Hello, clueless? It's me, savvy

What else does it take to be cell-phone savvy? Start with these basic rules and you’ll be well on your way:

• Don’t make or take calls when you’re in a confined space such as a bus, train, restaurant, doctor’s waiting room or anyplace where those around you will be forced to listen.
• Turn your phone off completely during public performances such as concerts, lectures, movies, your child’s piano recital, plays, and yes, even sports events. And if you forget, don’t pretend that’s not your pocket ringing, singing or imitating the mating call of some wild animal. Turn the phone off immediately and under no circumstances answer it.
• Don’t dial and drive. Don’t text and drive. And if you’re going to talk and drive, be honest about whether or not you can really give the road your full attention even while using a hands-free head set.    
• DON’T YELL. Background noise where you are is what causes you to raise your voice on a cell phone. Look around; if people are giving you the hairy eyeball, lower your voice, call back later or take the conversation elsewhere.

And what can you do if someone else is lacking cell phone savvy?

In many public places you can simply walk away or change your seat. In enclosed spaces you might try tapping the yakker on the shoulder and asking them to please lower their voice or perhaps take their conversation elsewhere.

Or you might try handing a cell phone blabber a card from SHHH, the Society for Handheld Hushing. Created a while back by the folks at Coudal Partners in Chicago, these little cards (downloadable free here) are pre-printed with useful phrases such as: “SHHH,” “Inside Voices, Please,” and “The world is a noisy place, you aren’t helping things.” If you’ve got a pen handy, you can even personalize the card that says: “Dear Cell Phone user: We are aware that your ongoing conversation about [fill in the blank] is very important to you, but we thought you’d like to know that it doesn’t interest us in the least. In fact your babbling disregard for others is more than a little annoying.”

Blog 80 Days or Bust Seeing, eating, drinking and blogging around the globe

Jim Coudal at Coudal Partners says while he hasn’t received any accounts of the cards causing any violent reactions, mail arrives all the time with some version of, “Damn, I wish I had these the other day when this rude person in a restaurant/store/ train ...”  He wonders if “Americans are starting to just accept self-centered mobile phone behavior as something to be lived with,” because it seems to him that “people are more inclined to shake their heads and sigh than to actually get upset these days ...”

Maybe.  Now, if you’ll please excuse me, my cell phone is ringing. It just might be that guy across the way trying to strike up a conversation.

MORE FROM WELL-MANNERED TRAVELER

Now boarding: Flight 1225 to North Pole

Now boarding: Flight 1225 to North Pole Offbeat holiday celebrations Airlines want your money, but not your cash Holiday guide to germ-free air travel Phoenix airport hikes security in baggage claim Airlines hope wired skies take off Cheap and offbeat Auckland From L.A. to Auckland, love is in the air Flier forecast: Bumpy, with a chance of bacteria Hotel bargains — with a surprise twist   Add Well-Mannered Traveler headlines to your news reader: