according to a 2006 harris poll, office-workers say annoying ringtones are one of their biggest pet peeves — second only to office loud talkers. so i’m actually surprised we haven’t seen more notes like this one, which flickr’s heather champ found taped to her (chirping) cell phone once upon a time. (meanwhile, elsewhere at yahoo hq…)
what’s your pick for the most obnoxious ringtone award?
191 responses so far ↓
#1
claw71
I can’t take any shots at the note writer. People who chronically leave their cell phones on their desks don’t respond to courteous reminders because they lack any sense of courtesy in the first place.
This is actually more civil than what I have done. I have actually answered wayward cellular phones. My best greeting: “Paul can’t answer the phone right now because he’s getting written up for taking too many personal calls at work.” It was his mom.
I wish I would have saved his subsequent email. He was pissed. He even cited non-existent laws and threated to sue who ever did it. He ended up getting reprimanded for sending out the email.
Sep 16, 2007 at 10:51 pm rating: +13
#2
claw71
In the office I think vibrate is the worst because it makes the most noise. A phone left on a work top will hum at a frequency that permeates everything.
Outside of the office I have to nominate my sister for idiot of the decade. On three occasions over the course of two years she attended family functions and left her very loud cell phone alarm set for 6:00am. The phone would chime some annoying “Queen of England” trumpet fanfare for 30 seconds then automatically snooze for five minutes before starting it allover again. I think it actually was a promenade of some royal pedigree. That Sanyo phone repeated this cycle five times. FIVE!!! Mine doesn’t repeat at all. What kind of a WMD is Sanyo peddling?
I would have thrown her purse in the hot tub, but I didn’t want to get up. I tried to hide under a pillow but those digital trumpets would not be denied.
Making matters worse…everybody had been drinking extensively the night before on each occasion. The family has made a pact that if this happens again we will kill her and her husband and then just deny they were ever there. The good news is that my uncle is a cop. He can pull some strings. She is aware of this arrangement, by the way.
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:05 pm rating: +5
#3
BoggyWoggy
I hvae to agree with the above. Once, while attending a workshop with 400 others, the presenter said, with a scowl, “And, please, everyone, make sure you mute your phones.” 5 minutes later, the presenters’ phone went off! GRRRRR….
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:16 pm rating: +1
#4
marla
So far the most obnoxious ones I’ve heard are ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ and ‘The Entertainer’. Or really any bastardized piece of classical music.
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:17 pm rating: 0
#5
BoggyWoggy
Hey, and while we’re focusing on the newest PA note, anyone notice the whiteboard in they background? What office in this world has the f-word posted for all to see? Hmmm…if this is near her /his desk, people must really, really be ticked! I think she/he deserves all of the negative attention.
I secretly programmed Hubby’s ringtone: Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot” gets a lot of eye-rolling, especially since he doesn’t know how to change it!
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:23 pm rating: 0
#6
claw71
I saw that board in the back and thought that I really need to be working in that office.
My ring tone is “Push It” by Salt and Peppa. Oooh baby baby. Old School. That’s how I roll.
What I really want is a clip of the last few bars of “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine. “F!ck you, I won’t do what you tell me!” Of course everytime I hear that song I break shit so it’s probably just as well.
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:33 pm rating: +4
#7
WanderingPenguin
The guy who’s in charge of the network at my girlfriend’s office is a nice, middle-aged Bosnian refugee with a decent though slightly tenuous grasp of the English language. Actually, I’m not sure that’s germaine, but…. anyhow, one day he was working on their server and his cell phone went off, playing “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. The people around him had a soft chuckle while he answered the call and once he had hung up one of the office staff said, “was that a ring tone for one of your friends?” “No,” came the reply, “it’s my regular ring tone.” “Oh, did your daughter pick it out for you?” “No, I don’t have any kids.”
*awkward silence* *subject change* *people slowly backing out of the room*
It must have been a scene straight out of “The Office”. What 45-year-old man has “Barbie Girl” as their ring tone if they don’t have any kids?
