Can you hear me now?

We all know the terrible beauty of the constantly connected world. Unlike some retailers I've opted to not hang the "No Cell Phones Please" sign on the door. Despite having to endure four inane cell phone conversations simultaniously, "What?","I'm in soapdish . . . soapdish . . . soapdish . . . no not soupdish . . . soapdish . . .", "Where?", "I can't hear you . . . what?".

I've taken the questionable stance that it's inevitable, so I'm going with the flow. One of our employees was in Thailand last month and she told us that while she was getting a massage her therapist stopped five times to answer her phone, and held three to five minute conversations. So color me resigned to he future of communication. On that note I give you:

Can you hear me now?

Customer enters.

Customer: I tried calling you earlier

Tim: I'm sorry I missed your call, I've been very busy this morning . . .

C: I called five times

T: I'm sorry I didn't get your message . . .

C: I didn't leave a message

T: Oh, well the phone's been ringing off the hook . . .

C: I called five times

T: I'm sorry about that . . . What can I do for you today?

C: Well . . . I wanted information about your spa . . .

Our voice mail message lists the store hours and spa phone number, so had she listened to the message she would have had the number to call for spa information.

T: No problem, what information were you looking for?

C: Um . . . I . . . (Soapdish phone starts ringing) Do you need to answer that?

T: No, that's o.k. I'm with a customer (smiles)

C: You are? (looks around the store)

T: Yes . . .

C: Oh . . . um . . . (looks around the store one more time)

T: You

C: Oh . . . what's the phone number for the spa?

T: It's 657 . . . (customer's cell phone starts ringing)

C: Hello . . . what? . . . where's that? . . . did you make reservations? . . . what? . . . when? . . . Soapdish . . . Soapdish . . . whatever . . . what? . . . o.k. . . . bye

T: It's 657.3233

C: What?

T: The spa phone number . . .

C: What was it again?

T: 657.3233

Now, don't get me wrong, I realize that sometimes it can be frustrating when you need to get a hold of someone and you can't get through. But, come on now, we can all remember the time before cell phones, answering machines, voice mail, wi-fi, etc. So all I'm asking of people is to put all of this in perspective.

Yes, I can hear you loud and clear . . .