Do You Continue You Cell Conversation in Public Places?

Updated on July 23, 2011
A.!. asks from Ecorse, MI
25 answers

When in the middle of a conversation and your getting on an elavator, in line or in a public restroom do you continue your conversation? Do you think it is rude for others to do so.
Just wanted to ask.............TIA!

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M.J.

answers from Dover on

On an elevator or in line, absolutely not. In the bathroom, ONLY if ALL of the following apply: a. I'm in my own house & b. it's my sister/best friend/mom/husband & c. I've been on the phone with them for a while & it doesn't seem like the call will be ending any time soon. Even then I'll let them know that I'm about to pee just in case they hear it & call me on it!

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L.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

No, I don't do this. I'm also a firm believer in keeping private conversations private. It never ceases to amaze me the things that people talk about on a cell phone while standing next to complete strangers. Many times so loudly!

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

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J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

My calls drop in elevators silly. :p Peeing and talking is just rude to the person you are talking to.

Talking on your phone in other public places is no more rude than talking to someone next to you. Well unless you are one of those strange people that think you need to talk louder on a phone for......well I have no idea why they do that.

Oh I actually don't do it unless I am talking to one of my kids.

I never understand why people think there is any difference between talking to your friend standing next to you or your friend on the phone. Is is socially acceptable to listen in to conversations on phones but not when both people are present?

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M..

answers from Detroit on

I HATE when people talk on phones in public restrooms! How disgusting! Elevators, no, I think its rude. If I have to, I will answer it while Im shopping, but I make it breif. I love when someone stands there for 10 minutes blabbing in your way while your trying to look at something they are standing in front of. I wish people were as considerate as me, but hey, the worlds not perfect. lol

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M.M.

answers from Tampa on

I try to NOT have conversations on the phone while in public places... I just think it's rude.

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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

I think it shows a complete lack of class. If the call is THAT important, step to the side and out of the way and quietly continue. I can't stand to hear people blathering on in stores, bathrooms or anywhere else. I figure no one is dying to hear my business, and I certainly don't want to hear theirs.

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M.K.

answers from Kansas City on

I won't do it because one time while I was waiting for my son's karate class to end, the lady next to me called her husband and not only could I hear HER, but ALSO HIM! Every word! And I gotta say, the last thing I needed to hear at that moment was her husband's bowel movement shape, consistency and frequency. GROSS!!!!!

This is also how I found out about my friend's affair! I could hear HIM through HER phone. He said, "I love you!" She said, "Me too!" I said, "You realize I could hear that, right!!!! You're MARRIED!"

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S.K.

answers from Chicago on

I don't talk on my cell much at all, if I am on it in public it is usually short and sweet, down to business. And then I do usually try to find a corner or quiet place somewhere to talk. I never go up to a register on my phone, and I don't wander up and down the aisles chatting, certainly not in an elevator or bathroom! I finding it annoying when others do it, but even more than that I don't want everyone around me listening to my conversation, even the boring mundane ones.

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A.G.

answers from Boston on

I will in a public space as long as its not a rude conversation but I would NEVER walk up to a register or anything like that if I am talking to someone. I think that is so rude.
I work in customer service and if someone walks up to me and they are having a conversation on their phone I won't even look at them. I wait until they are done while I go about my own work.

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S.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Yes, but I step aside to a quiet spot and I keep my voice down. I also don't have social calls in restarants or during my kids' activities. But I will take a call from my husband or someone at work.

I don't use my cell while driving, and since my kids are on the road with everyone else, I hope none of you do either!! THAT infuriates me.

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A.G.

answers from Albuquerque on

No I dont, Thats why I text! And I think its soooo rude. A while back I was at the mall and this lady in the stall next to me was yapping while I was trying to pee.....yuck I would be beyond grossed out if all i heard was bathroom noises in the background while talking to someone.

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N.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

The only time I really have my phone in use in a line, etc, is if I have hubby or teenager on the line and they are telling me what to order..but alot of times I have them text it to me (sometimes the text gets delayed in texty-la-la-land, however and I need the info now...Subway orders, especially! All those toppings!). I am not really one for the long dragging out blah blah blah conversations anyhow.

People who do the blah blah, "yah, uh huh, really, she was wearing that? OMG..." sort of conversations make me want to shove their cell phones down their throats. I have mini cell-phone Serial Murderer moments in my brain, might perhpas be a tad rude to them if they are in my way in front of the item I need to get to at the store, prepare myself for a dippy confrontation if they start one...otherwise I am content with my murderous thought and knowing I am a taking the high road in the end...take a few deep breaths and roll my eyes at them as I walk past.

Funny story tho. My hubby is out and about all day. He installs autoglass. So he uses alot of public restrooms and he IS on hsi phone alot, but even he has a certain respect for phone useage in public. When he needs to ...*ahem* use a stall in the little boys room...and theres a dude in the next one, both of them assuming the position, and the other guys rambling on and on about whatever..my hubby just gets mad! He wants to do his business and get the heck outta there without the verbal garbage he is subjected to by his neighbor. One day, and a particularly awful one sided conversation he had to endure, he took action. He started making AWFUL noises (he was standing outside the guys stall at this point...what could the man do???). Loud. On purpose. Grunts and groans, like he was giving birth or something, as he described it to me. Loud enough that the guy he was talking to had to be able to hear it. Oscar performance stuff! Finally the man in the stall said to his phone caller "Dude, I gotta go"...LMAO. By this time, my hubby said he just busted out laughing. The guy was mad (still sitting on his toilet, remember)..said something like"What the h*ll, man??" My husband just said hang your darn phone up in the bathroom, blah blah and left.

