Banning Cell Phones at Work

As last week's the Color of Money Question, I asked if employers should ban workers from using their cell phones on the job.
Here's what you said:
"I hate it when I see employees obviously enjoying their calls when their desks are filled with paperwork, the store is in disarray, the checkout lines are long or their customers cannot get their attention for assistance," wrote Rina Lerner of Wayne, N.J. "When I am the customer it's all about me and I want 100 percent of the employee's attention."
Betsy Gorman of Big Flats, N.Y. says, "Hate to sound like a meanie, but I vote for banning cell phones at work. Probably one in 500 calls are true emergencies."
"I think we have forgotten what a true emergency is," says Sheri Wallace of Severn, Md. "For 100 plus employees, we don't get many emergency phone calls."
Jeanne Distretti of Memphis, Tenn. feels some leniency is in order. "We have many single moms employed as medical assistants," she said. "I initiated a policy that said there could be no cell phones in patient care areas but I tolerate a phone on vibrate if the employee goes to the break room to answer/return the call."
E. M. Taylor of Clinton, Md., says, "companies should have a policy in place that allows personal calls through their switchboard, office clerical help or individual employee phones."
N. Thompson of Kernersville, N.C. doesn't believe cell phones should be restricted at all.
"Are a few bad apples spoiling the bunch?" says Thompson. "This is the desperate act of a very weak management team who lacks the maturity and professionalism to deal with the bad seeds. I'd love for them to block my sick child from calling me. Better yet, if my child missed a bus or was stranded and could not contact me because my employer prohibited it, I would hire an attorney so fast it would shock them."

Brainstorm
What do you think about banning cellphones at work? Share your thoughts with us.