Celphones

[Flying Grype]

I can't believe the poor quality of celphone calls from the other side of the continent. At least, I think they're cels. They belong to students. They might also be campus landlines. I suspect cels because I'm calling them in the middle of the school day.

Can I tell my customers to either use a proper damned phone when they call me, or use email? My head is starting to hurt from trying to interpret calls that sound like they're from Charlie Brown's teachers.

At least I can pick out a few words -- one kid left a voicemail and read out his phone number in it, and I was able to pick out enough of it to search the string in our order records and find his email address.

[Dips]

Can I tell my customers to either use a proper damned phone when they call me, or use email?

I think you should be able to. I do that myself since I'm not much help to anyone if I can't make out they're saying. And, since our customers pay for the phone call to tech support, I assume most would prefer not running up their phone bill to keep repeating themselves.

I'm not rude about it. I just say, "I'm really sorry but I can't hear you over this connection. Do you want to try again from another phone?"

Never had anyone bitch at me about that. Sometimes they ask to try moving to another room and that's fine. We try it and sometimes that fixes it. Sometimes it doesn't.

If they still persist after we've tried a few things and I still can't make out what they're saying, I just state, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid we've lost this connection; I can't hear you. If you can still hear me at all please call back and ask for Dips." Then I hang up.

[Javarod]

I can't believe the poor quality of celphone calls from the other side of the continent.

Can I tell my customers to either use a proper damned phone when they call me, or use email? My head is starting to hurt from trying to interpret calls that sound like they're from Charlie Brown's teachers.

Tell them to use email, telling them to use a proper phone is pointless as most people don't have a land line any more, and any other cell phone they can use is likely to be just as bad.

[Flying Grype]

Tell them to use email, telling them to use a proper phone is pointless as most people don't have a land line any more, and any other cell phone they can use is likely to be just as bad.

People are stupid. Not that this is a surprise. I just can't believe they pay money for this kind of service and let it exist in the market. I didn't expect cels to replace landlines until the quality of the product was almost comparable.

[Javarod]

People are stupid. Not that this is a surprise. I just can't believe they pay money for this kind of service and let it exist in the market. I didn't expect cels to replace landlines until the quality of the product was almost comparable.

Price, it rules. Over ten years ago i dropped my landline, it was nearly $20 for a basic line without long distance, voice mail, or anything. Cell started at $30, included long distance and voice mail, plus the phone goes where you are. Its really hard to justify a land line any more.

[Eric the Grey]

I have that happen once in a while. I'll get a call where there is either so much static that I cannot understand anyone, and/or they cannot understand me or there is just nothing but dead air at the other end. I normally tell them I cannot hear or make out what they are saying and suggest calling back.

Usually they'll call back and chuckle about the phone not working right and things are cool. Never had anyone get upset about it.

plus the phone goes where you are. Its really hard to justify a land line any more.

That's been my belief. I like the ability to get hold of, or be gotten hold of at almost any time of day, unless I'm sleeping. However, we pay quite a bit more than we would for a land line, considering we have 2 phones, texting, and a data plan for my phone (G1), so it's not a cost-saving option for us.


Eric the Grey

[godaistudios]

A big part of how good the the call quality is also depends on the provider... That's generally my opinion in that I work for a cell provider. Most of the time, it's fine, and I got rid of my landline nearly five years ago and I really haven't looked back. (I did have a landline service again briefly during my short marriage, but it was more for her than for me, since I really didn't use it.)

[lordlundar]

plus the phone goes where you are. Its really hard to justify a land line any more.

Ironically, I can justify a land line for that exact reason. Often times I want to go somewhere and not have to be on demand at all times in the day. A land line gives me that excuse.

[technical.angel]

See, that's the thing that people just don't seem to understand.

You can always turn off the cell phone.

[Broomjockey]

See, that's the thing that people just don't seem to understand.

You can always turn off the cell phone.

That, or leave the phone behind. It's not like it's tethered to you by an adamantium leash. Anyone gives you crap, just say you had to leave it charging, or you forgot it, or something.

[technical.angel]

It's not like it's tethered to you by an adamantium leash.

Wait, it's not supposed to be??

CRAP!

[lordlundar]

That, or leave the phone behind. It's not like it's tethered to you by an adamantium leash. Anyone gives you crap, just say you had to leave it charging, or you forgot it, or something.

"But, but, it's a cellphone! You're supposed to have it with you at ALL times!!!! Carry your charger and charge it when you find an outlet for pete's sake!"

Yes, I have heard that before, more times than I can keep track in fact. With a land line on the other hand, I have an infallible reason.

[earl colby pottinger]

Same here

"But, but, it's a cellphone! You're supposed to have it with you at ALL times!!!! Carry your charger and charge it when you find an outlet for pete's sake!"

Yes, I have heard that before, more times than I can keep track in fact. With a land line on the other hand, I have an infallible reason.

On the two separate times when I was once lent a cell from work and a lot later a cell from my Mom, I kept hearing the above all the time.

And it is not like that when I had the work phone that it was only work that wanted me to have it on-board all the time. It was everybody who knew I had it.

The same when Mom needed to contact me on short notice. All of a sudden, everyone thought I was on their beck and call.

Worse, I notice how lazy people got in telling me what they wanted to get done, or things to buy. Instead, they usually ended up calling me five minutes *AFTER* I had left the work site or store to add something extra.

Life is a lot more easier without a cell.

[PepperElf]

i've had that happen to me from the other side... when the people i called just couldn't hear me very well


not much i could do about it tho except trying to talk louder and carefully.
i was calling from the middle of the ocean so i didn't really have another phone to use

[EricKei]

I remember to this day the teenybopper girls from my oooold grocery-bagging job in the 90's -- they ALL had cell phones. When I asked them why, the response was "It's so anybody can get in touch with me any time of the day or night!". My reply was invariably a look of abject horror, along with "Why in the WORLD would you want THAT?! "

Keep in mind that these cell-phone-users never seemed to pick up when we were short on people and the managers tried to call them in...

I didn't have a cell until summer of last year -- intentionally -- and I was damn proud of it.