techrecovery | Can you hear me now?

X-Posted in my own journal...

We've just gotten new Nextel phones throughout the district. Support staff, custodians, administrators. Now, you can be reached, even if you're in the bathroom. FANtastic.

Yesterday I got assigned the terrific job of handing them out. Let me tell you, THAT was a good time. It took almost all day, and involved a lot of me demonstrating how to use the phone. It's a phone. A phone!

So today, I get an email asking me to test all the phones I handed out yesterday. I would say that the majority of people didn't even have their phone on. (that's going to go over well) But here's one interaction that I can't resist sharing...

I reached one guy at the high school who buzzed me back about 3 minutes after i originally alerted him.

I said "Hi I'm just testing phones for Barbara"

and he said, "Who's this?"

so I replied, "Lauren in tech support. I'm just testing out the new phones for Barbara."

and he says "This isn't barbara."

so I sigh and push the button again and say, "I know you're not Barbara. I'm testing the phones FOR Barbara."

and he says, "Oh, okay. Hi."

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From:

jecook

::rolls eyes::

I had a nextel phone waaaay back in 1997-1998 when they first came out with it. IT was ok, as long as you were not in the bastment of any building, or in one of the many, many coverage holes that existed at the time.

And we had the phone side of it turned off, which meant that if we used it as a phone, the company paid something like $1.00 a minute for useage charges.

It was pretty stupid. I've heard that it's gotten better.