The Cable Guy
For years, Verizon has been our phone service provider, but recently we decided to switch to the digital phone service offered by our cable company. Why? Because, like all monopolies our existing cable service is excellent and the prices just can’t be beat.
Well, actually there is a little more to it than that. Verizon had recently sold all their telecom assets in New Hampshire to a small and debt bloated telecom utility in North Carolina. So, no fiber optic cable for us. Plus with the introductory deal from our local cable company, we would get a free year of HBO and a smidgen cheaper phone bill.
The cable technician was scheduled to install the service last Saturday and early that afternoon I received a frantic phone call from him. Apparently our address was not in the database of his GPS. I didn’t consider it much of a problem once I realized he was on a major route that lead directly by our neighborhood. I suggested that he enter a nearby established cross street into the GPS as his destination. Once he passed it, I informed him that our street would be next on the right.
Strangely, this turned out to be a difficult concept for him to grasp. Soon, it was clear that he was accustomed of being directed everywhere by his GPS, so the idea of not completely relying on it was little out of his concept space. Become over reliant on technology and it gets hard to think for yourself.
I decided to get radical in my approach with him. It took some cajoling, but I convinced him to try the ancient tactic of writing down dictated directions and then following them with the GPS off. The tricky part, I explained was that he would actually need to read street signs and decide by himself the appropriate places to turn. He agreed but there was a a nervous tone in his voice, so I promised that I would stay by the phone in case of trouble.
Several minutes later, he called me back when he was less than half mile from my house and I talked him through the last few turns. He had a big, proud grin on his face as he walked up to our front door and I found myself wondering how in the heck I could let this guy install phone service in my home.
