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American Morning
Cell Phone Etiquette
Aired August 14, 2001 - 10:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: It seems more and more people are connecting using cell phones. Some 110 million Americans now use wireless phones. Many of those users are talking while they're driving, raising concerns about safety. "The New England Journal of Medicine" reports that motorists who use wireless phones are four times more likely to crash.
In June, New York became the first state to ban handheld cell phones while driving. Some folks have expressed annoyance and anger over cell phone use in other places, such as restaurants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I'm sick of seeing people on the phone and yapping away.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: When the phones start to ring, you have some people that keep the phone very, you know, very loud when it rings and they start to talk and talk.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Quite frankly, if you can't enjoy your dinner and if you can't enjoy the people you're with for that hour then, A, you're probably with the wrong people at dinner, and B, you know, there's something else wrong with you.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: I just think it's annoying to have somebody have a conversation on a phone right beside you when you're trying to eat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Joining us now to talk about cell phone etiquette is Jacqueline Whitmore. She's the wireless phone etiquette spokesperson for Sprint PCS of south Florida. Jacqueline, good morning.
JACQUELINE WHITMORE, PROTOCOL SCHOOL OF PALM BEACH: Good morning.
KAGAN: Some people would say that you guys created the problem at Sprint, but are you saying it can be convenient as well as you could have good manners around it?
WHITMORE: That's right. I partnered with Sprint PCS this summer to help educate consumers about the wireless phone etiquette. KAGAN: Are, you're going to help educate us today, but first let's talk horror stories. What is the worst thing, safety aside, because that's a discussion for another day, strictly on rudeness, what is the worst story you've heard?
WHITMORE: Well, I attended a funeral recently and there was a woman in front of me who actually took a cell phone call...
KAGAN: At a funeral?
WHITMORE: ... while at the funeral. Absolutely.
KAGAN: It wasn't the deceased, I hope.
WHITMORE: It was very embarrassing and everyone turned around and looked at her and she got the message very quickly.
KAGAN: That sounds a lot like an e-mail we got from New York. This one's from Muhlfelder. He writes that he was recently at a bat mitzvah when somebody's cell phone rang in the middle of the service. "To my amazement, he answered and walked up the aisle of the synagogue talking on the phone."
I would imagine, Jacqueline, that this would be a no-no.
WHITMORE: That's right. If you're expecting a call and you're in a meeting you should sit in the back of the room and when the phone rings, or hopefully it's on vibrate mode or meeting, you step out of the room completely.
KAGAN: But ideally why not just turn the things off altogether?
WHITMORE: Absolutely. I'm with you.
KAGAN: Something as sacred as a funeral or as any kind of religious service, you should be able to kind of hang it up for just a second.
Let's go on to another e-mail. This one is from Ed Kolar, a doctor in North Carolina. He's a physician. "It's rude to say, the least, when a patient fails to turn off a ringing cell phone or beeper during an appointment. It's even worse when they respond to it. I'm sure I'd hear about it if I took similar personal calls during the appointment.
WHITMORE: What we all have to realize is that the person who has the appointment takes priority over the caller and we should use that to live by even when we're in a restaurant.
KAGAN: So you can apply that not just being in a doctor's office, but if you have another kind of appointment, some kind of business meeting. The person you are with physically with you in front of you should have priority over that ringing telephone?
WHITMORE: Absolutely. And if I'm at a doctor's office, I wouldn't want a doctor to take a call while I'm sitting there in front of him or her.
KAGAN: Absolutely. Although, that might be kind of payback to all those doctors that make us wait forever. You've got to conduct your business. But again, that is a conversation for another day.
On to the next e-mail here. This one from Lisa, who talks about people who consistently insist on using their cell phones in public locations or invading other people's space, privacy and sense of well- being. "I think we need to ban cell phones from inside buildings just like we have with smoking." Well, that's kind of severe.
WHITMORE: Yes, and in some restaurants today they're asking you to check your cell phone with your coat. And more restaurants are adopting that policy.
KAGAN: What about just simple volume of your voice when using a cell phone? How many of us have been in the store or a restaurant or just walking down the street and suddenly you hear somebody talking very loudly and insistently? It seems like they're talking to themselves but actually they're talking into their cell phones.
WHITMORE: Yes. What consumers have to realize is that you have to be aware of your surroundings and you can use your wireless phone, just know that other people might be within hearing range. And if you have something to say that's business related, you might want to step outside.
KAGAN: Very good. I think that's a good standard that you point out, just be aware of your surroundings and look around, look at the people around you and see what they're doing and if they could be distracted.
Jacqueline Whitmore, thanks for stopping in. We appreciate it. And we appreciate you trying to make us more polite cell phone users today.
WHITMORE: Thank you.
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