| I think it comes down to manners and respect.
It doesn't bother me a lick to see someone in the food court eating their lunch and quietly talking on a phone. Or walking through the store speaking on a phone quietly. But the same applies to a couple people sitting in the food court speaking quetly. It's when people have no manners and are oblivious to everyone and everything around them.
Two examples.
1. My SO and I are eating lunch at a local restaurant. Two women lunching together, each speaking loudly on phones, are asked politely by the hostess to please lower the volume of their voices and they would for a few minutes. Then go right back to speaking loudly. One gal barked "Hello" in answering so loudly that even her lunchmate was startled. Finally after about 10 min. of this, my SO, a take charge kind of guy, goes to sit with them.
He asks loudly if they are real estate agents and of course sensing a possible client they affirm that yes they are. He asked where their office is located and they handed him business cards. He then asked if he could come by in the morning and eat his breakfast at their desk.
They were dumbfounded. He assured them that he certainly would never do business with them because he would not want his transactions to be discussed in front of everyone in a restaurant. And that he felt sorry for their clients to have such clueless agents working for them. This was met with a round of applause by our fellow diners. The women left in a huff.
2. In a fine dining restautant for a dinner with friends. There is a table of 8 seated near the back we are near the middle. The big table was so loud that the 4 of us could not hear each other . The maitre'd repeatedly asks them to please lower their voices. One other table asked to be moved away and one got up and left. Management finally asked the large group to leave. And of course they couldn't understand what the problem was. Wake up folks this wasn't the local sports bar. And these people were not kids, they were in their 60's.
Unfortunately society in general has become very "me" oriented and less mannerly. I think there will always be those that don't see their actions the way others view them.
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