Hello ? A Cellular Rant

SalesManUp


Hello ?  A Cellular Rant


Apparently we love our own cell phones but we hate everyone else’s. - Joe Bob Briggs


As youngsters, my mother taught her children that while we might not be the smartest people around, we could be courteous, polite and considerate of others. - Zig Ziglar


How did we ever live without cell phones ? Could people of the human race actually ommunicate without this electronic device, that has now morphed into a personal computer that fits in our pocket ? When I first started my career in sales, my “ cell phone “ was attached to the wall of the local 7-11. It was called a “pay phone”. A client recently told me over a business lunch, that he was at an airport with his grandson, and his grandson grabbed his hand, dragged him around the corner, pointed to an object on the wall and said , “ Gramps, what is that ?” It was a pay phone. My, how technology has changed.


But our consideration for one another has seemed to digress as technology has increased. We seem to be communicating more, but are we communicating better ? Those of us who are a little older have watched our world change with the use of personal electronic devices. It seems like almost everyone has a cell phone now. I know parents of elementary school children that are throwing fits ( the kids, not the parents…) to have the most latest and greatest Android or I -phone. I watched an elderly couple at a local restaurant finish lunch , then he spent the next 15 minutes checking his cell phone while his wife read a book. Shoot, I even saw a man riding a bicycle down the road the other day while talking on his cell phone. Who said men can't multi-task ?


While the immediate accessibility can be a plus, I have to wonder about the long-term impacts of the stress and anxiety that accompanies the quickened pace of our lives. We have become like Pavlov’s dog, trained to jump every time our phone indicates a new message, a new text, a fresh email, or a response on social media. At times, these little devices that grant us so much freedom and accessibility, can seem to become our task master. We also seem to be less patient with one another. We demand immediate responses, and get angry when they don't come soon enough. I’m sure you’ve observed this in our culture. So how do we enfold technology into our jobs and still maintain proper relational balance and consideration of others ? Here are a few thoughts.


Meetings. Have you ever been in a meeting, maybe in the middle of a statement, and someone’s phone chirps ; and they absolutely HAVE to take the call ? Unless your wife is giving birth or you have a sick child at home, is it really necessary to take that call and interrupt the meeting ? I have been at lunch meetings with clients, and they see my cell phone light up ( I keep it on vibrate ), and they tell me, “ Go ahead and take the call. “ My response is , “ No, I am here with you now, and you deserve my full attention. That’s what voicemail is for ! “ If we plan on being somewhere, BE THERE . We must be present at our meetings and presentations without allowing technology to interrupt. Otherwise, we can send a subtle message to the client, “ you are really not that important. “


Public Conversations. Have you ever walked into a talking bathroom ? It happened to me just the other day while visiting a healthcare client. I ducked into the bathroom , and was greeted by a pharmaceutical rep discussing sales projections with his manager while on the crapper. Yes, I applaud his mastery of time management, but wouldn’t a walk outside or a 5 minute talk in his car afford more privacy ? What makes us think that the whole world should know our business ? I can recall having lunch at a poultry-based fast food establishment one afternoon, and being subjected to a lengthy conversation from a salesperson representing residential products, boasting about how he scammed some homeowners. I wanted to throw a waffle frie at this dude. You may have experienced something similar !


I polled our local postal workers at my small hometown post office one afternoon, asking them about their thoughts regarding cell phones. They told me the most frustrating thing that they deal with is someone who is on their cell phone when they enter the post office, and stays on their cell phone during their entire transaction. Why ? Because by doing so , the person on the cell phone does not provide their full attention to the attendant and thus makes them feel disrespected and slighted. We cannot treat individuals in service businesses as merely a means to our end. Who wants to feel used? This is simply rude. People deserve to be treated like, well, people ; receiving our eye contact, our smile and our full attention - without a phone or bluetooth stuck in our ear.


Sometimes, I think we use our phones as a means to escape true social interaction. We can utilize machines  to keep from making contact with a real human. Our phones can become our security blankets. While cycling a local trail one Saturday with my wife, we joined a group of young people that we knew from our hometown. Our group stopped for lunch while on the trail. I was amazed and struck by the fact that the young lady sitting next to me, stayed on her phone, primarily checking out social media, during the entire lunch . Never made eye contact once.  I felt saddened and a bit ticked off that she chose to communicate with her cyber friends instead of the living breathing humans that were sitting 6” from her. Am I the only one that has a problem with that ?


Technology should be a tool that helps bring people together , but we have to be wise in the way we use those tools, or I'm afraid that they will dominate our lives. Most of all, we must never lose site of the fact that people are more important than machines. Maybe it's time to reexamine our priorities and practices when it comes to our technology, ya think ?


Every time there's a new tool, whether it's Internet or cell phones or anything else, all these things can be used for good or evil. Technology is neutral; it depends on how it's used. - Rick Smolan