At The Drive-Up Bank Teller

Miss Manners addresses how to handle rude cell phone behavior at the drive-up bank teller:

Dear Miss Manners,
I am a bank teller at a drive-up bank. People will often come through the drive-up while speaking on their cell phones. When I try to ask a question about a transaction they are trying to make, I feel rude because I have to interrupt the conversation. I also believe the customer to be rude when they motion for me to wait for the conversation to end. It is especially frustrating when there is a long line of cars behind them. What do you suggest?

Gentle Reader,
Politely motioning them to keep moving, so that you can help the next person in line. Of course, they are the rude ones, not you. While they can spend their waiting time talking, the principle of drive-up lines requires them to be ready to do business when it is their turn.

Should these people continue to ignore you, Miss Manners suggests finding a way to signal your helplessness to the next in line, by tossing up your arms if you are visible to the next car, or by using a microphone to announce, "Next, please." If you can manage one of these, you may be sure that the next driver will start honking—which may be rude, but that is not your responsibility.