Mini-Post: Cultural Sensitivity

OMG! That's DEI!

I have written about this in the past. There is another great divide here in the U.S.: phone etiquette, and by phone, I also include texts.

I bought new glasses a week ago Tuesday, and I had been waiting for them for almost two weeks!

I asked Gemini AI about phone usage, "Is there any data about phone usage with seniors compared to non-seniors?" and it said,

In short, the data shows that while seniors are quickly adopting smartphones and other digital technologies, their usage habits differ from those of non-seniors. They tend to spend less time on their devices and use them for more specific, functional purposes, although their engagement with social and entertainment-focused apps is steadily increasing.

In my house, I have a landline phone extensions in the kitchen, in my bedroom, in my office upstairs, and one in the den down in the basement. My cell phone is inside my bag on the dining room table. On Saturday morning at ten, I was probably eating out on the deck when they called.

Now, you would think that they would call again when I didn’t show up. Nope, just that one cell phone call. I get a cell phone call a day from CVS; they call both my landline and my cell phone... unfortunately. It is good that they call both, but I don’t need a dozen calls reminding me to order a drug that my doctor stopped. But other than those, I don’t get many calls. It is not that I don’t like talking to friends on the phone, but they know to call my landline first.

So I noticed when I took my cell phone out to charge that it had over a dozen messages. "Hi, this is CVS…" Delete! "Hi, this is CVS…" Delete! "Hi, this is CVS…" Delete!

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"Hi, this is the optician; your glasses are in." WHOA! Checking the envelope… Saturday at 10:00 a.m.… I was out on the deck eating breakfast!

You know, at one time I used to work. While at work, I made phone calls. If they didn’t return the call, I called them again.

Back to phone etiquette. When I make a call, I am aware of their preferences. My niece and nephews… text is their preferred method. My brother used to prefer the landline, but now that they are living in their daughter’s house, it is the cell phone.

When I was working, I always called the landline first and then their cell. I figured if they have a landline, that is their preferred first choice.

There is data that shows that seniors have the highest number of landlines. I wonder why? Could it be because there are hundreds of friends, relatives, and others who only have that number? Maybe it is also because they don’t make extension phones for the house. And I'll be damned if I will carry my cell phone around the house with me.

What it all boils down to is common courtesy to respect others… it is simple. If they list a landline, call that number first.

So now the optometrist will not get any new business from me. My old optometrist, who I went to school with, retired, so I was looking for a new optometrist, and I chose them because they are local and not a chain store.