Our Sticker Phones

A world without mobile phones is a subject that our parents should tell to their grandchildren even if  the recital of such history could be perceived as a fable. Aside the ridicule, our parents theirselves may find it hard to grasp how they lived without mobile phones since many of them are now so  in tandem with technology. This post was inspired from an observation I made on a senior citizen. It was at a red traffic light. I looked sideways and saw a very elderly lady behind the wheels on my side pull out not a mirror but one of those smart phones with a size-able screen. She looked, then  tapped a few  things onto it until  just before the green. As I drove off to my own destination, I couldn't but think about the bond that exists between my phone and I, my dependence on it, how I deduce people’s character by their attitude to their phones and what potential danger in the use of  a phone. All of us have probably heard this “phone conversation” before. So, what I am writing here about mobile phones is largely the obvious but familiarity deserves our respect too, maybe even more! 

Foremost, we must credit our hand held devices for the role they play in our ability to interact, relate and escape loneliness. Communication is such a vital part of our existence and in our phones we have a very convenient tool. That such a device can now incorporate games, an organizer, music player, a camera, an alarm clock, cheap internet (and its extrapolation in the form of social media, news,  info reference on the go, etc) makes today’s phone  the real deal. So while I wait at the till queue, I could be doing anything from ticking off my to do list, shazam the music coming from over my head, play solitaire, read an emailed invoice of my last online purchase, download the photo of my friend’s new bundle of joy, shoot a video of my son rearranging my shopping basket or listen to a podcast from my phone… until a reminder buzz, from the same phone, interrupts me to call the chap at the office. What we can do with our phones is almost endless, ranging from the meaningful to the  outright bizarre. We want to be heard, we want to know what’s trending and the device through which these are  done reflect our up-to-dateness.

It seems that phone designers and app developers have connived to exploit our desire to know, share, become organized or entertained. Yes, our phones have become a preoccupation. Unfortunately, they are also relegating our etiquette, pose a threat to frank one-on-one interaction and prevent the formation of genuine human bridges. So instead of chatting up with the person(who might be the long lost part of our family tree that we desire to meet) sitting next to us on the train ride home, we are looking or tapping at our phone screens and giggling to ourselves. Even the present US president wanted to keep his blackberry when he became president! Once I went out with work colleagues. We wanted to truly enjoy the company of ourselves away from work and a foremost  agreement was  that all mobile phones would be in the custody of a single person, each person could only receive phone calls but could neither initiate a call nor use any of the other phone applications and these will have to be at the discretion of the temporal custodian of our devices. Also, the  portability of our mobile phones means that no place is spared from its affront on our time. The other day, the lady next to me in church kept typing repeatedly into her phone during the sermon- she was definitely not taking notes because she had a tablet she looked into when scripture references were made.

The preoccupation with our phones do not only alienate us sometimes, they can be very intrusive, especially if you are someone like I, who never switches off his phone ( not even in church since I might be reached from the children’s church if the need arises). I have often found my work interrupted by such things as a salesman’s  call! And going back to the traffic light, how many times have we had a driver behind us blare his car horn before we look away from our phones when the traffic light had turned from red to green or expressed our own disapproval to the driver whose car has been swerving in front of  us because he was on the phone? How long can we drive with our eyes closed? This is less than what we do when we tweet or read a text while behind the wheels because at least when we are blindfolded, all other senses are tuned up.I am not sure how miserable our lives would become if we resist the urge to use our devices when something else that borders on our safety need a full attention. Let's face it though, there is always a thrill of getting away with doing something we shouldn't do. Can we occasionally  take a “chill pill”, bother less about the world and just be native?

One  must not assume that this pre occupation with hand held devices is youthful peculiarity, ditto the elderly lady at the  traffic light. I got tutored on one of those online payments portal I admire  so much via a cell phone from an elderly lady too. A lady again, right? I am not sure if there is a study out there whose subject is gender predilection to phone activity. If so, such a study would infer that our mode of communication characterizes us, an identity “sticker” of our personalities. Or should I say a “sticker” to our persons?

Bad Service

It is amazing when people offering a paid service act like they are doing a favour to the customer. In a sense though, they are doing a favour by making available what is desired by the consumer, but one that is returned in payment. A reversible  favour of convenience one might say since payment is always favorable to business.

So when the lady at the reception today looked at me coming through her office entrance but instantly look her gaze off and continued her conversation with an unseen occupant on the other side of the her office, I heard the alarm bell ringing that another bad service was brewing. Although as  I was not directly at her desk yet, it would be impatient of me to assume that she wouldn't give me her undivided attention when I am stationed right in front of her. I walked up to her, said my greeting twice and her eyes drifted to me and away again. For a moment I felt I was invisible in broad day light…and the vain thoughts that come with such supernatural state ran through my head (  go rob bank for example!). After a few giggles with the unseen party, she finally turned to answer me and that, with no apologies.

It was my first time at that office, there was no one else in the waiting area and it was very obvious that I am a prospective client. With that much cold shoulder meted to me, the urge was to tell her how unpleasant she was and then walk away. However,a mixture of the fact that I was reliably referred there and that the business I sought to pursue had been elusive for more than six months, somehow hatched a cool within me. I just wanted to get my business done. The end does justified the means.

Perhaps another reason for holding up from expressing my displeasure today ,was that lately I have had a succession of tirades in matters similar. My energy level has frankly become temporarily low for such confrontations. I was having one of those moments when it is reasonable to hide under the guise that silence can be a strategy in an argument. Better still, that  one’s voice can be loudest when no sound is made!

Bad service has a away of making us us feel violated and can easily cast an unpleasant cloud over an otherwise merry demeanor – which may be carried by the recipient beyond the service point. It is  a disregard for courtesy and a reflection of attitude. Those  who dish  it out have a high rate of repetition. If (as it seems) those that pay bad service don't often see anything wrong with in their approach to life, contesting them isn't always the best the best solution. Unfortunately too, it is just inevitable to avoid people with a foul attitude. While online services come handy in that they cut off the middle man and its attendant frictions, genuine human interactions can be very rewarding – I just alluded to finding  an elusive service from a referral.

It worthy of note that what a client perceives a bad service is not always so. This may arise among others from a client’s lack understanding of the  modus operandi of  an organization, unrealistic (well, uninformed) expectations, bias or from a genuinely unintended miscommunication. Take these away and offer excellent services, some clients are still going to be fastidious and  critical.

Whatever the response to bad service is, be it vilifying the perpetrator or outrightly turning deaf ears, one must guard oneself from the negativity it can create, deal with it there, then and move on. My default position today was to make an excuse for the offender and get my business done. After all, are only truly in control over our own self.