This evening I activated my son’s new iPhone.
I didn’t need a Verizon person when I bought it. Didn’t really need a live person to even order it (although I did need an agent to walk me through some things via online chat). I didn’t need a live person to set the phone up or transfer his files, it kind of just did it with a few affirmations by me via passwords.
That means at least one, if not two people, normally needed to activate a phone are no longer needed. Will Verizon realize this and decide not to bring some people back. Will they decide to have a salesperson or two at a small store to sell you a phone, hand you some instructions, an envelope to return the old phone, and send you on your way to activate at home while sipping coffee.
What about Internet service? Our modem has gone bad and we are awaiting the new one to arrive. My last experience with a modem was a person would come by, replace it, and take the old one with him/her after checking to make sure it worked. This time I talked through the issues with the agent on the phone, she did some diagnostics from afar, and then ordered a new modem, and told me how to set the new one up when it arrives. Will AT&T decide they don’t need some people too, meaning more people without a job to return to after all of this?
I’m wondering about all us office workers who have been able to work from home. I know I’ve heard things via the TV or online, that maybe vast office space will remain empty, with no renewal of a lease, because why spend money on office space, internet wiring, utilities, toilet paper, desks, and so on, when people can do their jobs, probably more effectively, from home. All those expenses will add some profit to the bottom line (I say that because I’m fairly certain businesses won’t do the actual right thing and pay their workers more with the savings).
With any crisis, there is also a shift of some sort. What will be the shift in the job market in terms of who does what where?
I know I’d rather work from home, especially if I can finally get out of the house during off hours so it isn’t the same four walls everyday 24/7.
What about you? If you have been able to work from home, would you prefer to continue doing so?
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 