Mobile Etiquette on Vacation

This morning, I heard from my sister in China that a guy threw a bundle of ¥100 notes to the air in Canton Baiyun International Airport (¥100 RMB ≈ $15 USD). Surprisingly, nobody seemed to care about the money. People pulled out their phones and cameras and started taking pictures. I assume that quite a few of them would have immediately shared the “moment” on the internet.

That is interesting. I wonder if we have become too obsessed with social media. If so, now it is time to remind ourselves the mobile etiquette. Let’s see if you agree to the following “mobile etiquette on vacation” that is discussed in a Fox News video.

• Pay attention to the tour guy. What are some examples of “not paying attention” when the tour guy is talking? In my opinions, these behaviors should be avoided: talking with others or on the phone, having the plugs on the ears, searching information or checking in with the phone, and not following instructions. What else do you think?
• Post pictures of a real person rather than those of a well-known tourist spot. There are many high-quality and professional pictures about those famous spots on the internet already. There is no need to add more unless s/he is also professional photographer. From time to time, I think it is acceptable if one shares a limited number of pictures taken in small places that are not searchable on the internet.
• Ask for permissions before tagging others in a picture. I agree. Most pictures I posted on the internet are about myself (so that I don’t need permissions). Occasionally, I tagged my friends if they were in the pictures with me. Normally, I selected the pictures in which my friends looked good. More importantly, I usually asked for their permissions in advance and always allow others to untag themselves. Likewise, if somebody tags me in a picture that I do not like, I will untag myself. If necessary, I will politely ask my friend to remove the picture on the internet.
• Publish pictures after a vacation is completed because others may feel jealous about the updates, according to this video. Honestly, I have never felt jealous about my friends’ vacations before. Now that I know this etiquette, I will keep in mind that somebody else might feel jealous about my vacation. Personally, I think it would be fine if one uploads the pictures at the end of a day (during or after a vacation) — if somebody would feel jealous about others’ vacation, s/he would do that anyway, no matter when the pictures are uploaded. Would you agree?
• Do not use tablets or phones in the dark unless one is there by himself/herself. The light from the screen could bother others.
• Use headphones thoughtfully. Headphones need to be taken off when we are talking or listening to others. If traveling in a bus or a plane, we should lower the volume of the headphones because others may feel annoyed by the small noise coming out from a headset.

I believe that etiquette is about being nice and thoughtful to others. I would like to hear your thoughts on “mobile etiquette on vacation.” What do you think? Is mobile etiquette necessary? Is there anything else you would like to add to this list?

Relevant discussions:

Mobile Etiquette

Etiquette for the New Age

Social Media Etiquette for Business

Smartphone Etiquette

 

Mobile Etiquette

The 2012 Intel Mobile Etiquette Survey is out. It seems that people are doing worse over time, however. According to this Wall Street Journal video, 81% of adults think manners are bad, comparing to 75% of last year. Here are some bad examples on the top pet peeves list:

• 77% – texting or typing while driving
• 64% – talking too loud in public
• 55% – having the volume too loud in public
• 59% – sharing too much negative information
• 55% – sharing inappropriate or explicit photos
• 53% – sharing the information that is deemed to be private

Texting while driving is prohibited by law in most places. Recently, there are also communities that began issuing fines to those who are texting while walking. It is possible that more communities will ban texting for pedestrians soon.

This survey also reminds companies and people not to share too much personal or negative updates in social media. Too much “irrelevant” information will irritate the audience and friends. When somebody “unfriends” a person, there must be a reason, right?

Social media is not about the person (or the company) who owns the accounts; it is more about the audience. When sharing information, we need to ask ourselves: “What’s in it for the audience?”

Even when people share useful information with their friends, it is also very important to respect others’ privacy. For example, several of my friends are looking for a house now. When I found some useful information (e.g. a highly recommended mobile app for house hunt), I did not post that information in my friends’ timeline or mention their name on Twitter. Who knows if my friends are ready to let the whole world know that they are looking for a house now? Instead, I sent them an e-mail about the app.

What are the most annoying mobile manners you have seen? Please share with us and let everyone avoid those bad manners.

