I recently left the company I was working for and took a new position with a new employer at a much higher salary. My business is IT, and I left the comfort and stabilty of my old job to work for a startup firm which I think will be a big success. They knew they were going to have to pay for quality personnel so they had no problem meeting my demands in terms of salary, benefits and stock options. What I didn’t realize is that while they aren’t skimping on compensation, the office environment they provide leaves a lot to be desired.

I can put up with the miniscule cubical. I can live with the lack of natural light (although I feel like a cave troll). I can even do without the cafeteria, water cooler, and coffee maker. What I really miss is my old phone.

You see, my old phone was indeed, not an “old” phone. It was a multi-line handling, LCD displaying, caller IDing monster that gave me more options than a new car salesman. My “new” phone has none of those amenities. There is no transfer or hold button, no screen to display who is calling, no headset and no electronic directory. In short, the only difference between this phone and a Garfield phone you might buy at Spencer’s Gifts is that this phone isn’t shaped like a cartoon cat. My job would be so much easier and my days so much more productive if only we had a real office phone system in place. The current system is so poorly automated that only a very small percentage of the calls I get are actually meant for me. Likewise, I get several E-mails a day asking why I haven’t returned phone calls in regard to messages I never received.

I guess the old addage that “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” really holds true in this case.

Since I came here, I have actively lobbied to have the old phone system replaced, but to no avail. I think I may be the only one here who knows what he’s missing. Oh well…I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who has experienced this. Maybe you too have lost a beloved phone in a career move. I sympathize with you. I’d leave my number so we could comiserate, but you’d probably never reach me anyway.