Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-08-20
WAUSAU TELEPHONE COM
PANY.

1
For instance few months ago Z, boy
shot p bullet into one of our cables
which put some twelve or fifteen tele-
phones out of commission. 1t re-
quired a day or more to locate the
| trouble and all this time the sub
scribers were unable to get any SER
vice. 1t was very annoying. The
company was in no way to blame.
In many similar cases the company
has to take good deal Of cussing
from a class that will have it no other
way than that the service is poor;"
that the company does not "give a
rap for the public" that its employees
are ''inconsiderate, ssaucy" and
''ought to be fired" and such like
criticisms that are perfectly unjusti-
fable. 1t is but just to say that
these criticisms only come from a
small percentage of those whose
phones are affected. The others grasp
the situation; know that the trouble
is unavoidable, are patient and give
the company time to adjust things.
Heavy electrical storms very often
disarrange the whole plant and no
system is proof against these storms.
At such times, crews are worked
night and day; extra men are put on
the work, still there are those who
howl long and loud that the telephone
system and its company are nuisance,
Notwithstanding they are assured
that everything is being done to give
good service.
At times there are short circuits
and defects which take days to find
and remedy. There are leaks in
cables which allow water to dampen
the wires and wrappings; cables and
lines sometimes unavoidably pass
through trees which are menace to
good service. These conditions are
not only found in Wausali but in
every town and city where there are
telephone plants. The same incon-
siderate "kickers" find in the troubles
thus caused an opportunity to spread
the seed of discomfort.
The Wausau Telephone company, the
past two years, has put the greater
part of its wires in the business por-
tion of the city under ground; it has
put up a fire-proof building to house
its plant which is second to none in
beauty and permanency in Wisconsin.
In doing this there were necessarily
many annoying troubles in the SER
vice. In the main, subscribers have
understood conditions and have been
patient and good-natured about it,
others have not. The PILOT will
make bold to say that with all the
changing about during the past two
years, the Wausau Telephone COM
pany has given fully as good service
as has been had in any city in the
state.
During the two floods which have
visited our city within the past
month"; notwithstanding the fact
that they were severe tests upon the
efficiency and untiring energy of the
company's force, there was no time
but what good service was given.
The board of management of this
company is composed of men of our
city whose aim has been to give the
people of Wausau system and SER
vice which cannot be excelled any
where. That they have succeeded
goes without saying; that all sub
scribers have been perfectly satisfied
with conditions is quite another
thing, for there are those in every
town, city and village, even if systems
are absolutely perfect, would hunt
around to find something to growl
about and their fault finding is on par
with this, viz: ''The girl at No. was
chewing gum and did not enunciate
distinctly" 'The number wanted al
ways rang busy" Somebody wanted
me and couldn't get me and there
fore lost S100 job;" ''The telephone
system is bum one on general prin-
ciples," etc.
1t is well to understand that all
telephone plants have their troubles
and ours is no exception to the rule;
that it is as impossible to give per-
feet service all the time as it is for
the weather man to give continued
perfect weather. But that we are
getting the nearest approach possible
to perfect telephone service IN Wau-
sau should be : sou . of congratula-
tion.
One source of annoyance TO sub
scribers, so we are told, is the poor
service received from the long dis
tance department, and the Wausau
company has been blamed for this.
For a good many years the home
company attended TO this work, but
now it has nothing to do with it, as
that work was taken over some time
ago by the owners Of the long dis
tance lines-the Wisconsin Telephone
company, and that company is to
blame for poor service in long dis
tance work, if there be any.
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