I'm still thinking about an article that came my way last week via Jason Barnett. Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call You talks about how in the past five years, adults have given up on the telephone: land line, voice mail, and mobile. It was eye-opening because it took me so long to get comfortable making cold calls to potential employers. Only to read that phone calls are not welcomed
I totally understand. I can be working feverishly on deadline at home. When the phone rings, my mind jolts to a halt like an emergency brake stopping a freight train. If the person calling is working at the same frenzied pace as I am, the conversation sounds like one of the old Joe Sedelmaier TV commercials for Federal Express.
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It's unfortunate because the telephone was designed to establish a connection—which is what we all want in our communications. Both my mother and my husband’s mother were telephone operators, my mom in 1940s Detroit, Mike’s mom in rural southeastern Minnesota. One operator routed calls with romantic-sounding telephone exchanges, the other fielded calls on party lines. As a kid in the 1960s I remember owning a poster called The Telephone Story. I imagined owning a Princess phone or a trimline phone or one of those new touchtone phones. I’d choose aqua. Compared to our own phone—a standard-issue, beige desktop job with a rotary dial—they were jet-age and snazzy.
When I call someone today, I email them and ask if we can set up a phone appointment. It’s premeditated but necessary. Today's employees have taken on an increased workload because of a reduced workforce, while employers test the winds to determine if they should staff up.
In college I bought an aqua touchtone phone for my efficiency apartment. And now that I have a Princess phone? It's been deemed a pink purveyor of punishment.
So I use it as a desk accessory. And a reminder to watch out for jet lag in this jet age.
So I use it as a desk accessory. And a reminder to watch out for jet lag in this jet age.
Do you fondly remember a particular phone? A Mickey Mouse phone? A red lips phone? Your first smart phone? Talk about it here. It's your dime.
The Telephone Story Image is courtesy of Coen Meeder and appears on www.porticus.org. ©1894-2011 Beatrice Companies, Inc.
Related Posts:
My Pretty Pink Princess Phone
A Prepaid Smartphone Would Change the World
Related Posts:
My Pretty Pink Princess Phone
A Prepaid Smartphone Would Change the World
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeletethe telephone is a necessary evil. It can establish communication and it can destroy communication.
Thanks for an entertaining story.
Take care
Oliver
Hi Oliver,
ReplyDeleteSo true, your observation about the telephone. Delighted to bring some entertainment to your day! Thanks for the compliment and for reading --
Susan
I had a similar blog as it relates to written letters and cards. The Postal Service is bankrupt because we don't send mail anymore---everything is done electronically including letters ans cards. I wish we could go back old school sometimes, there's nothing like reading a handwritten letter from a friend. :)
ReplyDeletePhones are still important in business. What you put out is what you will get back. Thanks for posting.
Nothing wrong with old school! Compare the difference in reaction to a cluttered inbox and an actual mailbox filled with actual letters. Your post makes me want to go out and write one!
ReplyDeleteWow, something about this post is really resonating with readers -- it's going up in the statistics. If you're reading this post I'd love it if you left a comment so I know what readers are enjoying. Thank you! Susan
ReplyDeleteInterested in free telephone stuff? The Antique Telephone Collectors Association has two free downloads: an antique telephone screen saver and slide show, both Windows-based and cleared by Norton. Thank you to Coen Meeder for directing me to the site.
ReplyDeleteDownload them here: http://atcaonline.com/free.php
Does anyone have any recommendations for a cordless landline phone? We need to replace ours. The phones we buy seem to have a shelf life of two years before they give out. My grandma's phone, on the other hand, lasted 50 years. Progress!
ReplyDelete