When addressing the concerns of the communications age, we sometimes omit simpler technologies. That can be a mistake. Some of these supposedly easy-to-use technologies can trip even the most wary among us. Take technology such as the entry telephone at your apartment building. ‘What could be simpler?’ you say. Hah! Even an entry phone can be a challenge for foolish users and the cause of many frustrations.
It was only after about six years of trying to let visitors come up to our suite that it became automatic to press the number ‘9’ on the telephone that would activate the switch that allowed the visitor to open the door. Previously many of our visitors were required to call twice. The second time, they would plaintively ask: ‘How do we get in?’
Then we would remember to press ‘9.’
But that does not work for the people stymied by the entry phone. We have always been bedevilled by people who call us at random and ask if we will please let them in to see people we have never heard of. And then there are the pizza and Chinese food deliveries. They are so used to dialling our code anyway.
The greatest challenge is the person who is so unfamiliar with entry phones that they use their cell phone to call you to ask you to let them in. You use up their cell minutes with a blow-by-blow lesson on how to use entry phones. Most of the time is spent trying to explain that unless they call you on the entry phone, you cannot press ‘9’ to let them in. When all else fails, you go downstairs to let them in.
Of course, when you are getting an elevator to go down 15 floors to let them in, some kind soul has let them into the building and they pass you in the elevator taking them up 15 floors. You can lose friends that way. Literally.
Mind you, even companies that sell entry phone systems can forget to mention things that can cause confusion. They want to make a sale. Why cause buyer concern. Like what they forgot to tell the joint facilities committee that currently looks after ours and a sister building. The two condominiums share a gate house. The committee decided to put the gate at the gate house on the entry phone system. The system was installed before anyone was told that the two building’s unit codes could not be integrated.
People in the two buildings could not explain to their visitors how to use the gate house system as it used entirely different codes and, of course, took about twice as long to scroll through and find the number for the person being called on. Concern about similar names in the two buildings was also another late thought. The installation was a mess and nobody was happy except the entry phone company. They got paid twice; once to install it and then again to make it work. We now tell our visitors to eliminate frustration and come to the back door and forget about the main entrance. At least we know how the entry phone at the back door works.
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