Cell phone etiquette on Thanksgiving
In most situations, cell phone technology is a fine thing.
But at meals? NOT.
At mannersthatsell.com, Lydia Ramsey writes about business etiquette, and she takes a dim view of cell phones at meal time.
“I can’t believe people take their cell phones to a meal and that they would take a call,” she says. “It is terribly rude and discounting to the people you’re with.”
For a true emergency or a job-related necessity, Ramsey insists you tell those you’re eating with that the phone will be on, but that you’ll excuse yourself from the table if it rings.
And when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner?“If you answer the phone during a meal, you’re bringing someone else along and carrying on a conversation with someone not sitting at the table,” she says. “You can’t focus on the people you’re with. If the people you’re talking with (on the phone) are more important or if you have nothing to say to the people you’re with, you just shouldn’t go.”
A few ground rules:
•Create a phone-free zone. Let your guests know the rules in advance — when discussing menu, meal times and food contributions — about your ban so everyone is on board. And don’t let guests set it on vibrate; it will still be a distraction, a compulsion. Remind them their messages will be waiting for them after the meal.
•Check your gizmo at the door. A Martha Stewart-esque basket works well. The simple act of relinquishing the cell phone might even spur conversation about various plans. A better, cheaper plan for the entire family?
•Yank the ear buds. It’s not a phone, but it’s in the same class of distractions. Although you may think you’re quietly humming along to My Chemical Romance’s “Teenagers,” chances are a few choices words and phrases will be audible to guests and family members in the next room and beyond.
| Lauren Chapin, lchapin@kcstar .com.
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