Any time I hear even a snippet of that insipid song now I have to grin like an idiot. Which is a lot better than how I used to react to it: pure gut-wrenching nausea. So I guess that’s good!
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:46 pm rating: +4
#8
Miz-andi
That cell phone was fucking delicious.
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:50 pm rating: +2
#9
Becca
my phone alternates between the Indiana Jones theme and the theme from Yoshi’s Story.
Yeah. Geek.
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:51 pm rating: 0
#10
Minox
reprogramming ring tones is a great thing to do when someone’s not with their phone. We did that to one guy at work, who spent the next month dealing with ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’
Sep 16, 2007 at 11:54 pm rating: +1
#11
s
gotta side with the note writer…
Sep 17, 2007 at 12:02 am rating: +1
#12
Sharona
That 2lmc thing has been around for years. Nice to know that old memes never die.
I work in a college library, and there’s nothing quite like having a few bars of “Smack That” come blaring from behind one of the stacks, followed by a whispered, “Hi…I’m in the library.”
Sep 17, 2007 at 12:11 am rating: 0
#13
Ceryniti
HA… I’d love to work in an office where we said fuck all the time, … oh, wait I do, it’s called a professional kitchen. I know, f bombs aren’t professional, but let’s see you handle a Friday night without dropping it.
Anyway, being the metalhead and geek I am, my mian ring tone is from Opeth’s “Grand Conjuration” , my others are CoF “Temptaion” and “Nymphetamine”… and my gamer group’s is the Zelda theme song.
Sep 17, 2007 at 12:21 am rating: 0
#14
Suebob
Man, claw71, what a Crankypants! When my co-worker’s phone goes off and they aren’t around, my assumption is “Oh, they forgot their phone,” rather than “They lack a sense of courtesy.” I try to cut people some slack and hope they will do the same for me because I, too, screw up sometimes.
My ringtone goes “Ring, ring.” Because I am creative that way.
Sep 17, 2007 at 12:26 am rating: +1
#15
Jamie
For a while, I had ‘The Doom Song’ from Invader Zim. Sadly, my partner found it intensely annoying and made me change it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqcn_TPu4qQ
If you want to hear it. Mine started where Gir says ‘I’m gonna sing the doom song now!’
Sep 17, 2007 at 12:29 am rating: 0
#16
QueenDustBunny
My co-workers used to leve her phone on vibrate on the top of the desk until it vibrated into the trash. Then she put it in her drawer.
My sister’s phone has these individualy programable ringtones. When her x-husband calls, a computer voice says “Call from Cheating Bastard” then a donkey brays.
Sep 17, 2007 at 12:41 am rating: +3
#17
They Might Be Curly Giants! » A Handphone Is Supposed To Be In Your Hands!
[...] [Story and photo from Passiveaggressivenotes.com] [...]
Sep 17, 2007 at 12:57 am rating: 0
#18
the sos
my supervisor’s phone was set to a retarded (albeit once great) rock song…her son did it. no prob. except she leaves the fucking thing on her desk ALL THE TIME. so then i’m stuck with this shit in my head b/c he’s 19 and apparently cannot survive without calling her twenty fucking times a day. now, my OTHER (yeah, it’s real office space) boss wants HIS ringtone to be La-Cucaracha…so i guess i should consider myself lucky?
point is, it’s a MOBILE phone - carry that shit with you or turn it off. and for god’s sake - own your ringtone dammit. love it, live it, work it. (mine’s the original ringtone from CTU headquarters on 24.)
claw - that’s funny that your ringtone is Push It. that’s my ex’s tone. she’s a phd student at Northwestern - it went off during a schmooz-fest dinner she was at one time. know what she did? that’s right - she OWNED it baby! (there may have been dancing involved even)
Sep 17, 2007 at 1:03 am rating: 0
#19
Wry Exchange
I have Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ for all the fucktards on my list. I briefly smile when I hear the warning song, then ~sigh~ answer the phone to talk to the idiot. My husband has the theme from ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” for his idiots.
Sep 17, 2007 at 1:19 am rating: 0
#20
Chris
I was contracting in at a certain australian Telco, and one woman did exactly that. leave her phone on her desk all day, and she was never there. worst of all was the ringtone. Rick Astley’s, Never gonna give you up…..
shudders..
