
 |
|
June 17, 2013
June 12, 2013
Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect
Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden
June 10, 2013
The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust
June 5, 2013
John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less
Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison
June 3, 2013
Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself
May 29, 2013
Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die
May 24, 2013
Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 8, 2009
/ 14 Nisan 5769
No more phoning it in
By
Malcolm Fleschner
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Just 25 years ago, if someone had told me that by the year 2009 most Americans would be carrying around small, wireless telephones that could be used nearly anywhere to make calls, send text messages and take and transmit photos and videos, I'm pretty sure I would have been skeptical. "How do you know?" I would have wondered, suspiciously. "What are you, a visitor from the future? And if so, who cares about micro-telephones that take pictures - where's your time machine?"
But the fact remains that, in terms of telephone technology, we've come a long way from the era, not too long ago, when "roaming capability" meant having a phone cord that could stretch all the way into the bathroom.
One of the big differences back then was that consumers didn't enjoy a range of service options. When ordering a new phone, the provider alternatives you faced were, essentially, "Do you want to go with the phone company, or do you not want to have any phone service?" And you didn't complain because the phone company was a mysterious, powerful organization that no one dared cross, much like the mob, except that not even the Mafia had access to those cool phones with a rotary dial right in the receiver that a phone company technician could make work even when clipped onto, say, a toaster.
Then in the early 80s, perhaps fearing competition from another massive, unresponsive, unaccountable bureaucracy, the federal government broke up the phone company. This ushered in the era of long distance wars, in which every other television commercial you saw featured an actor like Candace Bergin or Cliff Robertson expressing their expert celebrity opinion that consumers should avoid making a horrible mistake and choose whichever long distance company happened to be paying Candace Bergin or Cliff Robertson.
This was, of course, back when receiving a long distance phone call was actually a big deal. Why, even the term itself inspired great reverence. After answering the phone, a mother might shush her rambunctious brood by hissing, "I'm talking to your Aunt Agnes long distance," employing the same dramatic emphasis one might use to say, "I'm talking to the kidnappers about your father's ransom."
Today we have not only moved beyond the concept of the long distance phone call, but many consumers are abandoning traditional home phone service altogether. One increasingly popular alternative is the free Internet-based service Skype, which involves getting used to talking into a computer instead of a standard telephone. But most Skype users report adapting quickly, crediting the practice they've gotten over they years yelling at their computer screens.
The phone companies aren't just idly sitting by while this newfound competition cuts into their customer base, however. I discovered this fact recently when I tried to cancel the account with my home phone service company, which I will not explicitly identify because I have a policy of never publicly criticizing a company with a name that consists of the first three letters in the word "attorney."
Anyway, I repeatedly tried calling the customer service line to cancel, but I kept getting stuck on hold. Typically in such situations I would assume, based on my past dating experience, that the other party was just blowing me off and wanted nothing further to do with me. And I'd get the hint, at least once the restraining order was delivered. But in this case I knew that my provider couldn't be trying to ditch me because a recorded voice kept coming on the line to explain that my call was important to them. "Darn this unusually high call volume that seems to strike every time I call!" I remember thinking.
Eventually I did thwart their ingenious plan to keep by business by never taking my call, but only after I gave up on getting through and instead soliciting help from a Voodoo priestess friend.
And as it turns out, they were telling the truth that my call was important to them. I know this because, since canceling my account, company representatives have become incredibly communicative, calling practically every week to plead for me to sign up again. And much as I'm flattered by the attention, it's sort of pitiful. After all, this is the same company that not too long ago had the arrogance to tell people trying to order new service, "We'll have a technician out there between the hours of 9:00 am Thursday and whenever the comet Kahoutek returns. Will someone be at home?"
And now, here they are, in full grovel mode, begging me to take them back. Frankly, I feel a little bit guilty about abandoning them. So guilty, in fact, that very soon I'm going to check to see if the representative who called yesterday is still waiting for me on hold.
JWR contributor Malcolm Fleschner is a humor columnist for The DC Examiner. Let him know what you think by clicking here.
Previously:
02/26/09: Tuning in to the English Channel
02/19/09: 25 AND COUNTING
02/13/09: A new life, dead ahead
01/29/09: NOW STARRING ... EVERYBODY!
01/15/09: You know the type
01/08/09: Just in time, here comes 2009
11/20/08: Hotels go for the green
11/06/08: Something does not compute
10/30/08: Early adopters tech their chances
10/21/08: Cyberspace invaders
10/21/08: Keeping up disappearances
09/17/08: Victims of math hysteria
08/07/08: My newfound sense of self (promotion)
06/24/08: Getting the brand back together
05/29/08: Phrased and confused
05/13/08: Take this job and love it
04/17/08: News you can (re)use
04/02/08: Commercial (over)load
02/20/08: An overdose of reality
02/14/08: A developing situation
01/30/08: I can tech it or leave it
01/02/08: Confessions of a coke addict
01/02/08: Our bills are due
12/13/07: Going (to lunch) once, going twice…
11/28/07: Out with the old
11/06/07: My latest pet project
11/06/07: Can't tune it out
10/23/07: Something special in the hair
09/12/07: Can I have your attention, please?
09/12/07: Houston, we have an image problem
08/21/07: In the heat of fashion
08/09/07: Let's get in the game
06/13/07: You gonna eat that?
05/08/07: That's disinter-tainment
05/02/07:You Are (not) Getting Sleepy...
04/18/07: No time like Father Time
03/15/07: Deface the Nation
03/08/07: More gifts? You shouldn't have
02/22/07: Relationships can be such a chore
12/05/06: Who's calling the shots?
11/09/06: I'm taking selling to a whole new level
10/27/06: Some skills are beyond repair
10/18/06: You can't tech it with you
10/04/06: Award to the wise
08/24/06: Phrased and Confused
08/09/06: We're Gonna Party Like it's $19.99
07/19/06: Just Singing in the Brain
05/24/06: Who says you can't go home again?
05/11/06: When nightly news stories go off script
04/26/06: Cents and sensibility: A thought for your pennies
03/16/06: The day the Muzak died
02/23/06: Checkbook diplomacy begins at home
02/15/06: Today's toys: Where learning means earning
© 2006, Malcolm Fleschner
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Peter Funt
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
John Kass
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Michael Reagan
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
Cathy Young
Mort Zuckerman

Eric Allie
Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Nate Beeler
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
Daryl Cagle
Patrick Chappatte
John Cole
Paul Combs
J. D. Crowe
John Darkow
Bill Day
John Deering
Sean Delonas
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Randall Enos
Mallard Fillmore
David Fitzsimmons
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Mike Keefe
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Gary McCoy
Rick McKee
Jack Ohman
Jeff Parker
Milt Priggee
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Steve Sack
Bill Schorr
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
David Ray Skinner
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Christopher Weyant
Larry Wright
Dan Wasserman
Adam Zyglis

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|