A Phone by Any Other Name

I have recently, the company I work for, and take new positions with new employers with a higher salary. My business is it, and I left the comfort and stabilty of my old job at a startup company that I thought would be a great success to work. She knew she had to pay for qualified employees so that they have no problems, my attendance requirements in relation to wages, benefits and stock options. What I do not realize that although they can not spare skimping on compensation, work environment they want to much.

I can stand with very small cubes. I can live with the lack of natural light (although I do feel a cave troll). I can do without a cafeteria, water coolers, and coffee maker. What I really miss is my old cell phone.

You see, my old phone was indeed, not an “old” phone.  It was a multi-line handling, LCD displaying, caller IDing monster that gave me more options than a new car salesman.  My “new” phone has none of those amenities.  There is no transfer or hold button, no screen to display who is calling, no headset and no electronic directory.  In short, the only difference between this phone and a Garfield phone you might buy at Spencer’s Gifts is that this phone isn’t shaped like a cartoon cat.  My job would be so much easier and my days so much more productive if only we had a real office phone system in place.  The current system is so poorly automated that only a very small percentage of the calls I get are actually meant for me.  Likewise, I get several E-mails a day asking why I haven’t returned phone calls in regard to messages I never received.

I guess the old addage that “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” really holds true in this case.

Since I came here, I have actively lobbied to have the old phone system replaced, but to no avail.  I think I may be the only one here who knows what he’s missing.  Oh well…I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who has experienced this.  Maybe you too have lost a beloved phone in a career move.  I sympathize with you.  I’d leave my number so we could comiserate, but you’d probably never reach me anyway.