Cellphone withdrawal sets in

LG's Xenon is a really great phone!

I am in the grip of cellphone withdrawal.

Without warning on Friday afternoon, my new LG Xenon went on the fritz.

Calls would come in but I could not pick them up. Callers reported they got static when they connected. I could not access my voicemail or send files.

Saturday I trundled over to the ATT store on Route 22 near Sears. The young man was most helpful and spent nearly an hour tinkering with the phone. Diagnosis: Dead. As I had told him. He told me corporate has its ways.

Still being under warranty meant ATT will replace it. Calling the service number I was given, I spent nearly 45 minutes on the line with an extremely polite and methodical customer service rep in India who walked me through the steps to satisfy her that I had not put it in the washing machine or dropped it from a great height. When I commented on the procedure, she told me corporate had its ways.

Passing muster, I opted for the $12, 1-2 business day FedEx delivery and was sent on my way. The new phone may arrive today, and I'll be relieved to be able to get back to my voicemail (the box must be full!) and having old pal Frank D'A call just when I'm on the road and cannot pick up.

The Brick was, well ... well-named.

Far cry from the days back in real estate when cellphones were just becoming popular, and were called 'bricks' for good reason. I refused to get one, arguing that if I was out with customers, there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that was more important than being focused on them and a cellphone call would be an UNWANTED distraction.

Now, my friends still active in real estate tell me, they can sometimes find it hard to keep a client's attention because THE CLIENTS are on their cellphones so much.

How times have changed!

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-- Dan Damon

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