The screen Idle campaign to have people in films be a bit more polite on the phone

The man in the suit sips whisky as he looks across the city from his luxury apartment.

The telephone rings. He answers.

“Yes?”

The caller, a young woman, explains that a business deal is concluded.

The man smiles, and hangs up without a word.

A crowded police precinct, cops surround a map. Somewhere in the area, a hostage is being held.

The phone rings, a maverick cop takes a toothpick out of his mouth and answers.

The caller quickly explains that they tracked the terrorists’ phone signal to an abandoned house on Main Street.

The cop closes his eyes in silent gratitude. The caller can be heard asking if he’s still there.

The cop passes the phone to a colleague and leads the cops to the abandoned house.

The deal is done, the terrorists are caught, but is the price to be paid for such positive outcomes the complete eradication of good telephone etiquette from movies?

Answering the telephone with a barked ‘yes?’ or ‘what?’, Hanging up without saying goodbye, not asking how someone’s wife is – where are the telephone manners our parents taught us?

Today, Screen Idle says ‘no more’ and demands that movies adopt the following guidelines for good telephone etiquette –

• Answer the telephone with a pleasant greeting – ‘Hello’ or ‘Good Morning.’
• When answering, give your telephone number so the caller can be sure that they haven’t misdialled.
• Ask after the caller’s family. A nice chat can make their day.
• Ask how you can help them.
• Listen attentively to any information.
• Thank the caller for the information. After all, they likely worked very hard to get it.
• Ask them if there is anything else.
• Say ‘goodbye.’

We, at Screen Idle, would ask that when you see characters in films displaying disappointing telephone etiquette, you write to the actors, directors and producers of the film with the above list and ask them to give it consideration for their next picture.

With this simple plan good telephone manners can be introduced back into the world of movies and make for a more pleasurable experience for both the viewers of the film, and the characters in the film.