RS%AI.AI.MIT.EDU@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu (Robert E. Seastrom) (08/08/89)
With all the stories of vandalism and other ugliness surrounding the
BOC strike circulating, I thought I might point out one of the nicer
side-effects of the BOC strike.
I had occasion to call Delaware Directory Assistance yesterday. Before
I got a ringback, a recording came on that said "Due to work stoppage,
there may be a delay in servicing your call. Thank you for your
patience". Well, I sat there on a ring for about a minute and a half
and then this lady answered the phone and asked if she could help me.
I wasn't sure what number I wanted at the Delaware Department of Motor
Vehicles, so we went back and forth for about 30 seconds trying to
decide which number I wanted. She seemed genuinely concerned and a
lot more helpful than the standard, run-of-the-mill directory assistance
operator. Maybe we should just flush the current employees and let the
supervisors man the phones. It took a little extra time, but the
operator's pleasantness made the wait worthwhile.
---Rob
[Moderator's Note: If the make-do operator sits there much longer, her
pleasant disposition will begin to erode, believe me you. Operators take
a tremendous amount of abuse at times from customers, and are expected
to handle a huge volume of traffic per hour. Hateful customers are nothing
new however: On the front cover of my copy of the 1921 Chicago Telephone
Company Alphabetical Directory appears this Admonition to Subscribers:
"Our operators are trained to speak courteously and politely to subscribers.
When addressing the operator, please use the language and tone of voice
which you would want in response. Please do not address our operators using
profane language or obscene words. Thank you, General Mgr. CTC, Inc." PT]root@uunet.uu.net (Frank Haynes) (08/16/89)
From article <telecom-v09i0283m01@vector.dallas.tx.us>, by RS%AI.AI.MIT.EDU@ mintaka.lcs.mit.edu (Robert E. Seastrom): > ...Maybe we should just flush the current employees and let the > supervisors man the phones. It took a little extra time, but the > operator's pleasantness made the wait worthwhile. > [Moderator's Note: If the make-do operator sits there much longer, her > pleasant disposition will begin to erode, believe me you. Operators take > a tremendous amount of abuse at times from customers, ... If you only knew! [Moderator's Note: Believe me, I do know. I was a switchboard operator from 1958 - 62 for the University of Chicago. I got the job when I was a junior in high school (working part time of course, and full time in the summer), and full time when I graduated from high school. In those days the phone setup was an *eighteen position* cord board. All manual service inbound and outbound. As I recall, 135 trunks to the CO; a couple dozen tie-lines direct to Long Distance; about 3000 internal extensions. On the sixth floor of the building at 5801 South Ellis Avenue. During the summer when school was not in session, I was *the* overnight operator. Fifty dollars a week and all the fools I could talk to at night. My employment there is another story for another time. My ears soon lost their virginity! PT]