Sign up for one of our email newsletters.
Updated 17 hours ago
To the person rudely shouting into her cell phone, who made everybody behind her hear how angry she was at her “incompetent” interior decorator before ordering the extra-large, nonfat, sugar-free blah, blah latte without putting down the phone or looking at the young lady trying to take her order: You need of an etiquette lesson.
As the rest of us stood in line behind her, secretly hoping this barista would spit into her beverage, it became increasingly apparent that social graces are having difficulty keeping up with rapid advancements in technology.
Twenty-five years ago, as we chatted on telephones tethered to the wall, telephone etiquette did not need to be taught. At best, you could get the cord to stretch to the bathroom where you could have a private conversation.
But now, people mill about everywhere with their mobile phones chatting away, ignoring the actual human beings with whom they're interacting with against their will. At the grocery checkout, bank, restaurant and yes, the coffee house, phonelings show a breakdown in our society.
Placing an order without having the decency to stop your conversation? That's rude. Texting without looking up at the person serving you? That's worse.
I implore you, when dealing with another person, pause any non-emergency correspondence on your mobile device and give your fellow human being some courtesy.
And if you don't — be warned — repercussions can come in many forms, something I happily witnessed firsthand.
As the rest of us waited in line as this woman received her extra-large, nonfat, sugar-free, blah, blah beverage, only then did she reach for her purse to fumble around, one-handed for money. Finally, dropping her cash on the counter without stopping her conversation, she turned and moseyed off.
I ordered my regular coffee and took the opportunity to apologize to this young lady for how she was mistreated.
She smiled, gave me a wink and told me it wasn't a problem because “Barbie” comes in all the time and treats the staff like garbage. She then whispered that her supposed “fat-free” beverage contains four times as many calories as she thinks it does.
How 1850s of me to think I needed to Clark Gable in to offer assistance to this damsel in distress. The modern-day woman knows how to handle her business. While this delicate-looking young lady seemed meek and mild, smiling patiently as she was treated rudely, she handled the matter with grace, dignity and stealth-like skill as she fattened up the beverage with whole milk and other fatty substitutes.
Beware of etiquette ninjas, they come in all shapes and sizes.
Dave McElhinny is the North Bureau Chief for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at dmcelhinny@tribweb.com.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
