The Los Angeles Times looks at how restaurants are attempting to navigate the new dynamic at tables where cellphones are not an issue because they're phones, but for all of the other uses we've managed to pack into our pocket computers. In the story, it's as if every restaurant has unwittingly become a cyber cafe.
While most restaurants might not tolerate an extensive phone conversation, very few are regulating our fingers tapping on tiny keyboards. Do you think restaurants should have cellphone policies for diners?
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It is rarely the phone calls that are annoying. I see people deciding to share funny videos with their table at least once a week. This is far more annoying. Yes, your phone plays music, but that does not mean you need to DJ for the room.
In spite of my personal annoyance, I am not empowered to do much as a server. If it is annoying you, say something directly to them. I can afford to get stiffed on a big check by telling them how to behave in a restaurant. It is more rude to put me in that position than it is to talk on your phone.
Wink- Mark's was pretty awesome. I am going to try to avoid being filtered, but if you go to hospitality formula (no space) and add the dot and com you will find all of my site.
I saw a sign in a coffee bar that said something like "We won't rudely interrupt your phone conversation. We'll help you when you're done." I liked that one.
I always remind anyone I'm out with to "set phasers to vibrate" before we go in to an eating establishment or store.
Dave-I caught the tail end of Mark Manning's reading last night on KCUR. Fun stuff!
By the way, where do I find your blogs?
This is probably something that can be handled more easily on a case by case basis. There will always be someone with no indoor voice yacking away, and in that instance they should politely be asked to take it outside. Your rights as a paying customer do not include disrupting the entire dining room just because you have an unrealistic sense of entitlement. In my experience, rude/loud idiots don't need a phone to be disruptive, and fortunately for me running into either version is a very rare occurence. Either I'm somewhere that is naturally loud anyway and nobody could care less about phone usage, or it's a pretty quiet space where the rare outlier would be easy to eradicate.
When I dine alone or travel I like to use my phone to read a book, the news, etc. I think that's getting to be more commonly accepted, and the biggest examples of bad behavior there would be the person who has to be jolted back to reality to acknowledge the staff, or acts like the server is rude for interrupting their electronic daydream....oh, the worst- doing the "talk to the hand" because they are in the middle of discussing the cure for Hep C or something. Clueless people will always find a way to insert themselves into the center of the universe, I really don't think a formal policy is going to make a big difference.
I think it's a little pretentious for restaurants to try to regulate cell phone use. Houston's for example states on their menu, "No cellphones in dining room." I take that as a personal challenge. Most people are courteous enough to silence their outrageous ringtones, and if you get an important call, why should you feel criminal in taking it? Is a casual conversation on the phone any different from conversation with dining partners?
It is not a restaurants place to put restrictions on their diners. We are paying a lot of money to them and they need to quit acting like they are saving the world by allowing us to dine there. Too many places forget who the customer is.
I frequently dine alone and use the waiting time to catch up on news or other events on my phone and I can promise you that the first time some uppity restaurant employee tries to enforce one of those silly rules, they will lose a customer that day and for life.
I generally think anything other than a quick check of the phone is rude to the people you are dining with (and anything other than a very short conversation related to someone meeting you at the restaurant is unacceptable).
However, for those of us who travel for work and eat at nicer places by ourselves on a regular basis, the iPhone or Blackberry becomes your dining companion and connection to the outside world. Solo diners, get a pass on what should be considered acceptable.
if something is spilled on your phone, you should be liable. Dont put something that expensive on the table unless you are willing to take responsibility for it.
I've never been bothered by someone's cel phone conversation in any of the restraunts I regularly haunt. Folks seem to have the decency to step outside.
I have seen young ones letting their food go cold while texting, or whatever the hell else they do on phones.
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