What can you do when your fellow commuters remain clueless about basic cell phone courtesy? Consider the following scenario: Fifteen minutes after boarding the train, the guy across the aisle gets a call on his cell phone. The ring? “Ode to Joy.” He lets it play and play and play again while he leisurely fishes the phone out of his pocket, and then starts jabbering away about his day and how he almost missed the train. He goes into the whole story, laughing uproariously, gesturing at the seatback in front of him as if it’s the person on the other end of the phone, oblivious to the people sitting just inches away.
You would do best to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and assume he’s truly unaware of the disruption he’s causing.
1. Lean across the aisle and get his attention by saying “Excuse me,” loudly and firmly.
2. Wait for him to make eye contact with you.
3. Ask him to please keep his voice down during the remainder of the phone call, since there are other passengers in the car and they, like you, may be trying to read or get some work done.
4. If he persists in his obnoxious behavior, flag down a conductor for assistance.
Of course, you might also consider simply taking matters in your own hands by making him the object of ridicule.
1. Once he’s finished with his call, take out your own phone and call a friend who you know won’t answer.
2. Leave a message on your friend’s voicemail repeating, loudly, the story the guy just told his friend. Preface it with, “You won’t believe what I just heard.”
3. Make sure you’re talking loud enough that “Ode to Joy” can hear you (but not so loud that you would be violating the rules of cell phone etiquette).