Sep 17, 2007 at 1:29 am rating: 0
#21
Canthz_B
Arrghhh! My co-worker’s ringtone is Jingle Bells.
Ever hear Jingle Bells all damned summer?!
My biggest pet peeve with cell phones is that I am forced to listen to private conversations in public. Oh, how I miss phone booths. Where does Superman change now anyway?
My ringtone is “Tear the Roof Off”
Sep 17, 2007 at 1:53 am rating: 0
#22
Canthz_B
Wait a minute, the hand holding the note is a left hand. Who the heck is that framed with it and why?
Sep 17, 2007 at 2:12 am rating: 0
#23
Jamie
I used to have The Doom Song from INvader Zim as mine, because it was so utterly and completely annoying, and I am a bitch. =)
Sep 17, 2007 at 2:18 am rating: 0
#24
Simster
Please, yes, turn off your mobile phone. Especially in the office where you probably have a phone on your desk anyway. And take it with you when you leave - otherwise what is the point of having it?
Sep 17, 2007 at 2:24 am rating: 0
#25
tweedle
whoops (posted comment for this note on depressing last note’s thread)
ringtones clangtones dang tones..
chronic unnattended cell phones will be _____________.
Sep 17, 2007 at 2:49 am rating: 0
#26
E
I’m actually on team desk, by a small percentage. I typically stashed my cell in my purse, as I didn’t take calls except on break OR when I was in a situation where I needed to take a call (drs office, best friend in labor, etc.) BUT, if the boss called me to her office, or I had to go talk to a co-worker, I did leave it - it would be even ruder if I took it in there and answered while they were talking business with me. Oh, and I don’t take it in the bathroom because it would ring FOR SURE.
Is my ringtone of choice annoying? It generally rings to “Cheeseburger in Paradise” by Jimmy Buffett in the summer - although one friend’s special ringtone is “Dancing Queen” by Abba. The notice that I have for voicemail is the Indiana Jones theme. Last winter my ringtone was “Not Ready To Make Nice” by the Dixie Chicks.
Are they too annoying? I hate the really loud regular rings. They give me an instant headache.
Sep 17, 2007 at 3:11 am rating: 0
#27
Fnord Prefect
At a previous workplace, we hid one co-worker’s phone inside the speakers for his PC. It took him most of the day to find it, much to the delight of the rest of the team.
We also hid several phones in the ceiling at other times.
I miss that place, some days…
Sep 17, 2007 at 3:27 am rating: 0
#28
Darcy
You know what my ringtone is?
I don’t have one. It just rings. Remember? “Ring, ring”? Whatever happened to that, it was a classic.
Sep 17, 2007 at 6:40 am rating: 0
#29
claw71
Suebob:
I’m talking about people who consistently leave their phones unattended. They deserve my wrath. Where I’m currently working there’s this woman who leaves her phone at her desk all the time and I’m thinking about leaving it at the Somali Welcome center.
E:
TAKE YOUR PHONE! You don’t have to answer it in your boss’ office, in fact you can even turn it off. I set my phone to the “all silent” setting so it doesn’t ring or vibrate while I’m at work.
Sep 17, 2007 at 6:44 am rating: 0
#30
Darcy
claw71, you should just start turning her phone off when she’s away. She’ll probably turn it back on again, but maybe she’ll still leave it on the desk afterward, and then you can engage in passive-aggressive phone battle with her!
Sep 17, 2007 at 6:48 am rating: 0
#31
Craniac
And what, pray tell, is wrong with Grand Valse? A little Chopin would class up the joint.
Sep 17, 2007 at 6:51 am rating: 0
#32
turrboenvy
My sister has had a few Livejournal posts on this subject. What’s more passive-agressive than not even leaving a note, but posting in an online journal that the coworker will never ever see.
Sep 17, 2007 at 7:26 am rating: 0
#33
Canthz_B
Turrboenvy: Please have your Sis post a P-A letter here in response to her tormenter’s posting.
We’ll have a ball!!
