cmr@carp.uucp (Charles Rader) (07/28/89)
In Telecom volume 9, number 241, the moderator said:
Programming errors abound. For a laugh, try 312-922-4600. For about
seventy years, that was the main number for Sears, Roebuck & Company
at their downtown store and offices. They've been gone for years, and
now dialing the number results in a recording, "you must dial one
before calling this number". No matter how I dial it, with a one or
not, that recording still comes on the line.
I had a similar experience this week calling from my hotel room at
Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Illinois to another number in the
Chicago suburbs. The recording said that calls within the area code
should be dialed without a one and calls to other area codes should be
dialed with a one. I got the same recording with or without dialing a
one and with or without the area code.
I finally gave up and used a calling card from an Illinois Bell
payphone and chalked it up to either hotel PBX programming or another
fly-by-night carrier. The hotel also blocked 10288 access from the
room phone.
Ironically, the number I was trying to reach was at AT&T Bell Labs.
There happened to be an AT&T meeting in the hotel at the same time as
my Unisys users' conference, so I wonder if the folks at the AT&T
meeting experienced this problem too?
Those of us from Michigan also found the Ill Bell payphones a bit
confusing. One of them gave back my quarter then asked me to deposit
*13* cents. I didn't have exact change, so I re-deposited the quarter,
which the phone kept even when no one answered. What's really
supposed to happen? Does Ill Bell really expect customers to deposit
pennies on local calls?
---
Charles Rader, Systems Manager I don't worry 'bout a thing
University of Detroit Computer Services 'cause I know
cmr%carpix@cardiology.ummc.umich.edu Nuthin's gonna be all right.
voice: 313-927-1349 fax: 927-1011 Splunge is a trademark of 20th Century Vole
[Moderator's Note: No, you certainly are not expected to deposit pennies
in our payphones. We work in five cent increments like everyone else.
There was obviously some error in the transaction, but you might have
tried depositing *15 cents* to see if that would be acceptable to the
machine. Thanks for sharing your experience while visiting with us. PT]