Friday, February 12

Cell Phones, a Love to Hate Relationship!

Quite some time ago I had to go into Winnipeg for a doctor's appointment. The appointment itself was scheduled for 1 pm so I had left home at 10 am. You see, Winnipeg is an hour and a half drive from my place and then there is always the half hour of city driving to get to the heart of the city where this doctor's office is. So I leave extra early in order to be able to take time for lunch once I get there. I used to go quite frequently and I've always hated it. I hate the city, I'm a country girl through and through! I also hate getting poked, prodded and pilled, no fun in that what-so-ever!

On this particular occasion I had decided to stop at a Tim Horton's (coffee and donut shop for those that don't know about it) and have a bowl of chili, a roll, coffee and a donut for my lunch. There was a long line as per the norm, and in the line was a woman on a cell phone. Now normally that wouldn't bother me and at first it hadn't. I even thought it was pretty decent of her to tell whoever her caller was to hang on a second as it was her turn to order. That's when I started to get annoyed!

You see, she hadn't yet decided what she wanted so she started reading the board above the counter to see what there was available. After about 2 minutes of reading, she got back on her phone and asked the person she had been in conversation with, what she should have. Her convo turned to other topics and just kept going. She should have left the line but she didn't! She just kept talking and talking holding everyone else up with her b.s. Other people in line were starting to make comments about her need to hurry up as they needed to get back to work. The cashier at the till was drumming her fingers and pointing at her watch to get this woman to make a decision. FINALLY she orders, and with that she's back on her cell ignoring the cashier who is trying to tell her how much her order will cost.

This had taken about 20 minutes already and everyone in line was getting pissed. I decided to take matters into my own hands. Literally! There were about 6 people in line ahead of me, but I didn't care. I walked up to the woman, took her cell out of her hands and told the person on the other end that she'd call back as soon as she was done paying for her food so that all the other customers could place their orders and pay up. With that, I hung up the cell and kept it until the woman was completely done and then handed it to her saying "The world does not revolve around you, other people have things to do and places to be. Next time have the common courtesy to get off the phone when you're at a spot where you need to pay attention to others!"

You should have heard the applause throughout the whole place! Even the staff were cheering! The woman in question grabbed her food and coffee and left looking very red and embarrassed, but she did not offer an apology unfortunately. The good part about this whole thing was that the people who had been ahead of me in line let me order first and not only that, but the cashier was told by the manager (who had witnessed the whole thing) that she wasn't to charge me for my order! And even with the half hour delay caused by this woman, I still managed to get to the doctor's office in time for my appointment.

10 comments:

  1. Skye has chutzpah! I like it! Bravo!

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  2. Hahaha you rock! I always want to react in situations like that but I never have the guts to really do something. 10 points for you :)

    Just an hour ago my friend told me about a similar situation. She was in the line at some store and the lady in front of her had to use her 40€ bonus. She obviously miscalculated something because her stuff only costed 39,62 € so she still had 38 cents to spend. Wow that's a lot... the cashier asked her if she'd like to buy a pack of chewing gums to reach the bonus but she decided to take another walk around the store while other people were waiting for her. Unbelievable .... :)

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  3. You totally ROCK, Skye! You did what we all wish we had the guts to do. Inconsiderate people beware... Skye is in the house!

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  4. GOOD FOR YOU!

    Down here, most places have signs indicating that you will not be served if you are on the phone. One example is the post office. I heard a clerk tell someone that she will help him when he completes his call and called for the next person in line.

    It's sad that people have to be told/hand-held/slapped silly to practice common courtesy.

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  5. Wow! A well deserved applause! And meal! And I thought it only happen in the (very American) movies! Well done, Skye!

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  6. Quirky - Thanks Hun :)

    Poppy - Oh that must be so frustrating! It annoys me no end when someone has finished unloading a grocery cart only to realize that they've forgotten something and then go get it. To be fair I've done that as well so I don't say anything, but to go and peruse the store in order to find one more little item to get a bonus. Oh I'd get mad!

    CatLady - Thanks my Dear, thank you very much! (said with my best Elvis impersonation)

    Reffie - I wish businesses had signs like that around here. People are so inconsiderate, it stinks. And yes, you're right, it's very sad when grown adults have to be taught like children how to behave in public!

    Minka - Apparently it happens with us very nervous/scared/stressed out people as well. Thanks Hun, I appreciate that :)

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  7. That was ballsy! I love it! I see crap like that all the time. I have seen people pull up to a drive thru with a list for 10 people. They need to just go inside.

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  8. Otin - Thank you very much, that means a lot! :)

    I have to agree with you, people with long lists of orders definitely need to go inside to place their orders. Thing is, they're too lazy to get up off their butts to walk inside and then carry the food out!

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  9. I genuinely baffle at how people can be so utterly oblivious to the ill will they generate toward themselves when they do exhibit such monumental thoughtlessness. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

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  10. It certainly does Tiara, it certainly does!

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I've decided to use comment moderation simply because that way, I never miss a new comment on my posts. I'm really quite forgetful and tend to not remember how many comments had been in each post the last time I looked, so please bare with me and my memory lapses :)