by Holly Rogers

Created on: June 14, 2007

Allowing cell phones to be at full volume should be banned in restaurants, along with people having their cell phone conversations while still inside, but the actual banning of phones from restaurants is not a good idea.

All of us have had some dining experience where we have been enjoying a romantic meal with our partner, or a catch-up lunch with friends, when suddenly the meal is interrupted by the loud ringing of another diners cell phone. And if that was not bad enough, now you are subjected to hear their entire conversation in full, all while trying to enjoy your meal. This is certainly an occurrence we can all agree ruins a dining experience, but a total ban on cell phones would not be a good idea either.

Imagine that you are at dinner, your cell phone is turned off because of the ban, but your family have been trying to reach you the entire time. Something terrible has happened and you are required to be somewhere urgently, but they cannot get through. This is definitely an experience no one wants to have, but having your cell phone off means it is quite possible that you will miss a very urgent call.

So instead of banning a cell phone, restrictions should be put in place instead, much like at the cinemas. It should be asked that diners silence their phones, or put them to vibrate so as not to interrupt other patrons trying to enjoy their meals. This means that the individual is still able to feel the vibration of their cell phone, or check the display regularly, so as not to miss important calls.

It should also be requested that an individual leaves the restaurant, or at least excuses themself to the toilet if they know the call will be more than a few seconds long. This is courtesy again to other diners so that their meal is not interrupted by having to listen to another person's phone call. As much as some people may enjoy a bit of eavesdropping, most would rather hear their own conversations than struggle over the noise of a person shouting into their phone (as many men seem to do).

Learn more about this author, Holly Rogers.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.