Please, I'm Begging You
Some Etiquette Pointers
The world is full of people and more of them are next to us in airports. Some of them, alarmingly, are lying on the ground of airports with their shoes off. This is madness. Some complaints that involve personal pique (my specialty!). But others are widespread and require universal condemnation. We must stand together and outlaw the square-toed shoe of public behavior—the rare example of something that is never correct.
But you don't get anywhere by making angry declarations. It’s better to ask politely. With that in mind here are some requests that make the public sphere better for everybody.
1/ Please FaceTime in private. For the love of God, people are not just speaking at full volume, they’re doing it without earphones. So we’re hearing both sides of a dreadful conversation. What’s going on here? Something happens to people on FaceTime, they think they have to project even louder. It’s a pox on all our houses. Take it in private.
2/ Please don’t enter a restaurant talking on your phone. (Or any place for that matter). You immediately set the wrong tone and annoy everybody in the cafe or wherever else. And what about the host or whoever you’re ordering from? It’s not hard. Finish the call outside, then make your grand entrance.