The Jerk with the Cell Phone: A Survival Guide for the Rest of Us [Paperback]

Barbara Pachter (Author), Susan Magee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 2004

Who hasn't overheard a twit on a cell phone, talking loudly about one inanity or another? Or just missed getting sideswiped by someone gabbing on a phone while driving? Or found someone chatting away in the restroom at work? We've all complained enough about the jerks whose cell phones ring during a movie, at concerts, and even in church. Now it's time to take action—and communications and etiquette expert Barbara Pachter offers just what we all need: A Survival Guide for the Rest of Us. Pachter offers the smartest—and funniest—ways to deal with all the jerks out there without becoming one yourself. Included are the world's most unbelievable but true cell phone horror stories, hilarious revenge stories, ways to jerk-proof your own cell phone use, and cartoons highlighting just how brainless we've all become about the technology we love to hate. This very funny and very useful guide will help to channel the rage we all feel toward the jerk on the cell phone—and show the rest of us how to stop the madness and reclaim some peace and quiet.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cell phones, those ubiquitous pieces of pocket technology, are unquestionably useful—but they can also be undeniably annoying. Who hasn’t, after all, seen a diner ignoring her date for her cell phone chat, suffered through a ringing phone during a movie or otherwise witnessed an act of bad cell phone etiquette? The titular cell phone jerks may not be "multiplying faster than a rabbit on Viagra," as the authors of this little volume would suggest, but there are plenty of them. And Pachter and Magee, who previously teamed up on communication guides When the Little Things Count and The Power of Positive Confrontation, try to sock it to ’em, gathering relevant one-panel comics ("Ma’am, you have to let go," urges the cell phone repairman to his reluctant customer), cell phone anecdotes for a Hall of Shame (the boss who called an employee’s cell phone to fire him) and plenty of other tidbits (like a recent article in a medical journal that suggests addiction to cigarettes is being replaced by addiction to cell phones). Their book is slightly entertaining, but it also has moments of utter inanity, such as "A Philosophical Discussion on Why People Shout Into Cell Phones" (Descartes: "I have a cell phone, therefore I am. If I shout into my cell phone, therefore I am even more"; the Dalai Lama: "When the loud speaker is ready to speak properly into a cell phone, his volume button will appear").
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

BARBARA PACHTER, an author, coach and seminar leader, speaks worldwide on topics including business etiquette and presentation skills. She has conducted over 1,500 skill-building seminars for clients including DaimlerChrysler, Merck & Co., NASA and Pfizer, Inc.

Award-winning writer SUSAN MAGEE is the author of the humorous travel guide UFO USA and coauthor of several other books, including Why Can't You Read My Mind? and, with Barbara Pachter, When the Little Things Count and The Power of Positive Confrontation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (September 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569244049
• ISBN-13: 978-1569244043
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #957,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Humor > Essays

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant advice in handling a touchy situation., October 5, 2004

By 

Diane (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jerk with the Cell Phone: A Survival Guide for the Rest of Us (Paperback)

Not just a string of jokes about how rude people can be on their cell phones. Yes, there are plenty of real-life stories that we can all relate to, but this book also humorously takes an issue that is increasingly common and gives The Rest of Us a plan of action. (By the way. You don't have to hate cell phones to love this book. In fact, I consider the cell phone a necessity of life.)
Three things can happen when you read this book:
1.You use the tips to politely stop the cell phone jerks in their tracks. (80 percent of the time.)
2.You use the tips and it does absolutely no good. (20 percent of the time.)
3.You find out you're a cell phone jerk and you stop acting that way.
That last one will get you. Everyone at some point has exhibited less than polite behavior while using the cell phone. If you can stop yourself, that's half the battle!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For All Cell Users, November 16, 2004

By 

Book Nut (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jerk with the Cell Phone: A Survival Guide for the Rest of Us (Paperback)

I'm a big Roz Chast (New Yorker) fan so the cover was a big selling point for me. I was going to give this book to my girlfriend for Xmas, she's the worst...we'll be having dinner and she'll talk on her phone to other people! I ended up reading it and I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I would have the guts to give a stranger one of the cards, but I'm going to use them on my friend next chance I get. The stories are hilarious--there's even one in a coffin.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous , but also enlightening!, January 4, 2007

By 

Rodney G. Stevenson (South Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jerk with the Cell Phone: A Survival Guide for the Rest of Us (Paperback)

As one of, it seems, the few people about me without a cell phone I really enjoyed this book. Written more as a 'commentary', and by a user and devotee of cellphones! The common irritant of so many people yelling into their phone is explained: they can't find their own volume control, and assume because they can't hear, they can't be heard! Very, very valid comments all through; I imagine too true for some!