It seems to me that as more of our lives move on the road and many of us today communicate nearly exclusively on cell phones that we need to establish some basic cell phone etiquette which the world can commonly agree is both sensible and polite. Since there really doesn’t seem to be any established rules regarding cell phone etiquette we think that we are uniquely qualified as the purveyors of Social Couture to weigh in with at the very least our 2 cents worth, and we do understand that 2 cents may be all its worth!
Clearly, the rules of cell phone etiquette should be formed around the same precepts that all etiquette is based on – the consideration of others. So with this basic principle in mind let us begin with the 10 rules of cell phone etiquette:
Rule 1: Making a Call with the Speaker-phone On
Never call and greet a person on speaker – its pompous and annoying; particularly true if you are introducing yourself and you have a hard to understand name in normal conversation. If you need to use the speaker because you are in the car or if you legitimately have someone with you that needs to be on the call, it seems only fair to ask the caller for the permission to place him on speaker.
Rule 2: Never Answer the Phone on Speaker
Never answer calls via your speaker phone; not only because it is difficult to hear, but also if there is someone with you - unbeknownst by the party calling you - there may be the exchange of embarrassing or even offensive information.
Rule 3: Dropped Calls
If a call is dropped, the person that dialed the call should be the one that makes the attempt to reconnect. This is very important, so that the two callers are not calling each other senselessly at the same time.
Rule 4: Voice Mails
Keep them short! …and if possible rather than leaving a long, detailed VM, it is better to be concise and let the party know that you are following up with a text message or even an email - if you have a PDA - with your name and return phone number. This takes the timely burden of listening and replaying the VM to get all your contact information correct.
Rule 5: Never Use Your Bluetooth Outside of Your Car
Many states have succumbed to the cell phone accessory lobby to mandate the use of Bluetooth earpieces while driving. Clearly, they are awful evolutions of technology that are both cumbersome and somewhat painful. Just the same, the law is the law, so we must forge etiquette around these ridiculous contraptions. Luckily, this is a simple one: NEVER USE THEM OUTSIDE OF YOUR CAR unless you want to be mistaken for a schizophrenic or unless you think your grocery list is something everyone around you is dying to know about.
Rule 6: No Cell Phones at Lunch or Dinner
This is so obvious that you wouldn’t have read this far if this is a shocking revelation to you.
Rule 7: No Cell Phone Yelling
To comment on the obvious is almost offensive on our part; however, we think it is important to make sure that we cover all the major points which make up proper cell phone etiquette. So with that perdona mi in place; clearly, cell phones allow people to communicate private conversations in public places. The key is to make sure that the conversations are kept private, and if not for the cell phone user’s sake then in consideration of the people around the cell user. So speak softly, unless again you think your grocery list is something everyone around you is dying to know about.
Rule 8: Finding a Lost Cell Phone or PDA
Cell phones and PDAs are more than expensive pieces of technology they are repositories of huge amounts of personal data. Many of us have used the same SIM cards thru multiple phones or have synced our PDAs with multiple sources. To loose our databases is like losing our memories… birthdays will be forgotten, uniquely interesting acquaintances will turn into memories and important removed family members won’t get Christmas cards. If you find someone’s cell phone or PDA treat it like gold. Remember, it may only be plastic to you – since other people’s contacts are meaningless – but its gold to the cell phone owner.
Rule 9: Never Send Endless Text Messages in a Group Setting
Clearly this applies to our younger readers; however, this by no means diminishes the importance of this etiquette rule. Texting to exchange information, send directions or even to answer questions is completely understandable, acceptable and at times necessary; however, endless thumb dancing in front of others is like saying that their time is not as important as your’s, and moreover, that there is someone you’d rather be sharing your company with. One word: RUDE!
Rule 10: Never Use “Can You Hear Me Now?” More than Twice
The Grand-daddy of them all, if reception is bad, please do not continue to fire off an endless tyrant of “Can you hear me now? …how about now? Hello? Can you hear me?
Are you still there?” Hang up and call the person you are trying to speak to once you have better reception.
With that, I gotta hop... got a cell call I need to answer!
