davef@brspyr1.brs.com (Dave Fiske) (08/24/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0314m08@vector.dallas.tx.us>, Miguel_Cruz@ub.cc.umich. edu writes: > David Fisk wrote in digest #308 about a book called "The Phone Book". > > Does anyone know where I can find a copy of it? I've been looking for quite > some time. The University of Michigan has it listed in the card catalog, but > nobody can find it. Likewise at 3 other state schools. Did someone go Sorry, I should have provided some more information on this book. Turns out there are a number of books called "The Phone Book." The one I was referring to is by a "J. Edward Hyde"--the book flap says this is the "nom de plume of a former middle-management employee of the phone company who is now a magazine editor, teacher, and free-lance writer." I checked the Books in Print Database, and apparently the book is not in print. If it's any help, here is the imprint: J. Edward Hyde, The Phone Book: What the telephone company would rather you not know, Henry Regnery Company, Chicago, 1976. It's been a while since I read the book, so I'm going to re-read it. I'll post telecom-relevant snippets as I come across them. As a teaser, here is the text from the dust cover. I should point out that it contains a bit of hype. The book is not quite as anti-AT&T as this makes it sound. "On the hundredth anniversary of the corporation known as AT&T--or, more familiarly, Ma Bell--here's something that actually gives the country a reason to celebrate; a book written by a former telephone company insider that tells you what the phone company would rather you didn't know. "The Phone Book reveals for the first time precisely how the 60-billion-dollar company manages to thrive in spite of its almost incredible foul-ups in service; a discriminatory, army-style personnel system; a monolithic red-tape bureaucracy; and a 'public be damned' style of operating at the expense of both users and would-be competitors. It furthermore tells how the scads of rules (many of them contradicting each other), idiosyncrasies, and quirks in the system can sometimes be exploited by the customer on his behalf, for a change. "Here are just a few of the items discussed in the book that the phone company would rather you not know about: " - why your phone may be tapped or your service cut off at the will of a company employee, without any right to appeal by you. " - what extraordinary reprisals have been taken against such 'unfriendlies' as customers bewildered by erroneous billings; well-intentioned employees--including the author--who take the side of the customer (how, in fact, one high-level executive committed suicide, leaving a note that stated: 'Watergate is a gnat compared to the Bell system'); Ramparts magazine (which was forced to withdraw an entire issue); as well as coin-box thieves and phone phreaks. " - why Bell bills a month in advance, and why it often demands deposits from certain types of customers, among them single women and people with accents. " - why calls often don't go through, and how the New York City phone fiasco of 1969-1970 could happen anywhere. " - why you should ask for detailed billing explanations, especially if you get a charge marked 'O.C.C.' " - how to deal with service reps to get the most for your money, plus dos and don'ts for getting action from operators, installation people, or their supervisors. " - how the company made $15 million by introducing colored phones. " - why the company's dictatorial attitude has enabled competitors to be first with equipment improvements, delayed the Picture Phone for three-quarters of a century, and slowed the development of the Computer Age. " - why WATS lines are not the budget slicers they might seem, and how to cut that first WATS bill in half. " - how Bell System employees have been able to sell nonpublished numbers lists, customer long distance usage sheets, and customer preplanning data to outside businesses. " - why special billing numbers are better than phone credit cards. " - why businesses must routinely overlease to get the equipment they need. " - how curious employees have been encouraged to develop the habit of listening in on private calls and trading 'hotpants' numbers. " - why Bell would be doing itself--and everybody else--a favor by getting out of the phone business. " - but not why you must pay for the right to have an unlisted number (there is no good answer)." -- "ANGRY WOMEN BEAT UP SHOE SALESMAN Dave Fiske (davef@brspyr1.BRS.COM) WHO POSED AS GYNECOLOGIST" Home: David_A_Fiske@cup.portal.com Headline from Weekly World News CIS: 75415,163 GEnie: davef