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Cultural Consultant Learns New Language, Cell Phones
Being sensitive and understanding each other's culture takes time. Would you like it if I spoke real loud to you all the time and waved my arms in wide circles trying desperately to get your attention? I doubt it. You would be surprised how many people think that's how you communicate with someone who is new to the language. Rudeness is a universal language.
I know these things, it is my business. Colleagues call me CC for short paying homage to the acronym in care of, which is aptly appropriate considering I help businesses understand customers' in Asia and Europe. I teach clients cultural nuances and traditions so they know what to say and how to act in appropriate manners without inadvertently offending a different culture.
Clients often think if they learn the language it's enough. What they don't understand is that the language remains foreign if they don't put it in context with a culture. By learning cultural sensitivities towards individuals you work with it shows etiquette, tact, and good judgment which is so important in business today.
I sometimes wonder why these little nuances are forgotten in the most every day ways like business literature. Recently, I purchased a cell phone so I could communicate with my clients overseas and in the U.S. Reading through the literature that so many of them distribute, it felt they missed my whole generation, and were geared for the younger folks. Surely this insensitivity did not mean they wanted to exclude my generation. But it was an inherent cultural insensitivity just the same. I know there are legions and legions of folks just like me in their early fifties, slightly round, and technically challenged, but willing to learn.
The terms and acronyms these cell phone companies throw around were at first difficult concepts to grasp, like learning a foreign language. What would make have things easier for me is if someone had just simplified things for me and said," here is what you need to know about getting a cell phone. Like, I've learned in business if you want something done right, you do it yourself.
Here is the article I prepared to educate myself about cell phone plans. I hope you will find it as useful as I have.
Cell Phone Plans
Cell phone companies structure their plans around talk time and offer different plans with individual minute allotments. Generally, the more minutes on the plan the greater the service fee billable per month. . Some cell phone plans offer talk minutes that are good anytime, while others are only good on nights and weekends. These companies charge an additional fee every time you exceed the designated number of minutes. For this service they charge anywhere from 20-60/ cents per minute depending on the plan. With Cingular any unused minutes roll over to the next month.
Most cell plans offer one or two year contracts and charge a fee if you decide to cancel before the contract expires. A business colleague on an extended visit from China recently paid $200.00 to cancel his cell phone plan.
Some cell phone companies' offer prepaid plans as an alternative to a long-term contract. Another service that some of my visiting clients like using is Tracfone, which comes with prepaid calling. With this service you pay in advance for airtime minutes, which last 45 to 60 days before expiring.
A similar service is GoPhone, from AT&T Wireless, which operates like the automated highway-toll services. With this service there is no long term contract and the opening balance is posted to a credit card. The calling time is good for 30 days, with calls debited at the end of 30 days or when the balance is below five dollars.
A cell phone plan itself can be region specific or nationwide. The most limited in scope are local plans, which cover a specific city or metropolitan area. Calls outside that region incur what is called a roaming charge, plus long-distance charges.
The next level up is what is known as a regional plan, which covers more than just one region and may encompass all or part of several states. Again, roaming and long-distance charges apply for calls outside the region.
Considering the high volume of phone calls and conferences necessary with my clientele, I decided a 5000 minute nationwide plan would work best for my needs.
T Mobile Get More Supra
5000 min, unlimited weekend/weeknight
$129.99
Cingular Nation 4500
4500 min, 5000 night time
$249.00
Verizon America Choice
5500 min, free in network, unlimited weekend/night
$319.99
I chose T Mobile's Get More Supra 5000 plan, which also supports GSM a digital phone format widely used in Asia and Europe.
Features for the 50+
An important feature is visibility. So many phones are the size of packages of bubble gum. Any normal person with 20/20 vision would need a magnifying glass just to read the screen and see the numbers. Oh sure, I could walk down the street with a magnifying glass held up to the phone or sit in my office with a microscope or dial a client's number while using a binoculars just to read the numbers on my bubble gum phone. Give me a break. If I want to play games I'd rather invite the grandkids over. This is business, a phone needs to function on my terms, not be a child's candy or something to make jokes about.
I have learned one thing that helps with visibility is an LCD (liquid-crystal display) screen, which is readable in both low and bright conditions. The next thing that helps with legibility is the key pad. So many of the keypads are itsy bitsy, reminding me of that song, "she wore an itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow poke-a-dot bikini", neither one is for me.
My Phone
The expression, in a New York minute, rang so true when it came to finding my phone. Visiting the search engines in less than a minute I found a Nokia cell phone, which has a large color screen and keypad, a speakerphone, and is an international GSM phone suitable for travel in over 130 countries.
Convenient cell phone features
There's nothing I hate more during meetings with clients, than hearing a cell phone ring. By pressing a button on the phone it switches to the vibrating alert. With this feature important calls come through without being annoying to clients. At a quick glance at the number I can tell whether I need to take the call or let it go into voicemail.
Programmable speed dial - This is a handy address book feature and is a method for storing the names and numbers of the people you most frequently call.
Single-key last minute redial-This is so useful when a call gets disconnected. Instead of looking up the number again, I just hit redial.
Any key answer - When the phone rings I can answer it by selecting any key instead of choosing only the talk and send keys.
Voice recognition software - This is a feature on the phone that makes it possible so you can set up voice-activated calling and menu commands to reach a contact or activate a feature more quickly.
Battery - Some batteries can be charged while the cell phone is in use; you don't have to lose time waiting for a recharge, which can take 6 to 24 hours. Another option with batteries is an automobile adapter, which lets you power the phone by plugging into the car's cigarette lighter.
3G Service - This is a new service offered by the cell phone providers that increases the rate date is transferred. This comes in handy for emailing photos and downloading games.
Important Cell Phone Terms
GSM: I quickly learned that will all the trips I take to Asia and Europe having a phone with GSM was critical. GSM means Global System for Mobile Communications and is a digital format used widely in Europe and Asia. In the U.S. only T-Mobile and some AT&T and Cingular phones use GSM. It keeps calls separate by assigning a slice of time to each carrier.
CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access is a digital format used by Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and some regional carriers. CDMA is incompatible with other digital formats. With CDMA each caller is assigned a digital code to separate the calls.
TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access. The digital format used mainly by AT&T Wireless and Cingular. TDMA is incompatible with other digital formats. TDMA is similar to GSM.
SMS: Short Message Service is also known as text messaging. With SMS I can send a short text message from one cell phone to another or from the Internet to a cell phone. This is great for attending trade shows. I use it to send a quick message to clients about meeting for coffee, or at their booth.
Handy Resources
Free directory assistance: Having these websites has really come in handy when traveling and visiting clients. I never know what phone number or resource I'm going to need at the last minute.
Learning the cell phone language has brought me in touch with my own needs and my clients. In the process I've discovered what works for me in a phone has to work for them. After all, communication is never a one way street. Like I tell my clients learning your customer's language is helpful, but your work is not done, until you understand the context.
Source: Consumer Reports digital buying guide 2004.
Sonja Denwa is a cultural diversity specialist based in New York City who researched hundreds of articles about cell phones. She found Rene Tse's website to have the most useful information . At Bob Caldwell's website Sonja found information to meet all her mobile needs, by browsing through articles on cell phone plans , free camera phone and free cell phone offers.
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