Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1910-04-06
TELEPHONE DIsCOURTEsY.
S. j. Thompson Gives His Ideas Upon
the Use of the Telephone.

Three factors are mainly response
BILE for the discourtesies only too
common in telephone usage, and the
lack of consideration shown to the
telephone operators on whom a great
part of the discourtesies are practic-
ed. First, the lack of personal ele-
ment, because not being face to face
the sense of human personality at
the other end is lost. Second, al
though nearly every one uses the
telephone nowadays there are many
people who do not know how to use
it properly, and together with these
there are many more who are abso-
lutely ignorant of the methods of
operating and who are very willing
to charge every fancied or real trou-
BILE to the negligence of the operator.
Third, the inability to ascertain by
seeing what is actually going on at
the other end of the line, when there
is wait of few moments, arouses
an Impotence which is potent
cause for a great deal of telephone
discourtesy.
1t seems strange that a man will
browbeat a telephone operator be-
cause a number" is busy or the par
ty is slow in answering. The same
man would probably be most polite
to this girl if she were his steno-
grapher, and no matter what mis-
takes she made he would never think
of speaking to be regretted, because
in most cases the operator is not at
all to blame and therefor it is good
for the public to know and under
stand the telephone problems and
methods. But that is no excuse for
discourtesy, as a little reasonable
ness, little forbearance and a rea-
liZation that the person at the other
end feels the slap as keenly as if
the angry words had been said face
to face, instead of to shining metal
instrument, will bring about kinder
more polite and altogether more
successful telephone dealings.
Discourtesy may be shown in ac-
ton, even though the "other end
cannot see our actions. The women
who keeps the telephone bell ringing
for five minutes and more at
stretch before she will deign to ans
wer shows as much discourtesy as
if she kept the caller waiting on the
door step. The man who impatient
ly sends an Office boy to answer the
telephone bell and then when the
caller is announced goes on with his
affairs until he gets good and ready
| TO answer, is grossly discourteous
He might, at least, If his affairs are
very pressing, instruct his boy to
| tell the caller to call again a little
later. Still more discourteous is the
man who orders an employe to get
some one on the telephone for him
and then, when the desired party is
secured, keeps him waiting many
minutes. Both the instances are a
fruitful source of the busy report
Many people having party line
service forget all about etiquette
when they use the telephone and dis
courteous conduct seems to be the
rule rather than the exception. How
surprising to lift the receiver, ina
CINE that you hear the operator, state
your number, and then hear your
nearest neighbor, whom you had be-
lieved most kind friend, snap:
Get off the line! Can't you hear
that l am using it? What do you
think of that? Hasn't he nerve,
coming in like that?"
Then there is the man who, COM
ing on the line at the same time as
the other party, tries to bulldoze the
latter to let him have the line first.
Though he is apparently a gentle
man face to face, it does not matter
now if the other party is a woman,
he will not give her the right of
way.
Still more surprising and quite in
applicable is the discovery that
many people think nothing of caves
dropping over the telephone. Their
sense of honor has not been aroused,