Most Annoying Travel Habits

[Kelda]

I tell you what, the constant on the cell phone thing can be annoying I know. But I got into an altrecation with an old guy on the commuter train one night.

It was later than normal - I think the 7.30pm train home ( the journey takes about 40 mins) - as I had been dong something after work.

Now the carriage was not empty, but had a good few people on it. But this guy could have got up and moved easily enough. And this was not a quiet carriage, I had 3 calls to make, one to Callum, to let him know what train I was on and when to pick me up. It took about 2 minutes.

The other 2 were my Mum & my sister - there were quick calls nothing major maybe 5 mins each. If I had had a friend with me I would have been talking in the same tone and volume. There was no bad language or inappropriate words or conversations.

And this old guy, maybe in his late 60's started tutting at me, it was clear he was annoyed.

So I asked if there was a problem. (while I was still on the phone to my Mum!) Very politely. And he went off at me. How he had paid to travel and speaking on the phone was this that and the other.

I explained (not as elequently as I would have liked looking back but I was flustered) that I held a season ticket and had paid full price to travel also and that this was not a quiet carriage (there is no such thing on this commuting train)  that perhaps if he had a problem with my short conversations he should go on a train with a quiet carriage.

"Does it look like this train has a quiet carriage you stupid young girl?" he came out with. 

I was so pisssed off. But I kept it polite but said that I was aware of that but perhaps if he had such a problem with my short calls he should should take an alternate form of transport in the future.

He was going off on one sayng you should make your business calls at your place of business.  I said well not that its any of your business but these were short personal calls. 

This guy in the seats across from me, stood up for me and was like "get off your high horse. Shes entitled to make any calls she wants. All the way if she wants".

My mum was like "ooh Kelda just call me when you're home. Dont rock the boat but I was like no. I am allowed to make calls as I want. I just have a rude man opposite me".

I did say to him at that point,  "I'll be off the phone in a few minutes anyway". And he had the audacity to say "well make sure its only a few minutes"!

The other guy was like - "stay on that phone as long as you want" to me and 'You dont have the right to tell her that' to the old guy.

What an old dragon. That old guy REALLY annoyed me. GRRRRR!

The other guy got off the stop before me. And I said "thankyou very much" to him and he was like - "no problem - the guy is being uppity" right in front of him. I smirked the next 3 minutes from that station to mine when I got off!

[Monika]

I think you handed that very well, Kelda. I bet that old guy had had a bad day and practically was looking for someone to take it out on.
And that other guy sounded pretty cool! It´s nice to hear that a stranger can look out for you like that!

I don´t mind if people talk in phones, it´s no different than if they talk to someone sitting next to them. People that almost scream when they talk to someone over the phone, can be annoying though.

[Front-Ranger]

When you meet someone nice while travelling (like the second guy on Kelda's train), how do you figure out a way to get their name or number so you can see them again? I would like to drop my number or email, but I'm usually too slow-witted to even do that!

[serious crayons]

I think you'd probably just say outright, "Hey, we should keep in touch. Can I get your email address?"

If you wanted to be sneakier, you could mention some intriguing website and tell them you'll send them a link.

About four years ago, on a plane home from Amsterdam, I got to drinkin and talkin with the guy sitting next to me, a Greek psychologist who specialized in human perception of risk. That happens to be a subject in which I have some amateur interest, so we had a good discussion. He said his family had a vacation house on one of the Greek islands, and suggested I visit there sometime.

He was married, apparently happily, and I don't think he meant me to take it too seriously. But wouldn't it be great if I'd obtained his contact info, then suddenly got in touch with him now? "Hey, remember me, from the plane? Well, I've got some frequent-flier miles to use up, and ..." 

[LauraGigs]

A thing to do is make your own business card, if you don't have any through your job (or don't know how long the job might last).  And give it to them, saying "let me know if you need anything" or something to that effect.  They'll usually give you theirs too.

[Kerry]

I have absolutely no problem with people chatting on their mobiles in public. After all, that's what they're for, right? What I do object to, however, is people speaking at the tops of their voices in an enclosed public area, where others can't escape. Why oh why do so many people YELL into their mobiles? I wouldn't mind if they were yelling about something interesting, that I want to hear about. But no, it's usually some inane, vapid drivel, such as "I'VE GOT MY PINK TOP ON! WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?" Sheesh!  

[Katie77]

Yeah, I dont have a problem with people talking on mobile phones. I dont use public transport so havent come accross it there, but talking on a phone on a train, is no different to having two people near you having a conversation....Only thing is, on the phone, we can only hear one side of the conversation.

And as far as meeting people when travelling.....I'm sure many people meet and continue friendships where they have met on a short journey.

Only last month, when my friend from America was flying back to Sydney, from our local airport, her plane was delayed for three hours, and we got talking to a lady, who only lived ten minutes down the road from me. We exchanged telephone numbers and email addresses and we have since been in contact and met again for a drink.  And I think we will end up having a nice firiendship and catch up from time to time.We have a few things in common,similar age, and both happy to have found a nice local friend.

[pnwDUDE]

Kelda, it would have probably made him more mad to simply ignore him. By asking if he had a problem, you gave him the green light to carry on like he did.

I get very annoyed at people who talk on cell phones:

--too loudly

--anytime in restaurants at dining tables

--when they are talking in a public situation instead of paying attention to directions/signs etc., which results in the inconvenience of others

It seems to me, if you are on a commuter train safely in your seat, that is the perfect time to use a cell phone, so long as your not being loud/disruptive.

Brad

[Katie77]

Mobile phones in restaurants is so so rude....unless it is important, and the phone user has the manners to walk away to somewhere private to deal with the call.

I was in a theatre the other day, seeing the movie, Benjamin Buitton, and a young girl, just up from me, and sitting in front of an older couple, received a mobile phone text. It didn't ring, but obviously vibrated, but when she opened her phone, the light from it was like a bloody beacon in the darkened theatre. The elderly man behind her, asked her nicely to turn it off, and she looked at him, then turned back to the phone and continued replying to her text.

I had made up my mind, after watching that, that if it happened a second time, I would just reach over and grab the phone and she would be searching for it down the front of the theatre some time later.

Luckily it did not happen again.

Made me think of that bloke that pulled the gun in America, watching the same film.......

[Ellemeno]

I think cell phone conversations in public confined spaces can be very irritating.  But sometimes necessary.  When I'm in a restaurant and my phone rings and I have to answer it, I usually start the conversation by saying, "I'm in a restaurant and can only talk a moment..."  then I conduct the key portion of the business and hang up til later.  I partly say that so that the person calling me knows why I'm going to be very brief, but also so that my fellow humans in the restaurant around me know that I intend to be very brief.  Or I say, "I'm in a restaurant.  Let me walk outside and call you back," and then do that.  That one doesn't work on a train or bus, of course.  Txting is good that way (other than in dark theaters).

I really do wonder if the variation in preferred cell phone etiquette is a generational thing.  My niece in her mid-20s will answer her phone sitting in my living room and just start talking with no "excuse me" to me and others sitting there, and no attempt at a short conversation.  Suddenly this invisible, inaudible person has joined our conversation, and we, the people actually in the room with her, usually wind up being the ones who politely shut down.  I've wanted to talk to her about this behavior and how much I hate it for years, but don't trust I'll be pleasant about it, so haven't said anything yet.