Would You Eat At A Restaurant Just Because They'd Give You A 5% Discount If You Checked Your Phone?

Cell phone use has hit epidemic proportions in all walks of life. People, including myself, are constantly checking emails, Facebook, text messages etc., no matter where they are even if they are sitting at a restaurant with family and friends.

The other day I had an interview with an unnamed company, where the interviewer picked up his phone right after he asked me the first question...I was appalled! What a rude thing to do.
There is regular use and then there is rude.

I think it's rude to pull out your phone at dinner whether your company is one or six, and unless your wife is about to have a baby there is no really important reason to be checking your phone. To me it just means that your phone is more important than your company. Look if you have to make a call excuse yourself, walk outside for a minute and then come back in when you are done. People will understand and it respects the fact it's more important to be with friends and family.

Oh wait I forgot one thing...if you're a drug dealer you can certainly check your phone as many times as you want. Besides no one at the table is really your friend and they only laugh at your jokes because they are scared that you will kill them.

The real question is...would you go to a restaurant because they offered you a 5% discount if you checked your phone at the door? It's a nice idea but I would only go there if the food was good. The fact of the matter is that a ton of business is done in restaurants and phones are a huge part of that, so I don't see this becoming a trend. I was talking more about social settings and family gatherings where I think the use of a cell phone can be distracting. There is a time and a place for everything and to those who don't care about other peoples time or feelings well...you'll get yours when the time comes. I know that sounds a bit dark for me but to me respect for others is a huge issue. So if restaurants want to institute no phone policies or offer discounts to hand over phones then I say more power to 'em, but really it's up to us if we want to see these habits change....

Hold on a sec, my phone just buzzed...