Is it okay to not answer my cell phone?


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saulgoode is offline saulgoode Post #1  August 20,2009, 6:00pm
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All right, I've got one of those goofy cell phones. It's not a fancy-pants web-browser, or an oversized calculator, and it doesn't tell me where on Earth I am, via satellite.

It rings. I talk. I text a little. I hang up.

It's a phone and txt messaging device. Nothing more.

It has a camera, I guess, but not a good one, so let's skip that part.

See, thing is I don't like answering the goofy thing all the time. I'll leave it in the car when I go to the gym. I left it in the car today when I went to my son's meet-the-teacher night.

I usually don't take it when I golf, or if I do, I don't answer it.

I do answer it, sometimes, and I return calls, but I just don't feel obligated to pick up every single time someone rings me.

So I ask you this: Does having a cell phone obligate you to answer it every single ever-loving time it beeps?

I mean, I saw a lady tonight, talking with the teacher, her son's mentor, and mid-sentence her phone started buzzing with Linkin Park's new Transformer's theme song.

"Hold on," she said. She turned her back on the teacher, plugged in her ear-bug, couldn't get the cotton-picking earpiece to work, tapped out a few numbers on her giant calculator-phone, then put the entire phone up to the ear that didn't have the bluetooth in it, said, "Hello, hello, can you hear me?" and walked away, left the teacher standing there talking to herself.

Seriously?

That's why I left my phone in the car.

"Why do you even have a cell phone?" people ask me. "You never answer it."

"Hell if I know." That's my usual answer. "I don't need the goofy thing."

- Saul
 
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LizziePooh is offline LizziePooh Post #2  August 20,2009, 6:05pm

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I missed you, Saul!
 
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VB_Girl is offline VB_Girl Post #3  August 20,2009, 6:06pm
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The answer is no. You have a phone for your convenience, not for the convenience of everyone else. I think it's rude to interrupt a conversation to start another.
 
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saulgoode is offline saulgoode Post #4  August 20,2009, 6:07pm
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LizziePooh wrote :
I missed you, Saul!
xoxo. Absence = fondness, presence = fondless.

Or something like that. Missed you, too.

- Saul
 
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meri75 is offline meri75 Post #5  August 20,2009, 6:08pm
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Hey Saul .... LOL!

I work for the cell-phone (mobile we call it) industry, so technically, I should be advising you a resounding NO! We want you to have to call back and then we make revenue. Hehehehehehehe

Personally, I prefer to answer the phone whenever I can and that way I don't have to pay for the call back. Except customers - I usually insist I call them, because they are almost always dealing with me due to a long and involved fault which I am fixing/have fixed.

My personal hate is when I'm in the ladies and I hear someone's phone ring. I will NEVER understand the point of answering the phone with .. 'You'll never guess where I am right now?!'
Last edited by meri75; August 20,2009 at 6:09pm. Reason: Cannot spell today ... two typos .. TWO?!
 
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bigfincat is offline bigfincat Post #6  August 20,2009, 6:10pm
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No you should answer the phone when you are up for doing so. Letting it go to voicemail is a fine option.

The lady that you describe deserves a wedgie for that rudeness. I wonder if she wears a thong.

I have a simple cell phone as well & that is all that I need. My company pays for it so I have never seen a bill & never updated it.

My friend said that she was going to buy me a phone because she felt bad about how long it must take me to return text messages with her. In that case, I would accept an Iphone.
 
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singinggirl is offline singinggirl Post #7  August 20,2009, 6:30pm
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Nope, I think you should answer at your convenience. In my profession, I am required to have my phone with me during working hours so that my clients can reach me, but if I am with another client, it is always on vibrate or in the car. And it never gets answered in front of a client.

It took me a long time to decide that it was ok to let VM grab the call when I couldn't. Even when I had a landline, I would break my neck trying to get to the phone no matter what else was going on. A few years ago, I decided that it was making me insane and, like VB_girl said, that it was for MY convenience. Life is much simpler now!

I guess I should say the one exception is that my kids know they can get me anytime since I travel for work. Of course, if they are calling during the day, I have to assume it's pretty important since they are at school.
 
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D_Lion is online now D_Lion Post #8  August 20,2009, 6:34pm
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saulgoode wrote :
So I ask you this: Does having a cell phone obligate you to answer it every single ever-loving time it beeps?

Man lived before Phone. Phone did not live before Man.
 
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brneyedangel is offline brneyedangel Post #9  August 20,2009, 6:45pm
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No, you aren't obligated to answer it every time it rings. In fact, I silence my phone quite often when I cannot be interrupted or do not wish to be disturbed. If I'm teaching a class, it's off. If I'm in a meeting, it's off. If I'm taking a nap, it's off. If I don't feel like bothering with anyone at a particular point in time, I turn the thing off. If I'm spending time with family or friends, it's off. If I'm on a date, it's off. And sometimes, if it does ring and I just don't feel like dealing with a particular individual, I'll flip the switch to silent and I get back to them when I'm feeling more talkative. My family and friends know that this is the way it is with me, and they leave me voice mails to get back with them when I can.

I couldn't imagine leaving my cell phone on and interrupting a meeting with a parent to take an "important" call. Not only would my supervisor have words with me (justifiably so), but it's just a rude thing to do. When we have conferences at my school, the academic teachers meet parents at tables in the Commons and it's first come, first served. If a parent takes a call in the middle of a conference (and many of them do), I get up from the table I'm at, taking my laptop with me, and I move to another table so I can meet with another parent. When I am done with that parent, if the person is done with their call I will return to the table. If they get snarky about it (and they usually do), I simply say, "I'm sorry you were offended, but it seemed obvious that your phone call was more important than the conference we were having. I have many parents waiting to see me, so I took advantage of the opportunity and gave you some privacy. Do you wish to continue the conference?" That usually ends the attitude and gets the point across that my time, as well as the time of the other parents, is just as important as theirs.

A cell phone is for your convenience, as VB_Girl pointed out. If it's not convenient for you, you shouldn't ever feel obligated to answer it.
 
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Mokkesofie is offline Mokkesofie Post #10  August 21,2009, 2:21am
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I have a very old mobile, it's 6 or 7 years old. I never have it on if I'm with someone or if I'm at a restaurant. I never bring it to the gym either. I only use it if it's really necessary, mostly for my family to be able to contact me if there's an emergency. I can go weeks without using it.
 
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