Sep 17, 2007 at 7:35 am rating: 0
#34
Trickster
I side with the note writer also. Just take it with you when you leave, thats the whole point of a mobile phone!
I would definately have answered the phone, just to keep it from ringing. I would have been nice to the caller though, cause it’s not the callers fault the owner of the mobile phone is an inconsiderate person.
Sep 17, 2007 at 7:35 am rating: 0
#35
Canthz_B
tormentor’s….my bad!
Sep 17, 2007 at 7:37 am rating: --1
#36
claw71
I can’t believe I didn’t think of it until now but a really cruel trick would be to delete the stored numbers on the phone in question. Nobody memorizes numbers anymore.
Trickster, you’re wrong. People who chronically leave their phones behind associate with scumbags and scoundrels.
Sep 17, 2007 at 8:48 am rating: +1
#37
thordora
I have the Pipettes as a ring tone for the express purpose of irritating my gossipy, irritating coworkers.
And lo, how it works.
Sep 17, 2007 at 8:55 am rating: 0
#38
Char
I programmed “Stuck on You” by Lionel Ritchie onto my husband’s phone when he was being irritating. Now I kinda like it and may change mine to it. Don’t know if I can give up “Brass Monkey” by the Beastie Boys, though.
Sep 17, 2007 at 9:02 am rating: 0
#39
Canthz_B
A telephone is a comunication device. Welcome to PAN thordora, using your phone on purpose as an irritant is a P-A act by definition. Did you ever consider that it also annoys coworkers who are not gossipy and irritating?
Sep 17, 2007 at 9:03 am rating: 0
#40
Roctavious McGhee
I was sitting in a Dr’s office one, noticing the three signs demanding that you shut off your cellphone. I sat outside an x-ray room, again reading a sign demanding you turn off your cellphone. On my way back to the examination room I passed another sign prohibiting the use of a cell phone. Just as the Dr. was giving me his opinion of my x-ray, I hear the strains of “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue†from his pocket from which he extracted his cellphone and answered the call. At least he had decency to go out into the hallway. For all 10 minutes if his non-medical cellphone call.
Sep 17, 2007 at 9:12 am rating: 0
#41
Erin
What’s 2lmc? Somebody write an urbandictionary.com definition.
Sep 17, 2007 at 9:29 am rating: 0
#42
BoggyWoggy
My ringtone is Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.”
“We just 2 lost souls living in a fishbowl, year-after-year.”
Sep 17, 2007 at 9:40 am rating: 0
#43
Karmakaze
The problem with “ring ring” is that it can sound like your land line. Or it can have you reaching for the phone every time a phone rings on the tv. Me, I got a clip of the Yup-yups from Sesame street saying “Brrrrrring! (yup-yup-yup) Brrrring!” I have the CTU ringtone, too, but only because I couldn’t find a source with the other old office phone ring patterns.
Sep 17, 2007 at 9:50 am rating: 0
#44
blankblank
I make a habit of taping those wayward phones under desks. it’s crazymaking for the jerks with loud ringtones.
and I have my phone on silent at work. simple - leave it on my desk so I can see a call coming in and ignore it like always.
Sep 17, 2007 at 9:57 am rating: 0
#45
claw71
I would find another doctor if mine gave me any reason to think he was a Toby Keith fan. I could see that guy giving a rectal: “Now you take down them panties and squeal like a pig. Go on now.”
Sep 17, 2007 at 10:00 am rating: 0
#46
Katzndogz
“My ringtone goes “Ring, ring.—
I’m sure the person meant that it makes a ringing noise, but what came to mind was some person’s voice saying, “Ring, ring.” Hee!
My ringtone is Yoda’s Theme from Empire Strikes Back. I love it so much that sometimes I don’t want to answer the phone so I can keep listening to it.
Sep 17, 2007 at 10:15 am rating: 0
#47
Katzndogz
I was in the library one time and heard a cat yowling over and over. It was only when someone answered their phone that I realized it was a ringtone. A few of us were chuckling aloud over that one.
