Ask Amy: ‘Can you hear me now?’ YES!
I understand that all grandparents find their grandchildren adorable and compelling but must they visit with these children over FaceTime at a crowded restaurant? And again with the yelling!
Listeners tend to be more annoyed by overheard phone conversations than they are by overheard in-person conversations because we only overhear one side of the conversation. Our brain can’t help but be distracted as it tries to fill in the missing pieces. This is especially true if someone is YELLING.
Only one time have I actually confronted someone doing this. I approached a man who had shared some extremely sensitive and proprietary information over the phone while sitting right next to me at a Starbucks. I told him I was a reporter and had been taking notes. (Did this caution work, long term? I doubt it.)
I am deliberately dodging your actual question, because – other than trying to make eye contact and putting your finger to your lip in the universal “shhhhh” gesture – I don’t know how to respond to these loud intrusions.
Readers will want to weigh in … using your indoor voices, please!
Dear Amy: Here’s the situation: My friends and I are having a nice dinner at a casual restaurant when the table next to us vacates and leaves behind a bottle of wine that is half full. What to do?
Shall we grab it and celebrate, or leave it to the restaurant?
What a dilemma!
– Dilemma in Denver
Dear Denver: If swiping wine from a neighboring table after the diners have finished their meal is your idea of a true dilemma (implying a decision between two relatively equal choices), then I will guard my French fries with more than the usual ferocity the next time I dine near you.
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