1 – Stay in touch with your cell phone when you travel out of the USA. Not every cell phone company offers this International calling, but you can find one that does. In Europe and many places out of the USA, cell phones are a different technology. I’ve used a relatively inexpensive and highly reliable rental cell phone service when traveling abroad. Even calling just two days ahead of leaving, with an overnight service, the international travel kit arrives in plenty of time.
2 – At an extra charge you may be able to get call-forwarding. Your USA wireless number can be forwarded to your international cell phone. When you’re back home, call and opt-out of this feature to avoid extra costs.
3 – Minimize cell phone time when you are on vacation. A 2007 Ipsos and Associated Press poll of 1,000 men and women found that 80% take a cell phone on vacation. If we use it during vacation for business, when do we really vacation? Vacation is a time to rest, relax and recharge ourselves.
4 – Put your cell phone number on your luggage tag regardless of whether you’re traveling on business or for pleasure. If you have a rental cell phone, insert a temporary label with that number noted on it.
5 – Purchase two cell phone chargers, one for home and one to pack for travel. It’s a small investment to save you one more thing on your “to-do” list.
6 – Be proactive. Upgrade to blue tooth or use your speakerphone. Many more states are now legislating hands-free (visit http://www.statehighwaysafety.org/html/stateinfo/laws/ for more information) cell phone use only. Debate and research continues about the necessity for hands-free operation, as studies have show that using hands-free devices improve overall general safety. If you error on the side of caution, it may be helpful to upgrade to Bluetooth capabilities. As the legislation continues to change, no matter where you travel in the USA you’ll be ready.
Keep your cell phone charged while you appropriately stay ‘unplugged’ while on a vacation. The mobile cell phone is likely not a fad! It’s the responsibility of salespeople and sales managers to manage the effective use of it and maintain optimum safety at the same time.