Sprint Posts Cell Phone Courtesy Test

Sprint teams with etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore to examine public usage habits of cell phone owners.

Are you the type who takes cell phone calls in Starbucks and talks like no one else is around? Do you get mad when people discuss details of their sex life on the mobile while in line at the grocery store? Tomorrow, according to Sprint, is the start of National Cell Phone Courtesy Month and the phone company is inviting you to take part in an online wireless courtesy test.

The 14 question test, available here, ask people to evaluate their public cell phone usage habits. Questions include business and personal related situations. At the end of the test, participants can match their scores against others and read cell phone etiquette tips from etiquette book author Jacqueline Whitmore.

Sprint also posted the results of their 2004 study on the same topic.  In that survey the major finding, according to a company press release, was that while the overwhelming majority of Americans said people were less courteous when using a wireless phone than five years earlier, they themselves were not at fault. Additional results: 80 percent said wireless callers are getting worse and 97 percent of those surveyed said, “I’m not part of the problem,” rating themselves as either “very courteous” or “somewhat courteous” in their use of a wireless phone.   

“People aren’t being rude intentionally; it’s just that many don’t realize the impact their mobile phone behavior has on those around them,” Whitmore said. “That’s why for years, Sprint has been pushing for consumer awareness about the ‘responsibilities’ that go along with the convenience wireless technology provides. And that’s why Sprint is putting its courtesy test online again this year – to see if there is any improvement.”