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do you let strangers use your phone to make calls?

Nope.

Always say "I'm over on minutes. 911 is free though if you need me to call the police for you."

Other than that there is literally no excuse to let someone make a personal call from your nearly $1000, portable, easily stolen and sellable, highly sought after device.

Not even to be nice. I do like the germaphobe angle too though...

Just don't do it. You'll end up on here with a "someone stole my phone how do I track it?" Post
 
BFizzzle said:
socal aint the real south ;)
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I was about to say the same thing! But I'm still surprised he said everyone waves at each other.

***Edit***
PBz said:
I grew up in coastal South GA.
I live in Newport Beach, CA.

Pretty sure I'm good.
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Didn't see this part. I still don't think I can bring myself to call any part of CA "the south", but GA definitely is. :D

I don't think I've ever had a stranger ask me to use my phone. I've always known the person in some way, whether I just met them that day or I've known them for years. There's always been some form of identification established with the people who asked to use my phone.

I always tell people who ask if they can borrow my phone that it is for business and I'm accountable for all calls so I am not permitted by my employer to let anybody use it. Nobody has protested yet.
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I think this is by far the best "excuse" if you want to avoid any awkwardness or not be called rude.
 
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Ntombi said:
Where do you live? :confused:

There are no pay phones anywhere around my area, and I can't even remember the last time I saw one. Pay phones are going the way of the Dodo Bird.


And sometimes people are just in a bad spot, out of luck, or plain forgetful. My elderly parents have cell phones, but whether it's charged (or with them) at any particular time is a total coin flip. Like someone upthread said, sometimes cell phone batteries die, a friend of mine has a phone that's really temperamental, and she was in the middle of serious family issues (serious, as in her daughter died), so the last thing she was thinking about was getting a new phone. That's just three real-life examples off the top of my head.

I'm not judging if you're not comfortable lending your phone to a stranger, but not having a working cell phone at any particular time is not a moral failing. :rolleyes:
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This is when you use your best judgement. If they're that old, I don't think most elderly are sprint runners. To elders, I usually go a little out of my way to accommodate them than with others.
 
A homeless person that smelled like they never taken a shower for 5 weeks asked me if they can use my iPhone 4s. I said, hell no. And then he got pissed and I ran.
 
At a bus stop once, a girl who was smoking weed asked me if she could make an important call on my iPhone 4 and I said, "hell naw!" And she just looked down at the ground, thinking of something else to say' before she could let it out, I pointed her to the CVS behind us where they had a pay phone or she could ask to use theirs.

Later that day, a girl on a bus asked to use mine, I said I was waiting for an important call. She pulled out her iPhone 4 and showed it to me, it was stuck in the reboot screen. I asked her to let me see it so I could try to fix it but she declined, she asked to make an important call from mine, I said "okay, just hang on a second..." Then once at my bus stop, I got off and she went on about how messed up I am for not letting her use my phone :p
 
Um no. If I was at my local ball park watching my kids play tee ball then maybe yes. I live in a pretty safe area and I would just about know everyone there. But in the city on a train? No way. I don't even use my phone in public so no one would know I even had one. There are signs on the trains that specifically state to watch your cell phones. People have been known to grab them out of your hands and run when the doors open.
Each situation is different., but honestly I would rather not have anyone use my phone. Mainly because I am a germaphobe plus I really do worry about people dropping it, etc.
Exp. I once let my sister in law look at my new diamond ring. As soon as she got it into her hands she dropped it from about 5 feet straight onto the concrete. I will never forget that sound:( So I usually keep my things stowed away and never even let people know I have them.
 
Tell them you have a compromised immune system and don't want their flesh eating disease.

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Surely said:
No way. If it's an emergency situation, I'd offer to make the call for them.
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Exactly. Don't enable someone. Would you give them money? Let them wear your hat? There is no need for that. Nothing is that important.
 
omgitzv2 said:
Good thing I didn't ask you people lol my iPhone 5 died yesterday so I had to ask a stranger if I could use their phone. I need another lighting cable for my car
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Why? What was so important that it couldn't wait until you got home? We're you dying injured or otherwise in distress? What was the purpose of the call? I highly doubt all these calls are that urgent.
 
Like others have posted upthread, I'll make the call for someone. It's more of a hygiene issue for me. When you know the percentage of people who don't wash their hands after using the toilet, you get very paranoid.
 
The only time I was asked to use my phone was when I was at a nice resort on vacation. I didn't feel like the lady was going to run off with my iPhone. Plus, she was phoning her daughter, who's number was now in my call log! Not that it mattered, cause I'm married. And my wife was standing right there..
 
'No.'

If they persist, I will inform them that I am armed and will protect myself.

I won't even offer for an 'emergency'. Not my problem.
 
racer1441 said:
'No.'

If they persist, I will inform them that I am armed and will protect myself.

I won't even offer for an 'emergency'. Not my problem.
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tumblr_lwrw2tLWeW1r506m8o1_500.jpg
 
Not going to happen... Police around here are telling people not to flash their iPhones and warning about people asking to borrow your phone and running.

5 years ago I could have caught anyone who tried, now - not so much! :(
 
I very rarely get asked to borrow my cell phone. The last time I got asked was 3 or 4 months ago at a bus stop in France. The man looked pretty old and sketchy. He didn't look threatening, but he looked dirty and not very smart. I simply shook my head, said no, and kind of tried to ignore him. There are lots of pickpocketers out in the streets, especially by public transportation areas, and I wouldn't want to be left in an unknown area without my cell phone and anyway to communicate my whereabouts if someone were to steal my phone.

I was however asked by a lady to use my phone in a shopping mall in the states. She couldn't speak English very well, and at first I thought she wanted to see me phone for some unknown reason, but then I realized that her phone had died and she needed to contact her husband who didn't know where she was. I let her use my phone, because she seemed honest, and I wanted to help.
 
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