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Source:
Pat Pesci, 785-532-2210, patpesci@k-state.edu
http://www.mediarelations.kstate.edu/WEB/News/MediaGuide/pescibio.html
News release prepared by: Keener A. Tippin II, 785-532-6415,
media@k-state.edu
Monday,
February 12, 2007
DIRECTOR
OF K-STATE'S HOTEL AND RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM INCORPORATES
PROPER CELL PHONE USE INTO ETIQUETTE INSTRUCTION
MANHATTAN
-- Pat Pesci knows a little bit about rude and bad behavior.
Known
as "Mr. Etiquette" by some and "Mr. Manners"
by others, Pesci, director of the hotel and restaurant management
program at Kansas State University, helps students brush up on their
manners before interviewing for jobs. Pesci has been conducting
dining etiquette workshops at K-State for more than 15 years. He
also has worked with groups both on- and off-campus, including K-State
athletic teams, on professional behavior and etiquette.
As
the popularity of cell phones increases, Pesci sees the need for
a new area of etiquette instruction: proper cell phone usage in
public.
Pesci
said loud ring tones and prolonged conversations in restaurants,
movie theaters and other public places are just some of the annoyances
caused by cell phone users who feel the need to be connected anywhere,
anytime.
"It's
kind of bad when you go out in public and people hold you hostage
to their cell phone use," he said. "The problem is even
popping up in the checkout line. I've seen signs in the last year
telling customers to turn their cell phones off when they are in
the store. Some retail people don't even talk to people going through
line until they are off their cell phone."
Cell
phones also can be a problem in the classroom.
"We
have students that have their cell phones on constantly," Pesci
said. "It's getting to the point where I have to announce in
class to turn cell phones off or put on vibrate and leave them in
the student's backpack. I do not want the cell phone out on the
desk or table. It's a distraction."
Pesci
said he also has noticed more students text messaging to other students
during class, which can be a problem during tests.
"I
usually have students put their backpacks and cell phones in the
front of the room during tests," he said.
The
problems with cell phone use in public, according to Pesci, show
a lack of civility and respect, as well as a misplaced sense of
entitlement. He questions whether there is a happy medium.
"I
guess at one time it was supposed to be hip or cool. We're past
that; it's really abusive," he said. "And, its not just
young people. I've been in the middle of a meeting with adults when
someone's cell phone will ring and that person will have a five-minute
phone conversation right in front of 10 other people."
Pesci
recalls taking a group of students to a prestigious meeting in Chicago
that was attended by several CEOs from major corporations. Rather
than network or pay attention to what was going on at the meetings,
two of the students spent the majority of the event on their cell
phones, much to Pesci's chagrin.
Pesci
has since laid down some guidelines to students attending his dining
etiquette workshops about cell phone use. He tells them that when
they are attending industry-related events -- such as a conference
-- students should turn their cell phones off or put them on
vibrate.
"That's
the first thing I'll say," Pesci said. "If you're at a
job interview, you would turn your cell phone off. I just want people
to think. Many people believe they are the only person in the room
when they are on their cell phone. Cell phone users also may talk
a little bit louder when they are on the phone, forgetting that
someone may be right beside them."
When
encountering someone talking on a cell phone in a public place,
Pesci said it is best to try and walk away from that person, if
possible.
"People
using their cell phones in public places didn't just start doing
so yesterday," Pesci said. "That's how they have done
it for some time. A lot of times, they will look at you as if to
say, 'Who are you? Mind your own business.' It's going to take a
grassroots effort to institute change."
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