Virgil Winston:Marketing Guru
Why is it that I always seem to find myself standing in line behind, sitting next to, or eating lunch near some yahoo who must spend the entire time yapping at full volume on his or her cell phone? Am I just unlucky, or is this rude behavior suddenly more pervasive? I know we live in a modern world and it’s important to stay in touch, but I think our obsession with cell phones has gone too far. I was at a movie the other day and some guy took a call right in the middle of it. I don’t mean he sheepishly turned his phone off and scooted down in his seat, I mean he answered the phone and spoke to the caller for a full minute…during the movie! He didn’t appear to be a doctor or FBI agent and the call was clearly not an emergency. In fact, it was a rather mundane exchange about what he was doing and where they should have dinner the following night—a fact I can attest to since this jerk was sitting right behind me. Naturally I turned around in my seat and gave him the “be quiet” stink eye, but he continued on. After he hung up, I asked him what was so important that he needed to discuss it whilst zombies chased Woody Harrelson across the screen and he had the nerve to shush me. I can’t really go in to what happened next, on the advice of my attorney, but I can assure you it wasn’t pretty.
My point is, not many things are so important that they cannot wait five minutes, an hour or even a day. As important as you think your job is, you probably aren’t saving lives and your business won’t come to a crashing halt if you let it a call or two go to voicemail. And if you must take or make a call, use a little common courtesy. Mobile phone technology is considerably better than it was a few years ago—you don’t need to yell to be heard, and if you do, then it might be time for a new phone. You also don’t need to take a call while watching a movie, eating dinner or sitting in close quarters with others. I realize you don’t want to miss a second of flesh eating zombies or let your linguini get cold, but if the call is that important, take it outside so you don’t disturb everyone else. They paid just as much to watch the movie as you did. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against talking on your cell phone—I just don’t want or need to hear your entire conversation. I don’t need to be that in tune with the details of your job, listen to you argue with your mate or know what you had for dinner and who’s having a sale on shoes. So, talk if you must, but please, just lower it!
Ranting aside, since everyone and their daughter has one; cell phone accessories are one promotional gift that never goes out of style. With plenty of room for your company logo, a Cell Phone Holder is a practical and stylish gift that will have the recipient talking about you for years to come.
Well, I’m off to catch “Zombieland” again…I had to leave early last time and I really want to see how it ends. Until next time, remember, “Saying it louder doesn’t make it more interesting.”