Phone Etiquette/Generally Rude Motherfuckers

This started out as a Twitter Tweet Twitlog, but I got so angry, the rant kind of exploded. Enjoy.

It’s so fucking condescending to come to the counter (be it at the grocery store, at the mall, hotel, or whatever) ON THE PHONE, and still expect the clerk to do their job. How am I supposed to check you out properly? I’m supposed to confirm method of payment and the charges, let alone get a signature. But if I do that, then I am interrupting your oh so important call. The other option is the passive aggressive option (which I prefer). I wait. Eventually they will realize that I won’t do anything until the treat me like a human being. Eventually.

… and then I hear him say, “yeah. I’m just going to get some coffee and head to the airport. I’ll be in at some point today.”

OH MY GOD. So fucking important to pass that information on. What would have happened if the person on the other line didn’t know that he was going to be in “at some point today”. That’s not even close to being specific. I can understand “I’ll be in by 10”, but this? It’s like if someone asks you what color your car is, and you say “dark”. What the fuck is the point?

Could this guy seriously not wait 5 minutes to make this call? Maybe he started the call half an hour ago, and just failed to end it. If that’s the case, why not continue the call and come to the desk when he was done? Why put me in the awkward position of having to gauge which response he wants from me? Should I shout so he can hear me over the phone call? Should I whisper so he can focus on the call? Should I proceed with my job and wait for him? Should I stop what I am doing and help him? Should I assume I know what he wants and do it without him talking to me? You know that no matter what I decide to do, I will be wrong. Plus, the kind of douche that picks a phone call over dealing with a lowly servant like myself is also the kind of douche that will berate said servant for not reading his mind. Instead he just tosses the key on the counter without saying a word. I would theorize that he was telepathically telling me to check him out, but that would require him directing his attention to me. Ha! Like that would ever happen.

Why do we as society tolerate this kind of behavior? Let’s assume he does this all the time. Let’s also assume that he has lunch with colleagues. When he goes to lunch and talks on the phone while the waiter is trying to take his order, his colleagues should slap the phone out of his hand not only because it is rude, but they should be embarrassed to be seen with someone like him. Instead, we just assume that he must be super duper important. Let’s Google him. Ah. He is. He is an investment banker. No surprise there. God forbid people treat other people like people. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about the homeless or the stupid, neither of which are people.

Ugh. It’s all so irritating. I need a smoke.