PA photo
By
Hazel Speed
It always amazes me sometimes that certain opportunities are glaringly obvious but the major manufacturers within one industry or another are that busy chasing the younger consumer market in order to urge them to buy cutting edge technology that they do not realise the part or whole funding for the same could be obtained by consumers within other demographs who may not have, for one reason or another (such as funding, or that extinct word ‘choice’) the latest smartphone.
There are many ways the traditional landlines, still used by millions of people in countless categories, can be upgraded, still as easy to use as always, but which could provide a service as yet, not available.
One area I am not disclosing herein as I still live in hope to place the same with a service provider myself in return for their ‘being a drink in it’ as they say.
I am going to refer to one other money making idea and area of obvious need herein though.
First of all, however, I do commend an existing phone range which has a type of ‘butler’ service. Every call from a number not in a private directory belonging to its owner, is asked by the inphone service, who is calling, and the caller has to wait until a special ring alerts the person receiving that call and proceeds to enquire if they are prepared to accept the call, alternatively reject the same, or have it transferred to voicemail.
Every time the owner wishes, they can add a new person’s name and number(s) to their private directory on the phone system and then when that call number rings again they circumvent the butler and one will know by their preferred ring tone that it is from an acceptable caller.
This telephone system has caller display in association with one’s usual service provider billing.
A major high street store catalogue lists these phones as there is a range of the same.
Admittedly, I had help to show me how to set the directory up but only needed a quick few minutes as it is easy to understand and has lots more functions but need not be used at all if preferred.
It deters scammers/fraudsters, misdialled calls, etc, etc. In short, it annoys those one wants to annoy…subjectively and objectively!
Calls can even be put on a ‘do not disturb’ footing.
Those who do not want ‘dump and run’ voicemails can switch the voicemail facility off and your directory will actually show you the directory name as to who called thereby negating the need of voicemail.
By ‘dump and run’ voicemails I mean, e.g. “sorry there is no way for you to reach me now before I visit at 10am tomorrow so please be in as I am travelling a long way and represent, etc.”
Well it wasn’t as if one had a hospital appointment or a bereavement was it??
Now this is the interesting point. One of these phone systems even has a mini few seconds to record any important detail during conversation, e.g. If a friend is in conversation and you do not have a pen to hand for detail as to place of restaurant re lunch tomorrow, or bus number to take, etc, then apparently one can activate a button on that particular phone (but not on all in the range) for the facility I just outlined.
We live in a day and age where owners of landline phones need protection of another sort which is also a potentially huge commercial market.
Apart from the young or the technologically dexterous of all ages who can operate smartphones and record any calls thereon if required, there is nothing to protect landline users if accepted calls may be required for “evidential purposes” – a phrase which has just superseded ‘legal and training purposes’.
In law one has to be told within the beginning of any telephone conversation if a call is being recorded for “evidential purposes” – whether a person is making or receiving a call and if an objection is raised then those objecting should end the call.
If the call proceeds then that conversation can be used as evidence in Court.
So far, to my knowledge at least, there is no such system on the market for private homes where a butler sevice, service provider, provides a warning at the begining of all outgoing or incoming calls, nor an option to press a button on the handset to be triggered along with a warning statement before the conversation continues at any stage of a call from the beginning middle/onwards.
There should be a facility to switch that function off too if required for private chats though these days even some of those can hide something nasty in the wood shed.
It would also be funny when calling to Officialdom who had the same system, but were met with a complementary statement to that of their own – like two voicemails wanting to do lunch…
I find it objectionable when I am asked ‘would you be willing to take part in a questionnaire on your call today? Don’t worry, you won’t have to speak with anyone, as it is automated.’
Retort – ‘don’t you worry either as my machine and your machine will advise us both in due course if you do not rate me high enough to assign staff.’
Please, can a standard telephone service provider, and/or the telephone handset manufactuters mentioned herein above, protect the interest of the home landline telephone user and earn yourself more income in the process.
Needless to say I would love to be the first to buy and review such a product!
Hazel Speed
Photo (c) Hazel Speed – used by kind permision to Tuck Magazine
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