Some relevant discussions:

Etiquette for the New Age

Social Media Etiquette for Business

Smartphone Etiquette

Professionalism Can Reflect on the Tiny Little Things a Person Does

I was in three special events last Thursday (03/29) and Friday (03/30). Thursday morning, I invited a senior human resource (HR) manager working in one of the biggest soft drink companies to speak in my HR class. In the evening, I presented in the Etiquette Dinner hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) at Syracuse University. I then attended the 2012 Hospitality Senior Gala Event as a guest on Friday. These three events are different in many ways, but they all remind me the importance of professionalism. When it comes to professionalism, every tiny little detail matters.

Guest Speaker Section in the HR Class

The guest speaker has been working in the HR field for over 10 years. As the HR Business Partner in 2011, she took an active role in merging two big companies into one giant enterprise in the soft drink and beverage industry. Merger means more work for HR. For example, all job descriptions and employee performance must be reviewed, the organizational structure must be redesigned, layoffs (if there is any) must be carefully executed to comply with the employment law and legislation, communications about the merging process must remain transparent to all stakeholders, and strategies must be developed to redefine and nurture a new organizational culture.

While there are already so many things going on in the office, HR managers will also experience more traffic of employees who need assistance, many of whom feel uncertain about their future and want to talk to the HR managers. Being a professional HR, one must comfort the employees who worry about the merger and find time to get the “extra” work done, which entails a lot of attention to details.  The most difficult thing, sometimes, is that the HR managers themselves may also feel uncertain about their future, but they must let professionalism drive them. A true professional should deliver and perform 100% until the last minute when they hold the position.

The Etiquette Dinner Hosted by OMA

It was my great pleasure of meeting with a group of student leaders in the Etiquette Dinner. Besides the proper manners for formal dining, I emphasized the three golden rules of dinner etiquette. They include:

1. We are not there to eat when going out for a business dinner. The focus is never on the meal. Rather, it is about building a relationship, networking, and selling — either selling a product or service if we are negotiating a contract or selling ourselves if the dinner is part of the interviewing process.
2. We must follow the host. We should order the items with a price tag that is less than or similar to what the host orders. More importantly, if a host breaks the proper rules for formal dining, we can either continue to follow the dinner etiquette we know without making a big deal of it or do what the host does. The bottom line for dinner etiquette is to make everyone around the table feel comfortable. For more examples of what I mean by “follow the host,” please visit my previous discussion on dinner etiquette.
3. We must be discreet. Everyone deserves others’ attention. The dinner is not about “me” as a guest, and we should not talk loud.

Dinner etiquette covers many tiny little details regarding table manners. We need to know the details because professionalism reflects on our behaviors.

The 2012 Hospitality Senior Gala Event

I felt very proud of our graduating seniors who planned and ran the gala event on Friday. The turnout was great. Everyone had a wonderful experience, and the feedback was phenomenal. But once again, every detail counts in an event. As a hospitality professional, we know that “99 + 1 = 0” — we could have done 99 exceptional things for a guest, but the guest may still end up feeling very upset because of one tiny little thing that went wrong in his/her experience with us. Accordingly, many hospitality professionals pay attention to every detail and always strive for perfection.

So, how do you interpret professionalism? What criteria do you use in evaluating a person’s professionalism?

* The pictures were taken in the 2012 Hospitality Senior Gala Event. To check out more pictures about this event, please visit the photo album on my Facebook Page and “Like” my page.

Professional Dress in the Workplace

Linchi Kwok – A Hospitality Professional.

Dinner Etiquette

Last night, I presented in the Etiquette Dinner for about 90 graduate students at SU. While it is important to know the basics like the appropriate ways of drinking soup, using folks and knives, passing items on the table, and etc., I believe that showing respect to the host/hostess is the foremost important etiquette. In many cases, showing respect means going with the flow. Here are some examples:

• When I eat with my India friends in an India restaurant, even though silverwares are provided, I will eat with my hands if all my Indian friends want to do that.
• I am not a Christian. If I am eating with my Christian friends and they want to make a meal blessing by holding my hands on the dining table, I will hold their hands, but I usually just listen to what they say.
• When everyone at the table uses hands on chicken wings and ribs, I will do the same.
• When I eat with my Korean friends in a traditional Korean restaurant, if they choose to sit on the floor, I will not object their choice by moving to a regular table with chairs.

What does showing respect or going with the flow mean to you? Can you provide some specific examples?

Again, the key of dinner etiquette is “doing the right things” so that everyone feels comfortable at the table. It is good to know the standards of dinner etiquette. It is also important to observe others’ preferences and possibly follow the lead of the host/hostess. What do you think?

References:
The picture was downloaded from a webpage of University of Wisconsin River Falls.