From my house to my office, there is a "hole" in cell phone coverage. My phone will not ring, and has absolutely no signal for just a few minutes. There are quite a few of these holes throughout our region, mostly due to geography. We are at sea level and surrounded by mountains. The cell phone companies put up more and more towers every summer, but it never seems to be quite enough - especially in summer when our daily population about doubles due to all the cruise ships.
The construction of a building can also interfere with cell phones. Buildings of primarily metal or concrete can distort the signals for transmission or receiving calls.
Most days this is just a minor inconvenience.
Yesterday it cost me money in the form of a potential client!
When I got to the other side, I had a chime from my phone indicating I had a message.
Wouldn't you know it, a new buyer looking to buy a house, and he wanted to work with me!
Problem is that he left no phone number. The name didn't ring a bell, and the last name was garbled.
My recorded greeting does have a line about not trusting technology, and to please call again if no response is received by the end of the business day.
Unfortunately, "Ray" didn't call back. So, I'd like to remind everyone:
• Clearly state your name and the purpose of your call.
• Always leave a telephone number. In fact, say it twice.
• Make sure your voice has a clear pathway to the microphone so your message isn't garbled.
• Don't trust technology. Your number will not always show up on caller ID. If the cell phone you are calling is out of range, it will not record where the call came from. If you are calling from a government office or even a private phone, caller ID may be blocked.
• Don't trust technology. It isn't perfect.
• If you are calling from a cell phone or even a cordless phone, your end may be sending garbled information. All the more reason to state everything twice!
• Never assume someone already has your number.
I'd really like to return that call. I'm not about to ignore a live buyer in this market. But I don't have enough information to do so!
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