Why do people answer the phone if they are in the middle of something important?

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
I don't have that worry, as mine would have been in the truck. I'm lucky to carry the dumb thing when I'm supposed to have it.

 

[mapper]

This is really a double standard here, I can't stand being at a parts counter and the phone rings and me being put on hold so they can talk to a customer on the phone BUT when I call I get frustrated they don't pick up because they are waiting on someone, if you can put me on hold when I'm in front of you why can't I be at the head of the line when I'm not there? UGH, lol.

At our local NAPA store they answer the phone and ask the caller to hold until they are finished with the customer standing at the counter. Because of this it doesn't bother me much when I call there and get asked to hold.

 

[Dftodd]

I remember growing up before cell phones, answering machines, if you weren't home the phone just rang. So if you had to call someone it had to wait till after they got home from work or back from wherever in the evening and if you called after 9:00 pm you better on your death bed or it was a emergency. My dad was pretty rough on people who called after 9pm because he had get up at 3am my Gramps was even worse don't even think about calling. If you showed up at least they were alittle more hospitable but you didn't stay long either.

No calls after 9pm is still my philosophy. During the week, I'm walking the dog at that point and fixing to go to bed. Weekends I'm in the middle of a good movie or book and don't want to be bothered. If it's after 9 somebody better be dying, hurt, or on fire. My only issue is I'm on call for work every 3rd week. That means if the work cell rings, I gotta answer it.

I would absolutely love to go back to just a phone at the house without an answering machine

 

[Dftodd]

I have two phones. A personal cell, and one supplied for work. I probably talk on my personal phone for about 2 hours a month. I'll go a week with out making a phone call on it. Just text messages and quick notes to the wife or kids.

Work phone is the opposite. Might not use it for talking or texts for several days, then put 12 hours talking on it in a few days. Don't text on it often. Usually it's getting pin drops and contact info for a service call or delivery once or twice a week. I do have a couple apps that I use very frequently. One is a check in app for our equipment to clear out the quick simple stuff that doesn't require parts. It's faster and quicker then opening up and clearing out a work order on the computer. The other is a app attached to my company credit card to keep up and manage expenses. That's a life saver being able to use it to keep up with receipts.

 

[k0ua]

`I get along pretty well with my phone. I use it a lot. As a phone and a thousand other things. Heck today I used it as a bingo game and called bingo for the old folks home we go to once per month to call bingo for them and give them "prizes". They enjoy the he77 out of it. Oh sure telemarketers annoy me a bit, but nothing serious. Like I said I get along with it very well, and try to carry it every where I go. I am an old phart too, but I have always gotten along well with technology, and still try to keep up. I keep my amateur radio rigs current, and swap off the "boatanchors" when they start getting some age on them. I stay up with the latest digital techniques etc. What can I say, I like tech.

 

[MossRoad]

I really enjoy using my cell phone. I keep in touch with my kids daily, my wife during the day, the weather, my finances, the maps, the camera for enjoyment photography, the encyclopedia that is the internet, etc... but the thing I like the most is being able to take pictures of something BEFORE I tear it apart, OR, so I can send a picture of a part, or a picture of the labels on the part, etc... to someone for reference or advice. That right there is worth having on me at all times.

As for driving, if I get a call or text while driving, it can wait until I'm stopped for me to check. Our Impala has blue tooth, and I can answer a call or make a call hands-free, but I rarely use that feature. About the only time is when my wife and I are out on the road together, and she calls the kids or her parents and we put it on the car speakers for a group call. I do like that feature. But she makes the calls, not me.

 

[k0ua]

I can't count how many times the simple fact I took lots of pictures as I disassembled something (like a radio for example) that the photos were invaluable to getting it put back together properly.

Another thing the phone/camera is good for is taking a pix of the back side of something that is where you cannot get you head in there to look at it or could not focus your eyes on even if you could. "what is the serial number of this thing" " I dunno, I can't get my head back there to look". "well take a pix or two of the back side and look at them!". It is kind of handy for checking for ticks under you sack too!

 

[dragoneggs]

I really enjoy using my cell phone. I keep in touch with my kids daily, my wife during the day, the weather, my finances, the maps, the camera for enjoyment photography, the encyclopedia that is the internet, etc... but the thing I like the most is being able to take pictures of something BEFORE I tear it apart, OR, so I can send a picture of a part, or a picture of the labels on the part, etc... to someone for reference or advice. That right there is worth having on me at all times.

As for driving, if I get a call or text while driving, it can wait until I'm stopped for me to check. Our Impala has blue tooth, and I can answer a call or make a call hands-free, but I rarely use that feature. About the only time is when my wife and I are out on the road together, and she calls the kids or her parents and we put it on the car speakers for a group call. I do like that feature. But she makes the calls, not me.

Yes, my cell phone is an integral part of my life much as you described and more. I travel way too much on business so it is my lifeline to my email, itineraries, boarding passes, reservations, etc. Can't imagine leaving the house without it. Only recently, have I been getting solicitor calls and as such been letting some calls go to voicemail.

Other things I use it for... ocean tide charts (for crabbing and oysters). TBN. Unit conversions, calculator, online banking, ferry schedules, home security, music storage, and I could go on.

Amazing little bugger! All in one little unit. It is for you to control it... not it control you. Not sure I am winning.

 

[MossRoad]

I can't count how many times the simple fact I took lots of pictures as I disassembled something (like a radio for example) that the photos were invaluable to getting it put back together properly.

Another thing the phone/camera is good for is taking a pix of the back side of something that is where you cannot get you head in there to look at it or could not focus your eyes on even if you could. "what is the serial number of this thing" " I dunno, I can't get my head back there to look". "well take a pix or two of the back side and look at them!". It is kind of handy for checking for ticks under you sack too!

Too much information!!!

 

[MossRoad]

Wife and I went for a hike last Sunday. We took a horse trail, as those generally have few people. Half way through the hike, we stop and climb a fire tower to take in the fall colors... which weren't, as everything was still green. 105 steps up and down. Grrr. Still a nice view, though. Anyway, we get back down and continue the hike. We're both pretty hot from the walk and steps, though, so I take off my jacket and toss it over my shoulder. My wife ties her jacked sleeves around her waist and off we go. About half a mile down the trail she asks if I have her cell phone? Why would I have your cell phone? Uh-oh! It's gone. So I turn around and hoof it, backtracking our steps pretty fast. I recall passing 3 people on horseback and 4 people on foot. I think about calling her phone with my phone, but we have T-Mobile, which means, we have NO service within a mile of any corn field or woods, so that's out. I keep moving, hoping no one picked it up, and at the same time hoping someone picked it up and turned it in. I get about 100 yards from the fire tower, and there it is, lying face up in fresh sand, not horse poop, right in the middle of the trail! WOO HOO!!!!

So I turn around and say I've got it!

My wife's not there. Uh-oh. I took off so fast I left her in the dust. I'd crossed 4 or 5 trails. I hope she's not lost. That's OK, though, because I have our one trail map in my pocket. :laughing:

So as a last resort, I put my fingers in my mouth and whistle real loud and I hear her reply from around the bend and all is well, I think, although ..... maybe I should have washed my fingers first?