Host Sharon DeKoning sits down with Robin Ross, owner of Sabre Communications Inc. in Lloydminster. With decades of experience in communication technology, Robin shares insights into the evolution of phones—from the Motorola brick to today’s smartphones—and how we can use them as productivity tools instead of distractions. She discusses practical strategies for managing notifications, organizing apps into folders, and leveraging automation features like scheduled texts and Siri reminders to streamline daily tasks.
Robin also highlights an eye-opening Deloitte statistic: the average person picks up their phone 96 times a day. To counteract excessive screen time, she emphasizes the importance of mindful phone use, setting limits on social media, and using focus modes to allow only essential notifications. She also shares practical tips for organization and customizing phone settings to improve efficiency. Whether for business, farming, or daily life, Robin’s advice helps listeners turn their phones into valuable tools for productivity and meaningful connections. Tune in to hear Robin’s expert advice on making your phone work for you, not against you!
About Robin Ross
Robin Ross is the owner of Sabre Communications Inc. in Lloydminster, where she brings decades of experience in communication technology. Beyond her expertise in the industry, Robin is a multifaceted professional—balancing life as a farmer alongside her husband, expressing her creativity through painting, and empowering others as a professional coach. With a deep understanding of how technology shapes our daily lives, she is passionate about helping people use their phones as a tool for productivity rather than a distraction.
Resources discussed in this episode:
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Contact Robin Ross | Sabre Communications
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Transcript
Sharon DeKoning: [00:00:16] Welcome back to the It’s Time for Success: The Business Insights podcast. Today’s podcast is on all of our lifelines, our phones. And we are going to be discussing, when used correctly, they can help us and not be a distraction. Joining me today is Robin Ross from Sabre Communications Inc. in Lloydminster. Robin not only owns Sabre Communications, she also farms with her husband, paints and she is a professional coach. Robin has decades of experience in communication technology and is here to share how we can make our phones work for us instead of against us. Thank you, Robin, for joining us today.
Robin Ross: [00:00:52] It’s great to be with you, Sharon.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:00:54] Thank you. Robin, you’ve got to see the phones go from a brick phone, which was literally just for a phone, up until today, which we hardly use at all for a phone. Can you tell us a little bit about the steps that you’ve seen along the way?
Robin Ross: [00:01:08] When I started selling phones, we were selling the Motorola Brick, which was probably about 7 or 8 inches long. It had a big antenna on it, and weighed about 2 or 3 pounds. There’s a reason why they called it the brick. We also sold a lot of bag phones, permanent mounts, installed in vehicles. Guys would have it hooked up to their horns so that when their phone rang, the horn on their truck blew.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:01:36] Back then, when that first started, it wasn’t an everyday use for the phone. It would be more for business? Farmers? Who would mostly use them back in those days?
Robin Ross: [00:01:47] Back then it was mostly guys that were working in the oil patch that had them. They were quite expensive so anybody who had one for just personal use considered that it was a luxury. It was sort of a status symbol, definitely not a necessity. The price of them back then and the price of the plans, I can remember people coming in, and their phone bills regularly were like $2,500.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:02:19] Oh my goodness. I can drive down Highway 17 and I can drop a call six times by the time I’m in Provost. What were they like for reception?
Robin Ross: [00:02:31] That was a different network, that was back on the old analog network. But that has always been an issue on the border because the call is handing off back and forth as you go.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:02:43] That’s so funny. I always think of that movie with Mel Gibson when they’re talking on the phone. Some of the old movies have those big phones, I still chuckle when I see them. One thing I want to talk with you about, and it’s more for me to learn, and it’s a mindset for me. I’m going to tell you a little story, the other day I had a customer come in. My office is right where I can make eye contact as soon as they come in. She looked at me, I’m on my phone, and I instantly felt terrible because I looked like I’m not giving her the proper attention or I’m just doing nothing. It’s a mindset that our phones are wasting time. But in fact, I was uploading a receipt. I was actually working. It’s definitely a mindset. In a business atmosphere, all my team has a phone, and I get annoyed when I see them on their phones. But yet we have WhatsApp communication between our team, which is vitally important because we have different locations. They upload pictures into our software, which is vitally important. If they’re not at their desks, they can check their emails. It’s a mindset that I have to change. Do you find that’s something in all workforces or that’s just something I have to work on?
Robin Ross: [00:03:55] No, I think that, overall, that’s how people perceive that. I equate it to, when you’re driving and everybody who’s driving slower than you is an idiot, and everybody who’s driving faster than you is a moron. If I’m using my phone, I feel it’s important. But if you’re using it, you’re probably just wasting time.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:04:17] Which happens. I get up every morning and guess what I do? I get my cup of coffee, I crawl back into bed and I scroll.
Robin Ross: [00:04:23] I see it at the grocery store. People will be annoyed with other people who are using their phone while they’re navigating the grocery store, but they’re looking at their grocery list. But other people perceive them as, you’re just standing here gabbing on the phone or texting or something.
Sharon DeKoning: [00:04:40] That is so true. Some people are so conscious of the labels now, so they’re researching everything. It is something I find that, in our day and age, it is the new norm and people like me have to accept it. What about valuable tools like time management for you…
