Geraldine Dunkle, age 89, wakes up early every morning to get started on her day’s work. Keeping a large house on four acres isn’t an easy task–there’s cleaning, cooking, weeding and mowing to be done, and every day she does it alone. Mrs. Dunkle has been a widow for more than 30 years now, and she takes pride in her independence and vivacity. Lord knows, she can run circles around her granddaughter when it comes to energy–I’ve never been able to keep up with her.
Still, there is one thing that’s she doesn’t find easy. The compact, stylish, and by all means, good phone that her son picked out for her is just too much for her to care to learn. It’s not that she couldn’t learn to use her phone; I believe my grandmother is capable of anything she sets her mind to, it’s more that she doesn’t have the time or inclination.
So what to do?
This is going to be the first in a series of short articles about phones for the elderly. I hope that this will be a useful resource to those looking for phones for themselves, or for loved ones who “don’t have the time” for understanding a more complex phone.
I think it’s natural to start with the Jitterbug. It’s by far the best-known phone geared toward the elderly and it remains the most user-friendly. It features “Yes” and “No” buttons that are more intuitve than the left and right keys that change options for different menus on most other phones. To make things even simpler, every action of the phone is formed into a question that can be answered by “Yes” or “No.”
And if that weren’t simple enough, there is always a live advisor (generally a native English speaker for those who don’t do well with accents) waiting at the touch of a button to direct a call, contact emergency services, or just answer a basic question about the phone.
Sounds great, right?
The only catch is the price. Cellphone plans tend to have similar prices, but the Jitterbug plans were outliers on the scale- way above what everyone else paid. With the advent of the Jitterbug “J,” plans have become more reasonable.
For your benefit, I’ve simplified the chart on the Jitterbug website and read all the fine print I can find. (Jitterbug ‘fine print’ tends to be 12-pt font.)
| Cost (dollars) | Number of Minutes | Price Per Minute | Night and Weekends |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 50 | $0.30 | none |
| 20 | 100 | $0.20 | none |
| 30 | 200 | $0.15 | 500 |
| 40 | 300 | $0.13 | 500 |
| 60 | 700 | $0.09 | 500 |
| 80 | 1000 | $0.08 | 500 |
Overage charges are $0.35 per minute, which is pretty normal for a contract phone with a basic plan. Nights and weekends run from 7PM to 6AM, which is what Sprint offers, the best of the contract phones. Minutes do roll-over, though only for a second month, so accumulating large amounts of minutes will be impossible. However, any additional minutes purchased on top of your plan can be used over the course of a year.
One of the most exciting features of the new Jitterbug plans, however, is the creation of Jitterbug family plans. For $15 each, you can add up to five phones to any of the $30 and up plans. (The first two plans on that chart are meant for occasional and individual use.)
Not only will the two phones share those minutes, but they will also have unlimited calling between the phones, just as in a regular family plan. In the past I noticed that couples would only purchase one Jitterbug to share between them, and I often posed the question, “What do you do when you two are apart?” They would usually tell me that they spent so little time apart that it didn’t matter, but it seemed to me that the time that they would most need it was when they were separated.
Perhaps this family plan will encourage more couples to buy two phones and keep them by their side when alone. I know that I feel better knowing my grandmother has a phone by her side when she’s driving tens of miles on country roads to get to the nearest grocery store.
All in all, I’ve been very impressed with the positive changes Jitterbug has made to its plans. The one thing I couldn’t discern from the website, however, was whether they still had that surprise $35 activation fee, the ultimate fine print fee. I’d imagine that they still do, or they would have advertised it, so be aware.
The newer model of the phone features Bluetooth and texting, both of which seem like features that might be extraneous, but do add to the versatility of the phone. One thing that I do appreciate about the phone though, is that it has a dial tone. I’ve found that many of my customers more used to home phones find it unnerving not to have one, and they wonder if the cell phone is even turned on. One woman confessed that she didn’t make a phone call for the first two weeks that she had her phone, until her son told her she didn’t have to wait for the dial tone to place a call.
Features like these make it clear that Jitterbug has done its market research and genuinely cares about the needs of its customers. Personally, I wish my phone made call waiting an optional feature!
One other thing to know about this program is, when I last set it up about six months ago, it required a credit card for payment—the bills were not sent to the house. This caused much consternation among my customers, many of whom had never set up automatic bill pay before. In this situation, I suggested having a trusted son or daughter pay the bill and have their mother or father write them a monthly check, but this is hardly a perfect solution.
Overall, I am very impressed with the new Jitterbug. It is a product that I would recommend.
****IMPORTANT NOTE**** If you or a loved one have already purchased a Jitterbug, you might have received a notice from Samsung asking you to update your software. This is extremely IMPORTANT as the software ensures your ability to dial 911. Do not ignore this letter. Newer models of the Jitterbug do not need the software update. If you are unsure of whether you received a letter, feel free to bring your phone in to your local Best Buy for a check-up. The software update takes around 20-25 minutes.