Sep 17, 2007 at 10:19 am rating: 0
#48
turrboenvy
From the desk of my Sister:
Dear cubicle neighbor,
for pete’s sake, put your phone on SILENT at work!! Everytime your damned phone vibrates that you have a call/voicemail/message, I HEAR IT!!! Hell, you can even leave it on vibrate if you put it on something/in something soft…because you leave it on your desk, and every 10 seconds “BRRRRRRR”
It’s damned annoying. Seriously. I’d even rather listen to a cute little tune than that.
Grr to you!
-Me
Sep 17, 2007 at 10:19 am rating: 0
#49
edicius
My ringtones are pretty simple. Main ringtone is an edit of Linkin Park’s “What I’ve Done” to sound as it did at the end of the Transformers movie. Ringtone for my wife is Tucker from Red Vs. Blue saying “Bow Chicka Bow Wow!”. Text messages are the Transformers transformation sound. Voicemail messages are voice actor David Kaye (again, Transformers-related, recording directly from him at a convention) saying, “Ah, you have a voicemail, yesssssss…”
But I usually have it on silent at work and I never leave it on my desk. My old secretary used to do that (especially when she would leave the office for god knows where) and it pissed me off to no end because her mom would call her (no joke) at least 20 times a day. More if it was a particularly drama-filled day.
Sep 17, 2007 at 10:21 am rating: 0
#50
turrboenvy
My phone. First it vibrates, then it announces “Call from… Mom,” and then either goes into a custom tone (such as the Doom video game theme for the aforementioned mom), Banaphone, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish, or Yackety-Sax.
I always have it clipped to my hip, and almost always answer it while it’s still buzzing, but I’m sure it would drive others bonkers should I leave it behind.
Sep 17, 2007 at 10:24 am rating: 0
#51
RudyRusso
I think I have a seriously annoying ringtone - it’s called “It’s Gonna Keep On Ringin’” and can be found at :
http://www.thesongoftheday.com/index.cgi?_d=032607&_m=bonus
Like the subject of today’s post, I once left my phone on my desk while wearing noise cancelling headphones. I looked up and found everyone around me laughing when I noticed that my phone was blaring that song. The second time that happened, they weren’t laughing. Needless to say, I keep the ringer switch off now.
Sep 17, 2007 at 10:24 am rating: 0
#52
T-Bone
I guard my alone time jealously, so I have resisted getting a cell phone all these years. The idea that someone can call me while I’m grocery shopping or at the movie theatre fills me with repulsion.
So get this: I went to work for the city in which I live and they gave me a cell phone. My co-workers made fun of me (rightfully so) because I had no idea how to use it. I liked picking out the ring tone, though. I selected a really cheesy, disco-y, porn-y ring tone– chicka wa wa, chicka wa wa– and get a kick out of the tune when my phone rings.
I still don’t really know how to use the cell. Technology is not– and never will be– something I embrace.
Sep 17, 2007 at 10:58 am rating: 0
#53
Tarn
The managers in my office leave their phones on their desks while they are in meetings which last hours. So we have to hear their silly ringtones a lot. I don’t recognize the songs, they are just irritating. The most annoying I’ve ever heard in public is that bloody Crazy Frog, though.
But no matter the ring tone, having to listen to other people’s personal conversations in public is fucking annoying. Ditto in the office - the woman next to me has several loud, long, gossippy personal calls a day on her mobile, and it never occurs to her to take them away from her desk. And her grammer is awful, which for some reason makes it even more irritating. I have to listen to a lot of ‘Know what I mean?’ and ‘Innit’ and ‘You was’. *Sigh*…
Sep 17, 2007 at 11:08 am rating: +1
#54
Canthz_B
Two simple solutions:
1) Turn your cell off during work hours. Your family should have your work number for emergencies. If expecting a personal call (lab results, etc.) keep your phone on until the special cvall comes in, then nix it. You’re on company time damnit. Do you really want to loose a job because some numb-nuts NEEDS to tell you what happened on a soap opera?
GEEZ!
2) Remind yur friends that you have a job and give tell them what time you get off work.
Sep 17, 2007 at 11:12 am rating: 0