Improving the World, One Rude Person at a Time

Tacky Sighting #3  You Know You’re Tacky When…another patron at a busy fine dining restaurant pulls your child from underneath her table and brings him to you.  Fortunately, I’m not the one who witnessed this faux pas or the one who took the little boy kicking and screaming back to his parents.  This tacky sighting was provided by one of  One Rude Person’s dedicated readers whose meal was ruined because fellow diners allowed their child to use the restaurant as his own personal playground. 

Here’s a list of the destruction this child caused while his parents sat chatting away over their meal:

• Crawled in front of a server causing her to spill a tray of hot, freshly plated food on the floor.  Luckily the child crawled away unharmed which may be why the parents didn’t pick him up and put him in a child seat 
• Tipped over a chair that he was attempting to use for a quick game of hide and seek
• Ruined the reader’s meal with her husband by crawling under their table and moving around the chairs.  This is when she picked him up and took him back to his parents (who were actually annoyed that she’d had the audacity to touch their child).

Now at this point you would think that the little boy would be placed in a child seat and not allowed to wreck anymore havoc…no such luck.  5 minutes later the boy’s father put him back on the floor to continue his reign of restaurant mayhem and foolishness.  He then:

• Annoyed more diners by crawling under their tables
• Nearly knocked over the station where dirty dishes were being bused

Avoid Being Tacky Tip #3  Consider other diners and the potential disruption to the restaurant’s ambiance when choosing whether or not to bring children to fine dining establishments.  If you choice to bring young children, make sure that they remain seated.  This is not only for their safety and the safety of others but also so that everyone can enjoy their dining experience. 

Tacky Sighting #2  You Know You’re Tacky When…the job interviewer abruptly ends your interview after you hang up from your cell phone call.  Oh yes, you read that correctly.  In this economy with millions of people out of work, someone was stupid enough to answer his cell phone during a job interview.  Let me tell you the entire story.   

A seemingly intelligent man with a Master’s degree from a top 10 business school was on the second interview for a marketing position at a major company.  He comes into the interviewer’s office puts down his briefcase and lays his cell phone on the interviewer’s desk (faux pas #1).  The interview is going well when all of a sudden his cell phone starts to vibrate.  The seemingly intelligent man not only answers the phone in the middle of the job interview but also walks over to the window in order to get a better signal.  Are you kidding me?!?   As soon as he hung up, the interviewer told him he had no other questions and asked him to leave.

Avoid Being Tacky Tip #2  When going on a job interview leave your cell phone in your car!  If must have it with you, make sure you turn the phone OFF and leave it in your briefcase or purse. 

Have you seen something that tops Tacky Sighting #2?  Tell me about it, pjmcguire@modetinc.com

The “You Know You’re Tacky When…” series was a wonderful idea from a close friend of mine who regularly tells me the tacky and rude behavior he witnesses on a daily basis. If you witness tacky or rude behavior please tell me about it and I’ll feature it in my new “Tacky Sighting Series.”

Tacky Sighting #1You Know You’re Tacky When… your co-worker gives you a plastic container because he’s sick and tired of seeing your Invisalign invisible braces on your bread plate during lunch.

Avoid Being Tacky Tip #1: Make sure you remove your Invisaligns and place them in your plastic container IN the bathroom, not at the table.

Stay tuned for Tacky Sighting #2…it’s almost unbelievable.