Nothing grates on my nerves like a ringing telephone. I’ve always hated it, that shrill, metallic jingle-jangle that sets your nerves on edge, intruding on your solitude, ruining the moment with a pretty woman or calling you away from a favorite TV show just as it’s getting good. With the advent of the smartphone, some genius replaced that piercing death knell with kinder, gentler “ringtones”—a soft rustling of wind chimes, a jaunty series of notes from a xylophone, a snippet of Kid Rock or Beethoven. I hate them, too.
Actually, I hate smartphones in general. Forgive me if I sound curmudgeonly, but I don’t want to be accessible 24/7 to the world. Unless you’re lost, dying or in mortal danger, an email will do just fine for anything you’ve got to tell me. And yet I have owned a smartphone for years, following societal norms against my better judgment. I even recently upgraded from my sickly iPhone 4 to the sleek, speedy iPhone 6, which I hate slightly less than smartphones I’ve owned before. (But don’t get a big head, iPhone 6. I still hate you plenty.)
Sometimes we just have to go with the changing times. We can tell ourselves that clinging to old, comfortable ways is a matter of integrity, but, really, it’s probably just a fear of the new and the different.
Many of our readers stick with outmoded technologies for the same reason. Some still don’t own a POS system, even though it can boost their bottom line in several ways. In this month’s “POS for Beginners” (page 46), Liz Barrett gives these technology-averse readers a better understanding of their POS options. She has spoken to several experienced operators about what to look for in a system and how to ask the right questions when POS vendors come calling.
As knowledgeable as you may be about pizza, a POS system has smarts and skills no one person can possess. Think of it as the world’s shrewdest business partner, always on your side and always watching your bottom line.
Best of all, it will never wake you up in the middle of the night with a blast of Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long.” Thank the good Lord for that!
