thing is being discreet,” Wilks said. “These things are going to continue to be a part of our lives. We just really need to be able to find ways to incorporate them more seamlessly.”
Movie theaters have taken the humorous approach by adding comedic ads to the previews before the actual feature comes on, encouraging moviegoers to turn off their cell phones as to not interrupt others.
Some churches and auditoriums have begun printing warnings about cell phones in their programs. Restaurants have even begun displaying signs warning patrons that they will not be served while on talking on their cell phones, a solution Farren said he fully agrees with.
“It’s their right,” he said. “If they want to have that as a rule, they have every right to not serve you just as any other business establishment.
“But there are 250 million wireless users. There’s always going to be somebody out there who has a concern.”
TOP 10 CELL PHONE USAGE OFFENSES AND REMEDIES
• 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.
• Taste Blasters — People that shout their musical preferences through their ringtones.
The Remedy: Consider your environment and adjust the volume of your ringer accordingly.
• 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.
• Spinal Tappers — People with their speaker volumes turned up to 11 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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” ringtone.
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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
— Source: SpinVox