I Was Lost Without it…

 

Tuesday was a busy day.  I had appointments in the morning, and was showing houses in the afternoon.  The day flew. At 6:00 PM I settled into my home office to catch up on paperwork. I realized I hadn’t gotten any phone calls that afternoon.  That’s unusual.

I pulled out my cell phone and nothing!  It was turned off! What? I never turn off my phone! 

Uh-oh, not good, I pushed the on switch.  Nothing!  I wondered how long it had been off.  Uh-oh.

What time did my last call come in?  I thought.  Hmmm.  I turned it off, and tried to turn it on, again and again and again.  Still nothing! Uh – oh. This is really not good!

Did I have messages?  People that called today? People expecting a call back right away?

What if there was an emergency? What if an agent was calling for a showing on one of my listings?

What if one of my tenants was calling with an emergency?

THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS REQUIRES AGENTS TO BE JOHNNY ON THE SPOT…

I spent 30 minutes trying everything to get my phone to work. This thing finally died, I thought.

I called my cell phone company.  The representative was very nice.  “Did you drop your phone? Did it fall into water?” she asked.  No I didn’t and it hadn’t. She spent 30 minutes with me, testing and retesting…and then the dreaded words, “Yes, it is the phone.  Your phone is dysfuntional.  I can ship you out a new one, but it will take 2-3 days!”

“What did you say?  I can’t be without my phone for 2 to 3 days! This is my direct line! Buyers won’t be able to reach me!  Sellers won’t be able to reach me! What if there’s an emergency? What am I going to do without my phone for 2-3 days?“

The representative probably thought I was coming unglued.  “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Mrs. Shores.”  I’m sure she was on the other line, calling the men with the straight jackets to come and take me away to lock me up in a rubber room.

Go ahead and order the new phone. What was I going to do? What choice did I have?

Being without my cell phone would be like being without my right arm! How many people were waiting to hear back from me that I didn’t know about?

I had to have a plan. I headed out the front door with my dog, Bailey to get some fresh air and figure it out. I had to make some calls.

I was dreading the next couple of days, being out of touch with others.  When I walked back into the house I reached for my phone one last time. It was still dead.  I slammed it on the counter three times.  My husband looked at me like I was nuts. “What are you doing?” “It’s already broken so I can’t hurt it.”  I slammed it on the counter 3 more times.  The welcome tone on the phone started up.  I couldn’t believe it!  The introduction music played and finished.  I looked at the phone in disbelief! I opened it, dialed it and put it to my ear.  My daughters phone, ( the number I dialed)  began ringing. “Hello?” she answered. Then the voicemail notification tone rang.  I had 4 voicemails.  I listened to them and immediately called all 4 people back, apologizing profusely for my delay in returning their calls.

My phone has been working fine since I slammed it on the counter.

My new phone arrived, by overnight mail, in less than 36 hours! I will have one of my teenage daughters set it up for me.

So what do you do, if you’re unable to return any of your phone calls?