<story><title>Restaurant offers a 5% discount if you eat without your phone on the table</title><url>http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/16/technology/restaurant-cell-phone-discount/index.html</url><text></text></story><parent_chain><item><author>geebee</author><text>Shoot.  I often eat with my phone on the table, but I never field a call or text - I just put it there along with my keys because it&apos;s uncomfortable to sit with it in my pocket and I usually don&apos;t wear a jacket.&lt;p&gt;I can see how just putting it there could send the wrong message, though,  that I&apos;m open to distractions.  Argh.  Just one more reason to get a &quot;european carry all&quot;, I guess.  Or maybe I&apos;ll just wear a jacket.</text></item><item><author>nagrom</author><text>I get really annoyed when I eat with someone and they have their phone on the table. There&apos;s something about that behaviour that seems to say &quot;I&apos;ll pay attention to you for now, but I&apos;m really hoping for a distraction.&quot;.&lt;p&gt;I&apos;d much rather go to a restaurant where phone use is discouraged as it seems to have become socially acceptable to fuck around with phones even during face-to-face conversation with someone.&lt;p&gt;Regarding ROI: if I were to run the restaurant, I&apos;d have opaquely added the same charge to all the menu items and remove it for good behaviour. I guess that rewards for not being a dick are more popular than explicit punishments for being a dick?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>debacle</author><text>I do similar. We need to develop a new etiquette. Perhaps placing the phone beyond your reach (in the center of the table) signifies that it&apos;s not a distraction, but just a bauble.</text></comment>
<story><title>Restaurant offers a 5% discount if you eat without your phone on the table</title><url>http://money.cnn.com/2012/08/16/technology/restaurant-cell-phone-discount/index.html</url><text></text></story><parent_chain><item><author>geebee</author><text>Shoot.  I often eat with my phone on the table, but I never field a call or text - I just put it there along with my keys because it&apos;s uncomfortable to sit with it in my pocket and I usually don&apos;t wear a jacket.&lt;p&gt;I can see how just putting it there could send the wrong message, though,  that I&apos;m open to distractions.  Argh.  Just one more reason to get a &quot;european carry all&quot;, I guess.  Or maybe I&apos;ll just wear a jacket.</text></item><item><author>nagrom</author><text>I get really annoyed when I eat with someone and they have their phone on the table. There&apos;s something about that behaviour that seems to say &quot;I&apos;ll pay attention to you for now, but I&apos;m really hoping for a distraction.&quot;.&lt;p&gt;I&apos;d much rather go to a restaurant where phone use is discouraged as it seems to have become socially acceptable to fuck around with phones even during face-to-face conversation with someone.&lt;p&gt;Regarding ROI: if I were to run the restaurant, I&apos;d have opaquely added the same charge to all the menu items and remove it for good behaviour. I guess that rewards for not being a dick are more popular than explicit punishments for being a dick?</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>dylanz</author><text>Comfort is the reason I have my phone on the table as well.  My glasses and keys end up in the same place... usually in a precarious stack.</text></comment>