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you can redirect your own support efforts to other venues and provide a more complete 223
customer support experience while also keeping your budget issues in line.
■ ╇ E xtend E ngagement
As an example of the benefits of self-directed customer support, I was on my
way to Gold’s Gym one morning. It was about 4:30 AM. I had a full day planned
including a conference call at 10:00 AM. As I was checking my calendar my newly
updated Google G1 froze up. I tried the obvious: I turned the phone off and then
turned it back on. Halfway through the startup sequence, the process hung on the
“android” logo. I was stuck in about the worst situation a digital nomad can be in: My
connection to the Internet was gone! I was outside the spacecraft, without a tether.

At about 6:30 AM, between workout sessions, I visited a nearby Starbucks,
opened my laptop, and searched via Google for “g1 frozen android cupcake,” as this
seemed like a reasonable starting point. (I included “cupcake” as this was the operating
system update that had been installed a day or two prior.) Near the top of the search
results was an entry whose visible description read “freezes with android logo follow-
ing cupcake upgrade…”

That looked promising, so I clicked into the result and found myself in the
T-Mobile support forum. About five posts down I saw the recovery process for a frozen
G1, outlined in detail. I followed the steps, and in less than 3 minutes my phone was
functioning, albeit in its basic (default) configuration. I reinstalled the apps, one by
one, later that day, after my conference call was completed.

The point here is this: At 6:30 AM, much less 4:30 AM, it would have been a
stretch to expect live phone support. But in my case, I wouldn’t have been able to call
anyway: My phone was dead, and I haven’t a clue how to use a pay phone! Because
T-Mobile had created an online community for Android support, I was able to quickly
self-serve and resolve my own problem. Had I not had my laptop, I could have done the
same thing from any library or other municipal facility in Austin: And I wouldn’t be
alone—about 70,000,000 Americans regularly access the Internet from public librar-
ies, schools, and similar public facilities in public, government and municipal buildings.

Not only did T-Mobile save itself the cost of a call, I was delighted, even in the
face of a failure. As an occasional user of first generation devices, I expect a few bumps
when using them. Hey, even Apple products freeze. What’s delightful is when the
recovery from said bumps occurs in minutes and without disrupting the rest of an oth-
erwise fully booked day. My conference call went off as planned, and yes, I recounted
this story at the start of the call: I’m an advocate for both Google and T-Mobile.

You may be wondering here, “Wait…if Google’s update caused the problem,
why is this guy an advocate?” Here’s the answer: Google has provided enough other
value—through Gmail, its applications and Google Docs, its search tools and social
APIs—that I waited for the T-Mobile G1 to be released while all of my friends were
sporting their iPhones. I understood that in being an early adopter of the G1 that
“bumps” were going to happen. What keeps me an advocate is that when they do