Please leave your message after the beep... I was just reading an article about 25 things that are disappearing from America. I was dismayed to see stand alone answering machines on the list! I remember my first answering machine. It was 1988 and I was a senior in college. I was certain I needed an answering machine for the hundreds of calls I would get back after sending out my resumes that spring. It was a beige and pink model—and looked quite sassy on my desk in my dorm room. I had only gotten an in-room phone the year before when I became an RA, so the answering machine completed the communication package. Yes, for those of you wondering, I did have big hair and was wearing stirrup pants at the time! I remember walking into my dorm room—immediately drawn to the answering machine—praying for a flashing red light. A red light meant an interview, a date with Chris or something else important. I lived to see the red light flashing! Later, as a working adult, the red light meant a bill, a sales call or something I had to do. I hated to see the red light flashing! Then about 5 years ago, we got voicemail through our phone service, so the red light was gone from the Wendt household forever. Now, I look at my nieces and nephews as they have gone away to college—all with cell phones that have voice mail on them. No longer do they walk into a room hoping the red light is flashing. They can pick up their messages anytime, anyplace. It is really quite mind boggling to me—and a touch sad. They will never know the excitement of the red light flashing after being gone all day. They all check their phones constantly—and expect others to do the same. Only 10 years ago almost every household had an answering machine. Now many households do not even have landlines. As I look at my own business over the past 10 years, the change in communication technology is amazing. Our fax machine with thermal paper was the fastest form of communication. Now, with e-mail, we rarely fax. As our customers become more and more Internet savvy, some prefer to do everything through e-mail—with no phone calls. The old rules no longer apply. Now, one can sit back and pine over the old days of flashing red lights, fax machines and personal phone calls or one can follow Ben Borne’s (my husband’s mentor) advice: “Quit picking your nose, pull up your socks and get on with it!” Ben always said there was no time to feel sorry for yourself in business (or in life for that matter). You have to play the cards you are dealt and press forward to be successful. I often look to the Chamber to help me press forward. The Chamber helps me make connections with vendors that keep me up to date. The newsletter and e-newsletter are stuffed full of information I need to stay current. Have you been to the Web site? There is information at your fingertips that can help your business compete in today’s world. The good news is that the Chamber has stood the test of time. For 100 years we have been helping businesses and business people compete and thrive, no matter what era. The Chamber continues to “get on with it” and create a business climate that is pro-active and responsive. The Chamber is a great place to be, even if it doesn’t have an answering machine... To read the “Top 25 Things Vanishing From America” web article go to: www.walletpop.com/specials/top-25-things-vanishing-from-america Cheryl Wendt is owner of FASTSIGNS in Carpentersville and immediate past chair of the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Contact her at the Web site (www.fastsigns.com/97)

Posted on Wednesday, September 03, 2008 (Archive on Wednesday, September 10, 2008) Posted by jstoltz  Contributed by jstoltz

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