Hubby said he had a smile on his face the rest of the day!!!!

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N.S.

answers from Detroit on

Elevator, no big deal. In line, or public restroom....it'd have to be a very pressing issue. In general, I'd say it's just plain rude. We've all had the exceptions though.

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C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

I try really hard NOT to talk on my cell phone in close proximity to others....I think it's rude..

I truly think it's rude of others to gossip on their cell phone, or anywhere, talking about personal business...I don't want to know about their sex life or STDs.....thanks!! :)

Bottom line? Rude..ESPECIALLY at the grocery store when you are trying to check out!!

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A.M.

answers from Fort Wayne on

If I am shopping I will chat with my sister or friend or what-not. I do not talk in the public restrooms or elevators though...and I also don't sit there at the check-out chatting bc that IS kind of rude.

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C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I am on call for work 24/7, so I often receive work-related calls when I'm out and about. I am not allowed to let these calls go to voicemail, or I'll get in trouble at work. So, yes, I do answer the phone when it rings. However, I am not a cell phone yeller - I keep my voice to a level lower than it would be if I were having a conversation with someone in person.

Generally if the phone rings and I'm about to get on an elevator, I'll just wait until I've finished the call to get on the elevator (because the call will drop in the elevator). If it's feasible to do so, I'll stand to the side somewhere where I won't be in anybody's way in order to complete my call. But the act of talking on a cell phone in and of itself isn't rude. I figure, if you're somewhere where having a live conversation wouldn't be rude, then it is not rude to speak on a cell phone at the same volume and on the same subjects. It doesn't bother me to hear two people standing in front of me in line, discussing work-related topics. So why would it bother me if only one of them is standing there talking about the same thing? I just tune them out. No big deal.

The sad reality of our current economy is that more and more of us, if we want to keep our jobs, are expected to be available to our employers 24/7. In exchange for that, perhaps our hours in the office are flexible, maybe we can telecommute - but it's non-negotiable that we have to answer our work phones, whether that's sitting at a child's ballet lesson, or standing in line at the grocery store, or at a baseball game, or at 3am coming out of a dead sleep. It's a sign of the times, and getting worked up about it is not productive.

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T.F.

answers from Dallas on

No because I hate hearing others blab on the phone. I hate it. I love my IPhone but I do not talk when on public and others can hear me, the conversation can wait.

I dread the day when airlines give the go ahead to use the cell while flying. My hubby drives me nuts with his cell attached to him like an additional body part! I won't get in the car with him because he will text, talk, email while driving and check emails while in flight.

I'm not as attached to m my phone as many people are and I don't talk in public because I hate hearing other conversations that I care nothing about... It's annoying.

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K.P.

answers from New York on

I try really hard not to be on my cell phone in public places b/c I don't like it when people are yacking on their phones while I'm trying on clothing or trying to go to the bathroom!

I was walking in a parking lot the other day and a woman in a convertable was on her blue tooth and literally yelling "WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" No kidding- you have your convertable top down and you're on an ear piece... hang up and call the person at a better time OR put your top up!

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Sure, if I were having a conversation with someone walking with me I would continue. It's no one else's business if I am talking on the phone or to a person next to me.

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E.B.

answers from Beaumont on

Yes, I get off the phone. Not sure I consider it "rude" but I don't care to have other people hear my conversation.

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K.B.

answers from Tulsa on

No because nobody cares to hear about my conversation and it is rude. It is especially gross when I am using a public toilet and someone next to me is chatting away. (I am very gaseous...LOL)

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A.H.

answers from Portland on

Restroom no, that's strange to me. Elevator, probably get off. In line, I try to (this is the only situation I've been caught on the phone in) but if I don't or can't then oh well. I'm not going to cut my mom off if she is watching my daughter or a friend I can hardly get a hold of because she's so busy. I will say hold on a sec okay when I get up to the cashier and pay for everything because I think that's a little rude, but then again I have been a cashier twice and couldn't have cared less if people were on the phone as long as they look at me and smile (which means hi to me lol).

I don't care when others do it as long as they aren't screaming at someone in the phone. I have no idea what situation they could be in. Even if it sounds really casual, maybe they never talk to that person or maybe it's their sitter or boss. So no, I don't care about it. I can understand what A G is saying about customer service b/c come on, that is a person to person transaction, you can't really do it without their interaction, in that case it is rude.

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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

I do not in an enclosed space. In public sometimes I have to but then I speak in code or end the conversation. I simply am selfconscious about talking on a phone around a lot of people like that.

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K.C.

answers from Detroit on

the only time it bothers me is in a public restroom, I think it shows disrespect to the person on the other end of the phone conversation. When they get to the cashier and are on the phone it is slowing the process down, they have to juggle the phone and their wallet, the exception to this would be at a carryout counter when ordering for a person that isn't in attendance and unfamiliar with the menu.

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