Each week, I am tasked with reaching out to numerous businesses and event promoters to get the skinny on what's happening for the magazine. Meghan let me know from the beginning that LVS is all about connecting to the community, which means that email alone won't always cut it. I completely agree—talking on the phone almost seems like a lost art when you compare it to the legions of digital text transmitted every second. Meeting in person—even better. There are some just things which can't be conveyed in even the most carefully crafted email.
Still, picking up the phone for the first time was somewhat intimidating. I'm interrupting a busy professional, someone who knows a lot more about their business than I do just from poking around on their website. What if I run out of questions too soon? What if they ask me something that I don't know? I was tempted to dash back to my email, where I could say everything I needed to say, labor over word choice if necessary, and make sure that I got everything right. No surprises.
I picked up the phone. It took me a minute just to figure out how to work the dial pad, even though it had already been explained to me. Luckily the woman who picked up was cheerful, helpful and happy to hear from me. Since then I've talked to many LV residents and business owners who are thrilled to know that they will appear in a future issue of LVS. I can't help but to think of how much better I have it than my sister did, who had to endure many hang-ups and rudeness when cold calling businesses for the rental car company she worked for. I think I picked the right industry!
