henry@garp.mit.edu (Henry Mensch) (09/11/89)
Not I ... I don't get charged for it as a regular DA call, nor do I pay for it otherwise (as a line-item charge on my monthly bill, mind you). And why does the international DA Operator on our side *insist* on talking? They could (for all practical purposes) just ask you where you want to talk to and connect, but *no* ... they feel the need to verbally "collect" the information so they can then relay it inaccurately to the foreign DA operator... to be fair, international DA from the other side <Australia, in this case> seems to lose the same way ... why won't they let me talk directly to the foreign DA operator? Curious, # Henry Mensch / <henry@garp.mit.edu> / E40-379 MIT, Cambridge, MA # <hmensch@uk.ac.nsfnet-relay> / <henry@tts.lth.se> / <mensch@munnari.oz.au> [Moderator's Note: There is no 'international DA operator' that I am aware of. The AT&T long distance operator simply handles every foreign DA request I've ever made. I agree it seems like a waste of time for the operator to stay on the line, however customers have been known to connive and con less sophisticated foreign operators into completing the call for them, obviously on a no-revenue basis to AT&T. I'd think this could be resolved by the AT&T operator warning the other end "information only, do not connect", as they used to do when connecting customers to little dinky manual exchanges for DA a few years ago. What is especially pathetic is the amount of time required to get DA in some mid-east and far eastern countries. Even Jamaica can be bad, but try calling Malasia for DA: she'll take the info and be gone off the line for five to ten minutes. India is another example of *terrible, terrible* very slow DA. For that matter, it may ring twenty-five times before they even pick up. Maybe AT&T figures Americans would be too confused by it all. I am reminded of the time I visited (pre-Castro) Cuba; I tried to call back to the USA from Havanna, and the Havanna operator was ringing the old Miami Overseas Inbound Operator on the cable. Miami must have been busy because it rang about forty times and finally the Havanna operator said to me, "Sorry sir, but the United States is not answering today!" PT]
dross@rocky.cs.wisc.edu (Dan Ross) (09/13/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0366m01@vector.dallas.tx.us> henry@garp.mit.edu (Henry Mensch) writes: >X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 366, message 1 of 8 >... >And why does the international DA Operator on our side *insist* on >talking? They could (for all practical purposes) just ask you where >you want to talk to and connect, but *no* ... they feel the need to >verbally "collect" the information so they can then relay it >inaccurately to the foreign DA operator... When I lived in Austin, TX, this past year, I used International DA through Southwestern (Taco :) Bell by dialing the operator and requesting "International DA". I was then connected with someone at AT&T who "collected" the info; however, when the French operator answered, the AT&T operator was having trouble passing the info on, so I (rudely, I suppose) interrupted and talked directly to the operator in French. The AT&T opr seemed to sort of disappear from the conversation -- and the line -- at that point. This summer, I was in College Station, TX, served by (drum roll) GTE. When I requested International DA from the GTE operator, she connected me directly with a French operator, and left me on my own! (I didn't even have to interrupt :-) Dan Ross dross@rocky.cs.wisc.edu
julian@bongo.uucp (julian macassey) (09/13/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0366m01@vector.dallas.tx.us>, henry@garp.mit.edu (Henry Mensch) writes: > And why does the international DA Operator on our side *insist* on > talking? They could (for all practical purposes) just ask you where > you want to talk to and connect, but *no* ... they feel the need to > verbally "collect" the information so they can then relay it > inaccurately to the foreign DA operator... to be fair, international Yes, as a general rule the U.S. operator does ask the questions etc when you do an "International Directory Inquiry". But I have found that if I ask the Operator if I can ask the questions in a foreign language to speed up the process, they let me. U.S. operators who are used to the Bell standard 18 second max DA number response are often staggered at the time it seems to take certain European PTTs. I usually explain that they have to go down the hall to borrow a directory which the U.S. side ops find pretty funny and helps pass the time while we are waiting for the operator to get back to us with the number. Once at a telco trade show in San Diego British Telecom had a direct Satellite link on their stand which returned UK (London) dialtone. They offered me free calls to the UK so I thought "Lets get mum out of bed." So I dialled 192 (I think) Directory Enquiries according to the Brits on the stand. Well it rang and rang. I quit and tried again, it rang and rang. I did call someone in the UK teleport and he confirmed I had the right number for Directory Enquiries. So I dialled again and let it ring for 15 mins.. No reply. I decided it would be quicker to write. I now take mother's phone number to trade shows - just in case. Oh yes, it was about 9 P.M. in london, so it wasn't that late to want a number. Yours Julian Macassey, n6are julian@bongo ucla-an!denwa!bongo!julian n6are@k6iyk (Packet Radio) n6are.ampr.org [44.16.0.81] voice (213) 653-4495
wasilko@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Jeff Wasilko) (09/14/89)
I recently placed a DA call to England via the AT&T operator and I was allowed to speak with the BT directory assistance operator. The AT&T operator stayed on the line the whole time. The number I was requesting was for the British Telecom office (i was request ing installation information) so it may have been a special case since I didn't know which department to ask for. Jeff Wasilko wasilko@netcom.uucp uunet!apple!netcom!wasilko
U5434122@uunet.uu.net (09/20/89)
> And why does the international DA Operator on our side *insist* on > talking? They could (for all practical purposes) just ask you where > you want to talk to and connect, but *no* ... they feel the need to > verbally "collect" the information so they can then relay it > inaccurately to the foreign DA operator... to be fair, international > DA from the other side <Australia, in this case> seems to lose the > same way ... why won't they let me talk directly to the foreign DA > operator? Sorry to disappoint you, but I have rung international DA in Oz number of times. Mostly, the Operator does not disconnect me while she makes the inquiry, and sometimes I have assisted in clarifying the address. Once, when asking for a UK number I was connected to the London operator and allowed to make the enquiry myself. The London operator and I then chatted until the Sydney operator disconnected us. > [Moderator's Note: There is no 'international DA operator' that I am > aware of. The AT&T long distance operator simply handles every foreign In USA maybe, not Oz. [Moderator's Note: It seems to be a Chicago phenomena. I just dial double zero, and the AT&T operators here insist on ringing up wherever and doing all the talking themselves. What's funny is when I get one here who can barely speak English (the rule these days, not the exception) and she is trying to question the operator in India or Singapore for me. I have to wonder sometimes what operators in those countries think of their American counterparts in the past few years. Remember when all Europe-bound traffic went through the international toll center in White Plains, NY and the AT&T operators there were at the least bi-linqual if not tri-linqual? PT]