Christopher V. Flett

I wanted to make a statement for all the business professionals out there that are getting more and more frustrated with poor cell phone manners. It is time for the pikers of the business world to get over their belief that they are important. Unless you are a trauma surgeon, a first-response paramedic, or in some other position that manages life and death…you don’t need to check your Blackberry/PDA/iPhone during a meeting/presentation/lecture or other business event.

I remember being the first guy on university campus with a cell phone. I’d walk around with it in my hand to make sure that people could see that I had it. I was a total douche, but to my own defense, I was 19 and cell phones were the new hot thing. Now I see people checking their email during our meetings and I think one thing…why am I sitting here? I’m not talking about people looking to reference an email pertaining to the meeting, going through a digital agenda/checklist. I’m talking about people that need to check their phone every couple of minutes just to make sure that the outside world can reach them. Notice to these people. No one is impressed by you being a ‘bitch’ to your communication piece.

I remember the story of a media mogul. He didn’t have a cell phone nor a watch. When asked why he didn’t have a cell phone, he said that if someone wanted to get a hold of him, they could call his assistant and she would come and find him. He didn’t wear a watch because he didn’t have to keep a schedule for anyone but himself. This is a man in power of his business life. Now we look at the individuals that waste my time by looking at their phone/pda while in the middle of a meeting .Then they wonder why I try to get out of the meeting as quickly as humanly possible. If you can’t put your phone down for a one hour meeting, you shouldn’t be in meetings. You aren’t a mogul, you aren’t important, and you aren’t impressing anyone. What you are telling people is:

• You think you are more important than you are
• Any email that might come in is more important than our time together
• You are controlled by technology rather than having control of technology
• You shit the bed so often that you need to have your phone on so when one of your fuck-ups comes to light, you can quickly defend your actions

In January, to start a new year off with a bang, as soon as I see someone checking their voicemail,email,text, etc during a meeting, I’m going to excuse myself and find something else to do. Remember that you can’t control how others act, but you can control interaction. Oh and I should add…it isn’t ever appropriate to take a phone call in a restaurant or movie theatre. If I am in a restaurant (by myself) and a call comes in, I leave the table and move into the lobby of the restaurant so as not to disturb others. It’s called courtesy.

So now that you know, you can’t unknown. When you answer a phone, check your email, or text someone during a meeting, the person across from you might not say it, but they are thinking you are a douche.