There is a coffee shop I frequent; get a perfect latte and a flatbread. It’s kind of my Saturday morning routine.

Recently a dude started coming into the coffee shop at the same time watching YouTube videos from his iPhone without headphones.

I try to convince myself that it’s no different than a couple of people having a loud conversation, but it’s not the same, the tinny audio coming from his phone is grating.

I’ve been coming here for years; either I confront this guy at some point and turn it into an issue, or I stop coming and find a new place.

It irritates me that my weekly hour of solitude has been tainted.

Add in the folks talking on the phone on speakerphone

If it's just one person, I'd ask him to use headphones or mention it to management. If it was a group, I'd just leave. In my experience, these types of selfish a-holes won't understand why it's an issue, but if there's only one of them, they'd probably just comply. I've had similar experiences. I honestly don't care if they don't use headphones if they keep the volume down, but that's not usually the case.

Haven’t noticed people listening to anything without headphones, but the buttheads holding the phone 2 feet in front of their face and having a conversation seem to be all over.

Store manager never around on weekends; it’s mostly run by teenagers but they are really good kids and have stuck around. At some point I might go have a sit down with the dude, but he gives me a bad vibe. Picture Bernhard Goetz, (some of you might need to google!) he’s a spitting image and I just KNOW he has a shitty little .38 stuffed in one of the cargo pockets of the jacket he’s wearing.

When he’s not YouTubing he’s carrying on a conversation (via speakerphone) with someone. They talk politics, which is fine but I don’t want to hear any of that shit Saturday morning at 7am at a coffee shop.

Meh, it is a matter of the volume that matters.
No different than a regular conversation.
Common sense.

Happens everywhere man, all the time. Grocery store, doctors office, name it. It’s why I hate society now. Narcissism and the got damn phones.

I had to get a MRI in October. Very stressful going into the coffin. In the waiting area a dude is in there with his phone, playing videos, or something. It was fucking loud, all on speaker and he was completely oblivious to anyone and anything around him. I have no choice to sit there. After 10 minutes I told the nurse I can’t take it and walked out to the parking lot and sat in the truck for 5 minutes. Walked around another 5 minutes and finally they came looking for me that the machine and radiologist or whatever they are called, were both ready for my appointment. I was pissed. I could tell by the way this guy was dressed and the dripping narcissism, Californian transplant. Sure enough when I was pacing in the parking lot, Cali plates on a POS vehicle he didn’t maintain worth a damn.

I would say something, as it’s rude as fuck. And if it doesn’t change, then adios. I wouldn’t go back, ever. I can’t stand it. It drove me nuts at the cineplex and I haven’t been back since 2019. Same shit at my gym but I have my AirPod pros on in noise cancellation mode. I can’t hear anything. I’ve gotten into a habit of carrying them with me. Anytime this goes down, at like an appointment for something, I pop those things in my ears noise cancellation on, and I can listen to music to block the assholes out. I type this and still can’t believe I bought 6 rural acres to move to. Mostly for my passions in life, to be near them. But I’d be lying if 50% of it wasn’t to get away from this got damn phone society. It’s insane.

When someone actually is speaking to me I don't realize it and ignore them,
so used to people talking to themselves.
Was in a hospital waiting room with 20 people. 19 were staring at their phones.
No more Popular Mechanics in waiting rooms.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
I don’t want to hear any of that shit Saturday morning at 7am at a coffee shop.

Could come in at 6:30 and enjoy your time a little earlier

Maybe have your husband say something to him.

quote:

Originally posted by BoatsNbullets:
Maybe have your husband say something to him.

I don’t know you or interact with you; so your attempt at humor or ‘challenging my manhood’ falls on deaf ears.

The point of my OP is to simply rant a bit (which is the purpose of the part of the forum) and avoid a confrontation with someone I suspect is a bit unstable.

quote:

Originally posted by BoatsNbullets:

Maybe have your husband say something to him.

Cute.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:

quote:

Originally posted by BoatsNbullets:

Maybe have your husband say something to him.

I don’t know you or interact with you; so your attempt at humor or ‘challenging my manhood’ falls on deaf ears.

Easy enough to throw out a "challenge" when hiding behind a keyboard. What are the odds that s/he would say this to you in person? I suspect slim to none.

They do make devices that jam cell phones. Probably illegal. Churches and funeral homes have utilized them.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
They do make devices that jam cell phones. Probably illegal. Churches and funeral homes have utilized them.

Very illegal. Intentional interference with a licensed service is a big "no."

It's also a crappy substitute, IMO, for simply confronting people who disrupt funerals or church services.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

They do make devices that jam cell phones. Probably illegal. Churches and funeral homes have utilized them.

Illegal, per FCC regulations. No exceptions for churches, funeral homes, etc.

quote:

https://www.fcc.gov/general/ja...e%2C%20or%20vehicle.:

"The use of a phone jammer, GPS blocker, or other signal jamming device designed to intentionally block, jam, or interfere with authorized radio communications is a violation of federal law. There are no exemptions for use within a business, classroom, residence, or vehicle."

I like to sit and read for an hour or so at the coffee shop I go to. I got tired of the same thing, but it was never just one person.

So, I ended up getting a pair of noise canceling earbuds. I sometimes play music, but sometimes just wear them with nothing playing. They work great and eliminate all conversations and sounds.

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:
So, I ended up getting a pair of noise canceling earbuds. I sometimes play music, but sometimes just wear them with nothing playing. They work great and eliminate all conversations and sounds.

Why must we accomodate the selfish and rude? Why must we be required to alter our behavior for the people disrupting the peace?

It's all backwards.

quote:

So, I ended up getting a pair of noise canceling earbuds. I sometimes play music, but sometimes just wear them with nothing playing. They work great and eliminate all conversations and sounds.

I did that today (he was there) with my Apple Earbuds. Just noise canceling; no music. Worked great except I did not like losing my situational awesomeness.

On a side note, this shop is credit card only (no cash) so likely less of a target for a stickup.

Individuals who are insenstive and without concern for others do this sort of thing. A polite comment generally solves the problem.