larry@uunet.uu.net (Larry Lippman) (06/27/91)
In article <telecom11.474.3@eecs.nwu.edu> TJW@vms.cis.pitt.edu (Terry J. Wood) writes: > On a recent vacation, I made the mistake of getting room 411 in a hotel. > I also made the mistake of being the one to sleep next to the telephone. > Around 3 AM the phone rings: At one time it was a standard feature of PABX's for intended for hotel operation to provide a key on the attendant console which blocked room-to-room calling. The attendant usually operated the key to disable room-to-room calls between 11 PM and 7 AM or so. The intention, of course, was to prevent guests from disturbing other guests. Calls from room-to-room could still be completed through the attendant, however. Does anyone know if such a feature is still used? I have a feeling that this is no longer considered to be a "problem". Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp. "Have you hugged your cat today?" VOICE: 716/688-1231 {boulder, rutgers, watmath}!ub!kitty!larry FAX: 716/741-9635 [note: ub=acsu.buffalo.edu] uunet!/ \aerion!larry
Sean Williams <0004715238@mcimail.com> (06/30/91)
Larry Lippman <kitty!larry@uunet.uu.net> writes: > The attendant usually operated the key to disable room-to-room calls > between 11 PM and 7 AM or so. The intention, of course, was to > prevent guests from disturbing other guests . . . Does anyone know > if such a feature is still used? I have a feeling that this is no > longer considered to be a "problem". I returned from a week-long vacation in Ocean City, MD a few weeks ago. The telephones in our 42nd Street Days Inn Convention Center were ringing just fine well into the wee morning hours! Not only were the girls downstairs calling us, but so were the front desk people, telling us to keep it quiet! "Senior Week" can be such great fun ... But really, it's not the ringing phones which are a problem. It's the AC receptacles near the decks which people use to plug their portable stereos into. They should have a front desk switch to turn *those* things off! Oh, by the way: The hotel's default LD carrier was MCI. Local calls were $.50, LD calls had *no* surcharge, 950 and 800 were free and un-blocked. RBOC and non-950 access calling cards had a $.50 charge per call, as did collect calls. Calls to 411 were free (that's directory assistance, but calls to *room* 411 were free also.) Equal access was available via 10xxx codes. The phone number and address for MCI customer service was listed near the phone, along with a note telling of your right to use other LD carriers by entering the codes provided by them. "Direct complaints to Enforcement Division, Common Carrier Burear/FCC, 2025 M ST, NW, Washington, DC 20554." The only problem with the phone was that it took *forever* for calls to go through (both locally and long distance). Sean E. Williams | seanwilliams@mcimail.com Spectrum Telecommunications | Have a nice day! PO Box 227 | <<no disclaimer needed>> Duncannon, PA 17020-0227 | voicemail: +1 717 957 8127