I've had a rough 70 hour work week at the office pulling together a major project. At 6 P.M. Friday my week from hell officially ends and I'm ecstatic at the prospect of having an evening out with my neglected significant other and look forward to enjoying a meal, conversation, and perhaps a glass of red wine (maybe two) at my favorite restaurant.
Shortly after we are seated and begin to thumb through the menu discussing the week, I hear the most obnoxiously loud rendition of the William Tell Overture over my right shoulder. The owner of this offensive ring clearly cannot hear and does not answer or silence his phone. Undeterred, the caller makes a second attempt and we're off; again. Shortly thereafter, a man with a booming voice and salesman laugh enters through the double doors in a business suit, and by the sound of it is finishing up his work day via cell phone. He has no clue, or maybe doesn't care how loud his voice projects across the bustling restaurant as he continues his high decibel level conversation. My plans and hopes for a quiet evening have been squashed.
This scenario has become an all too common and annoying occurrence when dining out. Although cell phones in general can be a useful tool, they can also be viewed as a necessary evil that cannot be avoided in our modern, technologically advanced world. I do not deny the argument that cell phones are of paramount importance in an emergency situation and undoubtedly connect people anywhere at any time. However, just as smoking has been eradicated from restaurants in many cities and states, cell phones should be the next to follow suit, as people's talking addiction and lack of common courtesy have spun out of control. Because cell phones are ubiquitous in nature and have become so engrained in people's identity (and ears), it almost seems as if ownership of such a device gives people a pass to not practice appropriate manners and consideration out and about in public. Namely, choosing to act as a distraction to those wanting a relaxing, engaging, and most importantly quiet cell phone free evening.
From a pragmatic point of view there is not one circumstance or situation when cell phone use at a table should be warranted or acceptable in a seated dining establishment. In the 1980's when cell phones didn't exist my parents went to dinner and left us with a sitter. They left the phone number of the restaurant and instructed our unlucky sitting victim to call in case of an emergency. I don't recall them ever receiving such a call by the sitter. Fast forward to present day and it's not uncommon to hear phone exchanges between parent and babysitter, where the parent cannot let go and insists on checking in every 30 minutes (at the table) to ensure the kids are not sick, fussy, too hot, too cold, or to make sure their irrational fear of the babysitter locking the children in the closet has not come true.
There probably isn't much wrong with taking a brief 15 second call alerting you that your party is running late, but couldn't those calls just as easily be conducted at the front of the restaurant. Is it really too much to excuse yourself from the table if you must take or make a call?
Also, if you are my neighbor at the adjacent table, I'm not interested in the conversation you are having with your sister about what color to paint the living room, the catch-up gossip about your father´s irritating new wife, or the particularly nasty case of the stomach flu you just got over yesterday. All the while your husband is starring across the table with a look of disgust and contempt. Please leave this discussion at home, as it is grossly inappropriate for the people who cannot help but hear it, and an utterly rude and disrespectful way to treat your company sharing the table with you.
Doctor's offices, hospitals, movie theatres, libraries, and many other businesses have placed a conscientious moratorium on cell phone use while in their establishment. More restaurant owners should implement this practice in their businesses, as they would find most patrons would not be upset with a No Cell Phone Use policy in the dining area. I think many of us would appreciate an evening where the most important conversation we are having is the one with the people sitting across from us.