Technology Meets Multi-Tasking Expectations

There comes a time in every woman's life when she needs to buy a new cell phone. Perhaps the old one is clunky and dated. Or perhaps she just dropped it into her morning tea one day, wiping out its entire memory, including the address and phone number of everyone she holds dear.

In any case, I recently found myself at the cellular store looking for a new phone. Not surprisingly, I had a long list of features I'd convinced myself I "absolutely needed."

I wanted a camera phone with streaming video capabilities. And ring tones programmable by caller, so I wouldn't get stuck picking up the phone when my annoying cousin Lindsey calls. I wanted voice recognition, so I'd never have to physically punch in numbers. Obviously, I'd need
e-mail access, and text messaging. Never mind that I have no idea how to use text messaging, or why I would need it if I already have e-mail on my phone. But shouldn't I have it, just in case?

And, recalling a recent story about a Beagle saving its owner's life by calling 911 on the cell phone, I made a note to ask about this. What if my dog needs to call 911? Is there a phone that has a button for that?

Somewhere along the way, I had a flashback to when I bought my last cell phone. Back then, all I wanted was for it to be small enough to fit into my purse, and to come in some cool fashion color.

It makes me realize how much things have changed in the past few years, and how much more stuff we expect everything around us to do. Sure, looking good and coming in great designer colors is a plus, but as an increasingly high-tech, perpetually multi-tasking society, we expect our "toys" to be equally multi-functional. We want to do more things in less time, with fewer tools.

This is particularly true in the case of the kitchen and bath industry. For instance, it's no longer enough that a refrigerator keeps food cold; it should also be able to talk to the oven, order food off the Internet, come in drawer or column options, and make ice sculptures in the shape of swans (okay, so maybe it doesn't do the last yet, but trust me, it's coming!).

Our showers are expected to know what temperature we like, and our dishwashers need to be able to figure out how dirty our dishes are so as not to waste extra water.

Technology is equally pervasive in the workplace, from plasma televisions that play showroom commercial loops and software that creates stunning 3D representations to online product ordering capabilities and design stations that are networked together for maximum efficiency. NKBA is even putting the CKD and CBD exams online (see story, The Cutting Edge).

But it's not even just products and software, it's whole environments. In fact, as consumers become increasingly sophisticated and high-tech, kitchen and bath showrooms almost have to have their own techno angle if they want to keep customers coming back for more. Some, like NYLOFT Kitchens & Home Interiors, have even partnered with a technology company to take advantage of the latest multi-media advancements in order to make the showroom experience more exciting, educational and just plain edgy (see story, Showroom Spectacular).

But it's not just about technology for technology's sake; rather, it's about allowing our staff, our vendors and our clients to juggle more things, more efficiently. As we increasingly become a nation of multi-taskers, everyone expects not only maximum bang for the buck, but maximum bang for their time, too.

Savvy showroom owners have gotten the message, to the point where today's showrooms might be more aptly called "do-rooms," because they have to do so much more than just show things to stay competitive. Technology is finally doing what it should do – saving us time and simplifying our tasks and our lives.