Forget about the
Y2K scare - forget about planes falling from the sky and the
stock market going haywire.
There's a far more
serious issue to worry about as we hurtle towards the 21st
century.
Millennium manners
New technology
is causing a drastic re-evaluation of standards among the
manners set like Charlotte Ford, great-grand daughter of Henry
Ford, Sue Fox, a Silicon Valley author of the forthcoming
"Etiquette for Dummies," and Joie Gregory, who runs a New
York-based etiquette company called the Right Fork.
"Technology is
moving at a very rapid pace, and if you're in business today,
you must be aware of the etiquette associated with the changing
technology," said Gregory.
Here The Post gives
you a 21st century crash course:
Tech device:
Cell phone
Faux pas factor:
Recently, Victoria's Secret model Laetitia Casta's million-dollar
face was doused with tear gas by an irate Parisian cab driver
who was sick of listening to the bodaceous beauty's cell phone
incessantly ringing.
And Broadway's
"Death of a Salesman" is interrupted three times a week by
chirping Nokias. Once a phone rang during the final scene
of the play, when leading lady Elizabeth Franz visits the
grave of Willy Loman (played by Brian Dennehy). A woman answered
and said: "The play's almost over. Can you accommodate two
more for dinner?" "She would have kept talking, but the man
next to her started yelling," Franz told The Post.
Mind these manners:
"It's horrible to be in a position where you have to listen
to someone's private conversation," said Ford.
To avoid being
rude, the bottom line in restaurants, and other public places
is "unless you're a doctor with an emergency, keep your cell
phone turned off," says Fox. (In fact, many New York restaurants
have banned them.)
If you do have
a job where immediate access is essential, "Pick up the phone
and say, 'Hold on a minute,' and you walk outside and take
the call away from the dining room," advises Blue Water Grill
owner Steve Hanson.
Fox and Hanson
also suggests wearing a beeper with a vibrate function, that
won't disturb others, or leaving the number where you'll be
with your office.
Tech device:
video conference calls
Faux pas factor:
A West Coast computer company was recently video conferencing
with an executive who was working from home. The exec sat
at a desk in front of the camera in a shirt and tie, talking
to his colleagues at the office. They started brainstorming,
and as the executive at home got up to pace, he realized he'd
forgotten to put his pants on.
Mind these manners:
"We're on the cusp of video conference calls becoming an everyday
occurrence in the business world," says Gregory. To avoid
getting caught in your pajamas, treat conference calls like
all other business meeting.
"Even if you're
in a casual situation, you need to look your business best,"
says Gregory. "Just because you're sitting at home doesn't
mean you're on your own time."
Gregory also reminds
clients to sit still. "People are used to being on the telephone,
feeding the dog or something while they're talking. You can't
do that with video conferencing."
And be aware of
the transmission delay ("Make sure someone is completely finished
a thought before speaking. If you interrupt, it can be very
embarrassing," she says).
Tech device:
Caller ID
Faux pas factor:
You come home and your caller identification function shows
you got a call from so-and-so, but there's no message. Immediately,
you call back and say, "You hung up on my machine. What do
you want?!" to a poor old lady who dialed the wrong number.
