I completely agree!!! I wouldn't care if they picked up and said "hold on" or "I'll call you right back". I don't need to hear their entire conversation and the rest of the world shouldn't have to put their lives on hold for them. Very annoying!

Ooo.. good rant, kiddy!
It seems like most places where money is being handed back and forth have those signs up. They're definitely at my bank. They're also popping up at food places.

it seems like just about every place here has a sign.

Now I have been known to walk into a gas station or two and be on the phone and shop for whatever I am getting but once I get up to the counter I tell th person on the phone to hold on and just sit the phone down or propped it on ear/shouler and do the transaction and then procede with talking while heading out the door or sometimes no talking until I get completely out of the store depending on if its busy or not.
But if I get a phone call in the midst of a transaction I just silent the call and call them back.

I agree with other commenters. I hate it when the person in front of me is on the phone in any line. There are signs at our drive thru's that say don't talk on the cell phone etc. I took a picture of one and sent it to my mom who was notorious for keeping me on the phone as I said, "Ok, well, I'm about to go through the drive thru."

♥ SugarKat Honey Bee!

haha funny Kat!

How about an exception: I frequently eat at fast food joints where all the menu items are custom made "while you wait", where a limited number of ingredients are combined into an almost endless array of combinations. But for certain lazy co-workers, and even for my girlfriend, this isn't enough...there are always special instructions. But these people are too busy and/or lazy to get their own food, so as soon as they hear I'm going to Quipotway Penwich Works (or whatever), they always want me to "pick them up something".

There is no way that I am going to remember all the details of all the things you want special, and sometimes I've been left completely without instructions, but I know if I bring back the wrong thing, I'll hear about it. So if you're working at one of these places and I'm on the phone, there's a good chance that what you're really doing is filling a telephone order, and I'm just the interpreter, the poor sap who is expected to get the order right and bring it back in a timely manner.

I know it's annoying, but I hope in that case you don't mind that I'm relaying your questions and her answers just as quickly and as clearly as I possibly can...!

Having been a cashier in the past (gotta love being a broke Uni student) I know the frustration involved in witnessing somebody else's conversation, while being expected to grin like the village idiot and provide sterling service. It's not fun.

My phone is usually on manner mode anyway, so half the time I don't even hear/feel it vibrating. If I do, hell, that's what voicemail is for.

As an aside, there is nothing I hate more than people who are slaves to their mobile phones. Your phone is there for YOUR convenience, not the caller's. Not answering it every now and then can be quite liberating.

I work at a pretty upscale clothing place and it totally drives me insane when I am helping someone at the cashwrap and they are talking on their phone. Its really frustrating because they like talk to me in that like whisper that you can barely hear and its like really the music is blaring and you want me to try to hear you or read your lips, not gonna happen my friend.

RideMan, it's called a pen and paper. If your co-workers or whomever want to place and order, they can write it down and you can read it off. It's not only rude to the cashier, but the customers waiting in line behind you. No, we don't know that you are phoning it in.