From our Jayway about Cell phone use in Public

[LovelyLadyLux]

Have you ever felt like strangling one of those 'loud mouthed' cell phone users who seem to sit near you in a restaurant or any other place and forcibly share their private call with you. Here's one solution, provided by a commuter on how to combat this display of bad manners. After a very busy day,a commuter settled down in her seat and closed her eyes as the train departed Montreal for Hudson.

As the train rolled out of the station, the guy sitting next to her pulled out his cell phone and started talking in a loud voice: "Hi sweetheart it's Eric, I'm on the train - yes, I know it's the six thirty and not the four thirty but I had a long meeting - no, honey, not with that floozie from the accounts office, with the boss. No sweetheart, you're the only one in my life - yes, I'm sure, cross my heart" etc., etc.

Fifteen minutes later at St. Anne de Bellevue he was still talking loudly, when the young woman sitting next to him, who was obviously angered by his continuous diatribe, yelled at the top of her voice:

"Hey, Eric, turn that stupid phone off and come back to bed!"

My guess would be that Eric doesn't use his cell phone in public any longer.

[Horus]

Even more annoying are those idiots that walk around supermarkets doing a stupid rotating walk around the isles while talking loudly. They seem oblivious to anyone else and are constantly bumping into people as their attention is elsewhere.

[Winged Isis]

This is an urban myth, though it may be based on fact once in the distant past. It has been going around Austraia for years. Funny, though!

[Grandad]

Another annoying telephone experience to me is the unsolicited call from someone trying to sell you something. I am registered with the TPS which is supposed to stop these calls and to a large extent it does.

However it does not cover calls from abroad and as many marketing companies use call centres in India it is quite likely to get a caller with an Indian accent. I heard a lady on TV this morning saying that when she gets these calls she gives the phone to her three year old and tells him to have a chat with the nice man.

My own response is to say 'did I ask you to call me'? There is usually confused moment for the caller and I push the end call button......

[Horus]

Grandad I have dug out one of those old fashioned 'Dictaphone' tapes and I have a recording on it with annoying musac and a message that thanks them for their sales **** **** call and asks them to hold. Occasionally it interupts the musac to tell them how busy the family is with other things, but that they are in a priority holding list and they will eventually be dealt with by a family member. It then gives them advice on getting a real job and offers some websites to check out before telling them their call is being dropped for lack of interest, I just flick it on and let them talk to each other until I hear a click.

The latest ones now seem to be asking if we have received an insullation grant as their list says we have not and unbelievably I had someone called Derek Watson asking if I knew I could claim back miss-sold PPI. I asked Derek if there was anyone in his office who could speak English as I could not understand his Urdu accent. He passed me on to James his supervisor who did a good impression of that guy out of 'It aint half hot mum' so I just kept saying "Hello please speak English" until he hung up! Bloody pain in the backside these international callers who cant be banned.

[LovelyLadyLux]

There is a similar program here I subscribe to that is supposed to stop all callers. Don't really get international calls and it has really cut down most of the local calls who almost always seem to call right at dinner time.