Chicago Hotel Offers "BlackBerry Detox"

Thu Jun 8, 2006 12:14PM EDT

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Obessed with your cell phone or smart phone? They don't call it the CrackBerry for nothing. Tales are legion of forlorn wives and hair-pulled executives, all tormented by a supernatural urge that forces them to check their BlackBerry email as frequently as possible. But when you're on vacation? Yikes.

One Chicago hotelier, Rick Ueno of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel, things he has the solution: On request he'll take your BlackBerry and lock it up in the hotel safe, free of charge. It's unclear if Ueno's policy is akin to a drug addict being locked in a room during withdrawal. You know, "No matter how much I scream, don't open that door!"

Ueno's policy grew out of his own BlackBerry addiction. Per the article: "I run a hotel with over 900 employees and thousands of guests. I think I'm more effective. I feel better. I sleep better. My family likes it," he said of his post-BlackBerry life.

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  • 6 Posted by emilymartinac on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think there's a right time and a wrong time to be on it. If the time is right by all means check it as much as you want, if not, put in a pocket or purse... there's nothing that can't wait a few minutes to an hour.

  • 7 Posted by rkoson on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    Wow! I didn't realize that a phone could be so addictive. I have a cell phone and, guess what... It's been out of service for a year. That could cause serious DT's for some of you Blackberry users. You nailed it when you call it a crackberry. GET A LIFE :)

  • 8 Posted by peacenyc2009 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:05PM EDT Report Abuse

    What is NOT acceptable though is when people check them during movies or theater performances. It acts like a 20 watt flashlight to everyone around them, distracting everyone around them and attracting peoples' attention from either the Big Screen or the actors on stage. I find such behavior rude and incredibly self-absorbed even if not meant to be. Please don't do this. It is so irritating. When theaters and cinemas says "no cell phones" it also means do not keep checking the time on cells or Blackberries or checking messages on them all the while flashing their very bright lights into your neighbors' eyes. When in a movie or a play, Put Them Away! And use your watch to check the time, please.

  • 9 Posted by sub_sk8_lime on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    "Future Lament of Samuel Johnson" WWW.ILOVEPOETRY.COM/VIEWPOEM.ASP?ID=91867 Try the old-fashion way?

  • 10 Posted by jjtack_1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:36PM EDT Report Abuse

    I created a time gap when everyone will know when I won;t be checking or responding to mail or calls. Weeknights 10 pm cut off. Weekends 6 pm cut off, unless their is a pressing business situation.

  • 11 Posted by whitler1234 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    Was this typed on a CrackBerry by any chance? I'm referring to the typo. :)

  • 12 Posted by fox72gmc on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    fishing and reading e-mails now thats a new one...

  • 13 Posted by bheidelnaplesfl on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:06PM EDT Report Abuse

    Yes, I agree, our blackberries can do so many things we have a tendency to become dependent on them, as we would a secretary...or in my case a second brain...but I have to remember that we all need down time, and as a doctor, if a patient needs emergency care, that's what 9-1-1 is for. So I've decided that my work day (unless I know an important call/text is coming) ends at 6...period. After all, we are people too...and since I've made that decision, my life is better; I have more accessibility; am more refreshed to handle the problem in the AM; AND, most importantly, my patients have a physician who can improve their wellbeing, because I have attended to my own wellbeing. You can't teach what you haven't learned...

  • 14 Posted by curlymk01 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:32PM EDT Report Abuse

    Wow, I guess that a lot of us who live in a high tech working environment could use a little more reprioritization in our lives. I don't own a BB but some of my collegues will send a text message if they can't make it to work the next day. I had to ask one of them not to send messages passed 11 pm.

  • 15 Posted by knopfkev on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    I was thoroughly addicted to my blackberry, and my wife developed the perfect cure. Whenever I should not be checking it (vacation, family times on the weekend, etc.) I take the sim card out and put it in regular cell phone. If I do not respond to an e-mail and it is urgent, then my office can always call (as they are instructed to do so only in emergency situations). Meanwhile my wife takes the blackberry and puts it in her purse or a drawer... that way if I do get a real emergency she hands it over for "supervised usage". My work tends to deal with emergencies, and this has worked great for me... so well, that some of my coworkers are doing the same thing, and they are happier with the free time.

  • 16 Posted by drmichaelhopkins on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have been threatening to run my boyfriends crackberry over since he got it. Sometimes I feel like cracking him with it!

  • 17 Posted by jasonbournedelta on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    Its about time some people stopped acting like zombies and addicts. I can understand when things get important, but families are the most important. "How about a picnic in the backyard? Or a game of catch, son?" "What about ur million dollar deal, dad?" "That can wait. U are more important."

  • 18 Posted by ashley_cellular on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    Everytime you check your work email, ask yourself, am I getting paid for this. More and likely you are not. So put it down, who works for free!

  • 19 Posted by keshav_lax89 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:49PM EDT Report Abuse

    Grand Hotel Casino offering the latest and most sophisticated online casino gambling software, featuring over 260 Microgaming Viper games with new game releases scheduled each and every month. Grand Hotel Casino

  • 20 Posted by braintreebrat on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:12PM EDT Report Abuse

    Blackberries provide an important service to me ... I'm not an important person in the way a doctor or executive is: I use a Blackberry because I don't have phone or internet access at my home. It's a budget decision. I got the Blackberry when my cell phone was stolen, mostly influenced by the fact that I work a 3:30pm - 2:00am schedule and was never able to talk to my friends - they weren't on the same schedule I was. By getting the Blackbery, I could stay in touch via e-mail. I can google answers to questions that come up at work, like 'where exactly is Venezuela?' can access my bank account, and have e-filed my taxes on it too! And for those blackberry users who have bright screens that offend in dark places, you can go under options screen and adjust the brightness to a) not offend others, and b) conserve battery life. I do love my my Blackberry - it is better than a laptop for me, because it fits in my pocket! Addicted to it? Well at least I,m not lugging a laptop around looking feverishly for a wi-fi hot spot!

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