Was in a Trader Joe’s and this woman was practically shouting into her phone. Even worse, she had it on speaker and the woman on the other end was shouting back. Bad enough in the same isle, but then she walked up right next to me and they continued shouting into my ear. Well, if you’re going to be that rude…
I looked at her and began hacking as loud as could which is really loud. When I paused the shouting resumed so I started hacking again. The look on her face when she shouted, “Ewwww!” and backed away was priceless.
Perhaps not one of my finest moments, but one I will always treasure anyway.
Hacking?
hacking
a cough - harsh, dry, and spasmodic
Ohhh, ty!
they pulled out their cyberdeck (a commodore 64 with an armstrap and a small CRT display affixed) and started typing furiously
English not first language by chance?

my rule is if strangers can figure out your job title from your coffee shop call, you’re doing too much
We were at a restaurant just tonight next to a table where a man had a FaceTime on speakerphone for like a half-hour.
Remember when that was impolite?
It still is, he’s just an idiot
A rude idiot!
People who have full on conversations with Ai in public are insufferable.
Ive been seeing it a lot more often recently. The shit is on speaker, I can hear you talking to a clanker
Happy to say I’ve so far been spared from witnessing this. There’s an obvious shamelesness to doing anything on speaker in public, but this one would actually hurt
People are having stt tts voice conversations with AI? Damn I’m OOTL.
Once sat in a coffee shop and some professional therapist had a client meeting at the table next to me.
Full snot crying client. Really personal stuff.
I could understand if it was about agoraphobia or some sort of supported social interaction, but nope, it was a therapist who decided to use a public space as their office and inflict emotional distress on random people trying to drink a warm drink.
What the fuck. Probably some schmuck from Betterhelp honestly
I don’t know what that is… Hang on whilst I check.
… Oh. Wow. Like the deliveroo of therapy.
Yeah a YouTube scam sponsor IMO
Zoom callers are the SECOND worst invasive species at the local coffee shop. Those annoying TikTok dance and sing while doing “normal” shit at ten X full volume? Those are the worst.
I’m sorry :( I’m currently homeless, and thus my only access to WiFi is at public locations like coffee shops (and libraries, but my local library is well used and so quiet that I’d be even more of an asshole to do calls there).
Though I am admittedly part of the problem, I confess that this has, if anything, made me more judgemental of people who engage in calls like this in an assholeish manner. For instance, I try my best to be as discreet as possible, as well as choosing places that are busy enough that my voice is more likely to blend into the background noise (I’m fortunate that my headphones are quite good at picking up my voice).
then you’re not the problem, you’re aware, try to minimize etc
Assholes are everywhere but you aren’t one of them, based on this.
I don’t care what kind of call it is, frankly. I don’t want to hear you talk in your phone, or hear your phone make any sound whatsoever. Sitting there watching videos with the speaker on, at a restaurant? Damn.
Did this once with a team meeting. There was a guy who showed up 3 minutes into my call and was playing the guitar. I muted myself but when they asked me a question I had to quickly unmute and answer, then mute. My coworker was like “where the fuck are you?”
Causality: he went and got his guitar put of the car because you were on a teams meeting in a public space intended for relaxation. He’s just trying to help you relax.
People who do anything other than acquiring coffee in coffee shops are untrustworthy.
Especially those tea drinkers. Smh. Deviants.
I actively avoid using coffee shops to take calls, but sometimes it’s the only place with wifi and power. I do try my best to keep my conversation at a level that is equal to others at the coffee shop. It’s really unavoidable sometimes.
Sorry my dude. Sometimes there ain’t no option. If internet cafes were still a thing I’d do them there.
Coworking spaces exist and a lot of libraries have study/conference rooms you can use for cheap if not free
They do, and neither work in most cases.
I have used libraries before and they are great for this when they are close by. I’ve never used a co-working space - do they have drop in desks where I can just slip in to one in a strange city and give them $10 to sit for 30 minutes?
My need typically comes when I’m travelling and something comes up. Coffee shops are quick and convenient and they have always been used for this kind of thing. Right back to their historical origin as trading houses.
Fair enough about the libraries. Coworking spaces though yes at least where im from. There was a place in my medium/small town right off main street that used to be a pharmacy. It had a lil cafe inside and was pretty cheap.
The ones I’ve always seen seem to be targeted to remote workers and solo practitioners - people who need some support space on a regular basis so there are service tiers and payment plans. I just need someplace to sit when the bat phone goes off. And yes I use headphones.
Oh everywhere. People yapping at full volume holding their phone as far away as possible while the replies are nothing but highly distorted buzzing high volume screeches. On public transit. I was wishing for the whole bus to sink in the ocean.
I picture the moron wouldn’t even notice and continue yelling at the phone with bubbles going up.
and on public transit. or in a washroom.













