The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-26


 | just what to do and say under every ! conceivable circumstance. So perfect IS | the system that the percentage of mis-
 takes upon the part of the operator has l been brought to the minimum In turn, | the system has lessened the possibility of mistakes by the subscriber. The in-
 structions given the subscriber are sim l pie and are as complete as those given | the operator, but hardly two different subscribers use the same method in call | ing for a number and few observe the 1 same rule two consecutive times. The | cause of the large percentage of mis-
 takes rests with the subscriber, but the
 blame falls upon the shoulder of the | operator.
 When the Atlanta training school was
 opened last summer Miss Marie Murray
 was placed in charge as chief instructor. | Herself skilled operator, Miss Murray
 was given two skilled assistants, Misses | Edith Hoover and Francis Christian.
 Every girl who applies for a position
 as an operator in the Bell exchange is
 sent to the desk of the chief instructress.
 where she is given personal interview. 1 The instructress is a keen student of hu-
 man nature, and during the talk she | makes close scrutiny of the applicant. | The tone of the voice is noted, the general
 appearance, so far as it will indicate the possible possession of tact and even tenn | perament. Her education is inquired into
 and it is essential that she have at least
 a common school education. High school
 and college graduates are preferred They I are quick to learn, and their service is of the highest class obtainable.
 | If the instructress "sizes up" the ap- plicant as a satisfactory pupil, the girls | eyesight and hearing are given thorough | test, and if she is sound physically, free
 from all chronic, contagious or infec- | tious diseases, the applicant is given
 place in the class room as a pupil. She ] immediately begins to draw a weekly | salary.
 How the School Works.
 The school opens at 8 o'clock in the
 morning and the days session ends at | o'clock in the evening. The pupils are given ample time for study. and the more l complete their grasp of the theoretical
 part of the work, the easier they learn practical operating. While the major
 portion of the instruction is in making | local connections, the essentials of long
 distance work is imparted to the class. The walls of the class room are cov- | cred with elaborate charts. simple in
 their arrangement. These charts show | in detail how every possible telephone l connection is made. The switchboard
 the trunk lines and the connecting trunk 1 lines are clearly shown, and the method
 of making connections is fully Illustrated l These charts are explained by the in ] structors and are used to illustrate the i lectures given during the course in the l class room. The lectures are series of | twelve lessons in telephone operation. The work is taken up step by step. and is
 made so clear and is told in such simple 1 language, that there can be no misun- derstanding of the meaning In these | lectures the pupil is told exactly what to
 say under varying circumstances. Her
 conversation with the subscriber is limit ed to a number of set phrases and when
 it passes this point she is required to
 connect the subscriber with the super visor or chief operator
 i When the pupil has thoroughly mastered | the charts and understands the essen | tials brought out in the lectures, she Is
 sent into the operating room of the train | ing school. This operating room Is an exact duplicate, in miniature, of the main | operating room. The switchboards are the same, and the business Is carried on with as much precision as though sub seribeds were giving and receiving calls. The first few days in the operating room | the pupil spends in watching experienced l operators at work and in becoming famil-
 far with every feature of the board while | 1t is in use She then takes position
 at the board Under the direction of supervisors and monitors, she begins to actually make connections. This she continues until she becomes sufficiently proficient to be transferred to the big op- eratng room the average time required being about one month. These first few days at the training school switchboard
 are filled with mistakes and there is oft | en confusion. me monitors and super visors are ever present to lend a helping | hand, correct mistakes and instruct the pupils in giving the correct responses to l subscribers
 | The crucial moment comes when the | graduate is given a position at the | switchboard in the main operating room. | She is at first placed at what is known as a Tight position, portion of the | switchboard where the calls are not nu- | merous and do not come in rapidly Grad ually the load on her position is in- | creased and almost unconsciously she be- comes proficient operator.
 Rising Infection Necessary. Number, please?' is the one phrase used more frequently than any other in | the operating room of a telephone eX change. The pupil is trained in repeat | ing this sentence until it becomes sec | ond nature with her to say it with rising infection and in a pleasing tone, | Oftentimes pupils repeat the sentence | hundreds of times a day until the proper | infection and modulaton is secured. A | rising infection is pleasing to the ear, | and all the speeches" of the telephone | girl are to be given a rising infection. | A busy man giving a hurried call feels | instantly. when humber, please" is | asked with the right infection. that he l will get the right number or failing in | that will rest assured that the operator | has made every possible effort to ac- commodate him. When the operator
 speaks there must be no drawl and the | subscriber must be made to realize that the operator is a wide awake active per son, ready and anxious to give him in- stant and satisfactory service.
 There are many details abouts the work | of the operator with which the average
 subscriber is not familiar For instance
 when a number is busy and a sub
 scriber complains and declares the num- | Der is not busy. the operator is under in- | structions not to argue the question, but
 to connect the line with the chief oper- | ator. Much stress is laid upon the re- | plies the operator is to make to sub | scribers and the manner in which she | k to make them. She is drilled to be | polite, courteous and accommodating at 1 all times: to never lose her temper and
 to always speak in an even, pleasing tone l of voice.
 "There's everything in the way an op- | orator answers a subscriber" declares | the chief instructress. Human nature Is | very much the same the world over It l fatters all of us to feel that we are receiving special attention. The train | ing of the voices of operators is one of | the most important features of the | school. large number of girls who are otherwise well equipped for posi- s&.l.t ,,~1 1<