Red alert! New rules for cells in restaurants!
Thank goodness someone has come up with the rules for the New Revised Cell Phone Usage Etiquette in Restaurants.
And here I've been following the Emily Post Institute advice:
If your cell phone rings and you’re…in a restaurant...excuse yourself from the table and take the call in another room, such as an anteroom, restroom or lobby. Never disturb your own table and other diners by making or taking a call while sitting at the table. (Some ‘cell-phone free’ restaurants now actually require diners to check their phones at the door.)
How old fashioned of me. I do love the thought of a party of four being seated at Charleston and everyone pulling out his or her cell and putting it on the table so people won't have to fumble in their purses and pockets when their phones ring.
Comments
I was at Petite Louis with my husband and brother some months ago when the guy at the table next to ours took a cellphone call. His only nod to courtesy was to turn away from the rest of the party at his table - only to face mine! The restaurant was noisy so he had to shout to be heard over the din. Basically he was screaming in my face. So I said loudly to my dining companions that I thought it was extremely rude for people to use their cellphones at dinner (but I faced the offending party as I did so). He gave me a dirty look and then left the restaurant.
This guy was probably mid-50s, so it's not like he wasn't old enough to have manners. He was just sooooooo important.
Posted by: Kathy | November 8, 2007 11:15 AM
"HELLO? OH HEY DARLENE!
I CAN'T TALK RIGHT NOW. I'M AT A RESTAURANT.
I'LL CALL YOU BACK LATER. BYE BYE NOW."
Posted by: Sam Sessa | November 8, 2007 11:16 AM
Sam, you're picking on the wrong person. I'm probably the last person in this country not to even own a cell ... let alone annoy you at dinner.
Posted by: Darlene | November 8, 2007 1:19 PM
The best solution should come from the establishment. Install a cell phone jamming device in the dining room and inform people of its existence.
Posted by: Jiffy | November 9, 2007 10:32 AM