Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-21
SERVICE CRITICISED.
Complaint Among Business
Men of Telephone System.
SOM E EXPERIENCES
CHARGE OF DISCoURTESY
AGAINST THE OPERATORS.
Alleged Difficulty in Getting Long
Distance Messages Over
the Lines.
SOME EXPERIEN CES
How is your telephone service?'

How is your telephone service?'
Rotten"
Not very elegant expression, the reader
of this will say. Yet the reply came from
business man in Pennsylvania avenue
who, according TO his assertions pays
yearly rental for telephone service that
is absolutely unsa tisfactory. ...
II did have three telephone instruments
in my place of business. One of these was
for conversation with my family, who re-
side in the upper floors of my building.
The service was worthless and have had
taken out two of the instruments. 1 bought
outright a telephone service to the upper
floors, and 1t costs me less and gives better
satisfaction
This business man of the national capital
only emphasized the feeling that exists
throughout the city because of an made
quate service.
II had a telephone from the Chesapeake
and Potomac company placed in my bed
room,' said another business man OF
Washington this afternoon Il do not sup
pose / used the telephone fifty times Il
year. But 1 wanted it, SO l could useIt If
there were an expediency.
"A few evenings ago a young daughter
came to bless the home of my sister. Eft
forts were made to reach my wife by tele-
phone, but the only suggestion of recogni-
hard to describe.
I'm the early days of the telephone in
Washington 1t was possible for the patron
to be treated respectfully by the persons
employed in the exchange. 1t seems to have
been the purpose of the company to Undue
the young women who employed to an
swer calls to be discourteous.
Views of Business Men.
A representative of The Evening Star
called upon number of merchants and
business men this afternoon and asked
them how they liked the telephone service
they were getting The invariable answer
was that it was far from satisfactory.
Usually said one. when / am in
hurry to reach some one by telephone. I
am confronted with the statement that the
line is busy. l can readily understand that
a line might be busy part of the time but
how line connecting person or firm that
ordinarily wouldn't use telephone more
than once an hour could be considered busy
Indefinitely is something l fail to under
stand
Il am firmly Of the belief that 1 shall
have my telephone instrument removed at
least as soon as my contract Is up, said
still another business man this afternoon.
Not single patron of the telephone COM
pany could be found to say he was getting
a service that pleases him.
Il want the telephone have got to have |
1t in my business, said one man. If
don't have an instrument and my patrons |
fail to my name in the telephone direc- |
tory, am. quite naturally, looked upon as
doing a business that is not up to the |
standard
Il do not hesitate to say that during the |
last eight months / have found 1t neces- |
sary to employ another boy to do errands |
and carry messages. In the old days, / |
mean a few years ago, this was unneceS- |
sary."
The rentals for telephone service in |
Washington are sufficient to warrant an |
excellent service said man who spends |
considerable time in Washington during |
winters. and has occasion because of his /,
profession, TO talk with persons in other |
cities.
The Long Distance Wires.
1T is next to impossible to get New York, |
Boston. Philadelphia any of the other !
cities in the east" he continued Il waited |
for more than half an hour to get a tele- |
phone that has long-distance connection in
Wilmington Del. When did get the con-
nection / was in no frame of mind to
transact the business 1 had in mind. and
for which yielded up dollar and half"
The long-distance telephone, 1t should be
understood in all good faith has nothing
whatever to do with the Chesapeake and
Potomac Telephone Company whose lines
transact the business that is done in Wash
ington and the district of Columbia.
The president of the Chesapeake and Po-
tomac Telephone Company Is also the gen.
eral manager of the telephone company
that controls the bulk of the local talking
business in the city of Greater New York.
turbation of mind of Washingtonians VINO
told so often that they cannot talk with
the persons they desire to is the latest in
the troubles of telephone patrons.
In New York and Philadelphia the COM
panies have simplified things and augment
ed the madness of patrons by springing on
them "over the wire a graphophone mes
sage that sounds continuously thus:
The line is busy; please call again.
The line is busy; please call again.
THE line is busy; please call again
hnz
heard in Washington. The telephone COM
pany seems to have found that the civility
of Its employees, who might make II com
Portable for patrons by simple word of
mouth. busy is not necessary 10 increase
the patronage.
Patrons Disappointed.
I'D to within a year or so, when the com
pany maintained only one switchboard. it
was possible to get service that was sat
isfactory. When the branch exchanges
came 1t was thought that the patrons. who
make 1t possible for the telephone company
10 pay dividends, would have the service
bettered.
And here is where the patrons were dis
appointed
The branch exchanges have proved the
undoing of everything.
In those halcyon days just mentioned,
one might make a business connection
without trouble. According to business
men interviewed this afternoon, il is moth
the service that came in the earlier days
without delay.
Another practice that is nerve destroy
ing said the last business man intervie wed
this afternoon. takes the form of an an ]
swer from the young woman in the ex-
change, who says she will call you up as
soon as the line Is disengaged. You feel
as II 1t might De agreeable to take on a
fresh lease of life when you hear this.
You go and sit down. You wait ten
minutes, twenty, sometimes half an hour
or more, and the young woman never
thinks of you again. When you fairly
frenzied you ring up again and with the
same voice, with no computations of con-
science you are informed that
The line is still busy"
CHILD BURNED TO DEATH.