Be Mindful of Cellphone Etiquette
“Erick had a lovely dinner at Rod and Cindy’s house last night where he forged new relationships. Today, he decided to make a few phone calls, reaching out to the people he had met. He couldn’t reach one or two people at first which got him a bit disappointed. When Charles answered his phone, Erick was visibly ecstatic. He made it known to Charles how happy and relieved he was that he had answered his phone. After reminiscing about the evening, Erick got into the real reason he was reaching out to Charles. Being a salesman, he wanted to pitch a product he hoped Charles would be interested in. He seemed to be making headway when he had to put Charles on hold so he could pay for his purchases. Unfortunately, I did not get to find out how the rest of the sales pitch transpired.”
I shared this story with my daughter who was waiting for me in the car as I popped into a store to pick up a few things. She was confused as to how I had gathered all this information about Erick and his friend. Erick was ahead of me at the store’s check out. As the queue was long, this gave him an opportunity to conduct some business. I don’t think he stopped to consider if it was appropriate for him to do so in a store line up. His conversation did not leave my fellow shoppers and I with questions of what he did for a living.
Once upon a time, these types of conversations were conducted behind closed doors in the privacy of our homes or offices. Not even those who worked in close proximity to us were privy to what went on around us unless it was absolutely necessary. Now, because our phones are easily accessible and we get to use them anywhere and at any time, conversations are no longer private. The rules of phone etiquette have become hazier and more relaxed. Personal and business conversations can be overheard in line-ups in stores and at airports. Health issues are discussed with strangers listening in without having to eavesdrop.
Our ready access to cellphones has also become the reason that we lose access to opportunities. A constant victim of this is our professional development. A story of this that has stuck with me is one of an individual who had their phone on during a job interview. This person’s phone happened to ring midway through the interview and they looked to the interviewer for permission to answer it, which was granted. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the job because of this incident. It would have been more appropriate for them to have had their phone turned off beforehand or apologized and turned the phone off at the first ring.
Technology has helped to advance society; however, there is a time and a place for us to use our gadgets appropriately. Instead of plugging into music while walking around a store, we can listen to in-store music and be aware of our fellow shoppers. We can also choose to share a meal with our families and friends without immediately attending to notifications that can be addressed at a later time.
