J E N N Y L I V E S !
It often seems, in Twenty-First Century Corporate America, that the pursuit of image and efficiency in the business
world is a tyrant king who indiscriminately demands the beheadings of lesser, nonconformist ideals with frightening
regularity. The removal of personal items from work areas, mandatory dress codes of increasing stringency and buzzer-
regulated breaks and lunches are but a few of the practices that sometimes seem to be sucking all the human attributes
out of many occupations. What about individuality, personal style and esprit de corps? Have they no place in the
workplace of the Third Millennium? What about a sense of humor?
Fear not, for corporate whimsey is alive and well in America -- at least in Texas it is.
In late 1981, the rock band Tommy Tutone released their album "Tommy Tutone-2", which contained the song that
rocketed them to the top ten of the Billboard charts, "867-5309/Jenny". With its relentless rhythm and pounding chorus
line perfectly counterbalanced by the plaintive wail of lead singer Tommy Heath, the song caught fire on radios across
the nation, adolescents and adults alike chanting the oft-repeated phone number along with the song halfway through
hearing it for the first time. Thousands, if not millions, of Americans of the period consider it to be THE anthem of the
80's. The song rose to Number 4 on Billboard's Top Forty chart in March of 1982, and remained in the Top Forty for 16
weeks. Plenty long enough for that particular phone number to imprint itself indelibly on our memory. We danced to it,
we sang along with it, we hummed it under our breath for at least 6 hours after every time we heard it on the radio -- and
we called it. Oh yes, we called it. We called it hard, fast and continuously. The phone company freaked. We called
so often that they took the number out of service just weeks after the song's meteoric climb up the charts. But with the
explosion of pagers, faxes and cell phones in the early 90's that required millions of new numbers, and the institution of
10-digit dialing in most metropolitan areas in the nation, phone companies across the country have occasionally had to
put the number back in service in many area codes. Some individuals and businesses who are assigned this number
within their area code have no idea of the landmine they've just been handed. And many are not pleased -- not pleased
at all. Because, even after almost a quarter of a century since the song's peak, we're still calling it, numerous times a
day. As of this writing, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, there are a number of working lines at "ate-six-seven-five-three-oh-
nye-ee-yine". In the 817 area code, 867-5309 results in a voicemail message from Janie (oooohhh -- so close, and yet
so far), whose message gives no indication that she is aware of the infamous number she has -- probably to discourage
further calls. In the 903 area code, it is the number of a pager. (I wonder how many batteries that person goes through
in a week?) In the 469 area code, however, the owner's greeting informs you that you've reached his voice mail, then
adds, "By the way, Jenny's not here. And Tommy -- I think he's out mowing the lawn. See ya."
In Corporate America, The Home Team Mortgage Company of Plano, Texas is who you will reach by dialing
972-867-5309. But they're not upset about it. Not in the slightest. Because they didn't get the number through the
luck of the draw. Sources in the North Texas communications industry say that Home Team's owner, Tom Parker,
actively sought out the number for his Plano Office. They add that the phone company initially resisted releasing the
number, but at Tom's dogged insistence, finally reluctantly assigned it at the main number of a five line rotary group for
Home Team Mortgage. After securing the number, Tom had his phone vendors set up a special "Jenny Line". When
you call 972-867-5309, an auto-attendant thanks you for calling Home Team Mortgage, and then gives you the choice
of either speaking to (or leaving a message for, depending on the time of day) a company representative or "Reaching
Jenny." The result of choosing the second option I will leave as an exercise for the reader.
Having never met or spoken to Tom Parker, I cannot say if his decision to set up the Jenny Line was the result
of a passion for rock and roll, a canny marketing move to take advantage of the exposure generated by an oft-dialed
number or a combination of the two. But one thing is certain -- the man has a sense of humor. And both his actions
and his company are shining examples of the fact that running a successful business and chortling behind your hand
are not mutually exclusive. The next time I need a mortgage loan, who do you think I'm going to "toyn to"?
If you're out there, Tom -- Way to go, Dude! Like Tommy Tutone -- you rock.
For more info on "867-5309/Jenny" and the havoc it has wreaked on the communications industry for 25 years, see:
Snopes' Urban Reference Pages
The 867-5309/Jenny Awareness Center
To see the results of dialing 867-5309 in area codes across the continent, go to:
http://danstheman.com/Jenny.htm
(Be sure to check out area code 678!)
© 2006 by Lyle Johnson