The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-02-19

EZEvT7 by the Rocky Mountain
IS%sM Bell Telephone company.
'-EIHA0 To handle these phones
successfully. a small army of expert
operators and linemen is necessary,
and il speaks well for the service rem
dered that the number of complaints
from subscribers has been reduced to
figures astOnishingly small.
1t was in connection largely with
these complaints that visit was made
10 the operating room of the company.
1t did not require more than a passing
glance to learn that the place was a
veritable hive of industry Thirty
three young women were seated side
by side before the great switchboard,
each intent upon her work. There was
no laughing, no chatting, no gossip,
such as some subscribers have charged
Up to the account of the telephone girl
but on the contrary there was in evil
0ence a concentrated effort on the part
Of everyone to comply with each re-
quest with as much alacrity and cheer
1ulnesS of spirit as it was possible for
the human mind to conceive, There
was a kind of suppressed murmur vi
braung through the room, but even at
a distance of two feet the words spo-
ken into the transmitter at any one
station were scarcely audible. There
We're slightly louder noises made by
slipping the plugs into the sockets to
make connections and an occasional
rustic of skirts when some girl left her
high chair, her trick of eight hours
swish of the gown of the "relief,"
or of the girl just going on duty.
WatchfuI and Waiting.
Three supervisors moved silently in
slowly measured steps from one end of
the room to the other. keeping a care
full outlook on the operators to see that
they were attentive to their duties At
two central desks were the chief op-
orator and assistants. watchfuI and
waiting for any sudden call on them
Tor information. At another desk sat a
young woman with head receiver in
position and stop watch in her hand.
There was a note book in front of her
and from time to time she made entries
III the book y glance at the opened
page revealed the familiar twists and
turns of the trained stenogra pher. to
he transcribed later into typewriting
for the benefit of the general manager
the city manager and the manager of
the operating room. She was listening
TO conversations over the wires and
Ter duty was to take notes of any
coarse language from subscribers or
pert remarks by the operators to iras-
chile persons on the lines. It speaks
vel for the discipline of the operating
room that she had spent the day thus
far without having had occasion to re-
fractions of the rules.
OF course it is impossible to hold
converse with any of the girls while
they are on duty. and even after the
days labors are over they are some
what shy about talking shop. 1t was
only after sacred promises had been
made that none of their names would
be used. that any of the young women
would consent TO talk. but once started
they furnished a fund of interesting de-
tails Of Incidents which occur with
more or less frequency each day of
their lives while perched on the high
chairs in the operating room
One young woman who had Just com
pleted an eight-hOur trick, and who
looked tagged out and weary, cheered
up a bit when the recollection of GER
tain Incidents through the day flashed
across her mind. and she. answered
with a smile that was half pathetic,
half humorous.
Children Cause Annoyance.
"Of course. sometimes central viii
ring on the wrong number. and when
the caller is quite positive that some
one is home to answer the phone il
Is very annoying. 1 admit, to be told
4 can't get them
During my experience q : a telephone
operator / have found this to be one
Of the greatest difficulties. especially
with children They invariably don't
understand what is meant. They call
a number. and If YOU say you can't
get it they hang up and in about two
seconds call for the same number. This
s. kept up necessarily until sometimes
one feels just angry enough to shake
the life out of the child
Il have heard people say that CEN
trail just would not give them num-
Der. possibly out of spite of some
thing. This is not so, because we are
requested 10 ring from one to three
times, and / do not think that a cen
trail girl gains anything by not ring
ing a number simply because she does
not like a certain subscriber or has
some ill-feeling toward him.
Among the numerous trials that
every operator has To meet with is
that of convincing a subscriber that
she cannot raise the party he has
called 1t is a rule for every girl to
ring three times distinctly on line.
and then, If no one answers. report
that she cannot get them. As a gem
eral things we are then asked why we
cannot get them.
There are many reasons why. and
set when a man is anxious to talk