The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-08-20
IN A STATEMENT
A. j. Maekey Tells Why Cannot
Handle Fire Alarms.
He Explains Conditions and
the Operations of Switchboard.

Reasons why the local exchange OF
| the Missouri & Kansas Telephone COM
pany cannot handle queries as to loca-
given by Manager A ]. Mackey in
making in making a trip through the
| compdny's plant with a reporter for
! the State Journal. Mackey says the
board being flooded with fire calls
means that the operators cannot take
| care of the usual business and handle
! it with the dispatch it deserves.
| The company has no thought other
| than giving better service" Mr.. Mack
/ ey said. 1t was for that purpose that
we stopped the giving of Information
! as TO loca lions of fires. We found we
! service We wanted to other subscribers
| who might have cases involving life
and death. and who would have to wait
| for their turn to be served.
| During the busy time of the day
there are "a girls at work on the long
horseshoe shaped board, answering
calls Every one of the girls is rea-
Sonably busy. She has $50 lines to an
swer, so distributed that the busiest
lines are divided among them. She an
swers on an average of 175 calls an
hour, or about three calls a minute
That is the average Part of the time,
of course. she is working to capacity,
and is answering at the rate of call
every five or six seconds. But that
speed is impossible to maintain, the
average operator doing fast work if she
can care for from eight to ten calls
minute.
For every call she has to say. Mum
Der, please. If the subscriber does
not speak directly into the transmitter
and speak plainly. she may have to ask
a second and third time for the num-
Der. After she gets it she must repeat
nd
Even then her work is not done. She
must go back on the line if nobody an
swers, and after the converse ton has
been finished, must remove the plugs,
the work of a moment in each individ-
uaI case, but requiring considera Bile
time when she has to do this hundreds
or times during every working day.
The local exchange takes care of ap-
proximately 10000 calls in the course of
every day 1t has 5000 lines. which
means an averaE. of about eight calls
a day over every line during each day
of the year Every effort is made to
give the best possible service and su-
pervision of the board not only is main
tanned by chief operators in the oper-
at1ng room, but by additional operat tors
in a supervision room where girls
watch the calls and report to the sec
ond the length of time required for
central TO answer, make her connec-
ton. and the parties called to answer.
The average length of time required to
answer call is 312 seconds.
when fire alarm came in under
the old way of handling the calls, the
load on the operators went to the
zenith in a minute or two. Charts
showing the load on the board by
means of registering meter, tell the
story plainly. One evening when the
load had begun to tighten along about
s O'Clock in the evening, it was in
creased more than so per cent for
fifteen or twenty minutes on account
of a fire alarm. At another time in
the middle of the busy time of day
the registering needle went clear out
of bounds and stayed there until the
excitement was over. and the office
has no way of telling what the load
was.
Under any circumstances the op-
orators are busy. but there are
enough to take care of the business
A fire alarm meant a sudden, I'M
looked for jump in the number of
calls and fairly swamped the girls
who can answer only given number
in a given length of time. And there
is no way of telling which are impor-
tant calls. Every call is just a light
on the board, and the operators ans
wer them as rapidly as they come to |
them.
Altogether the company employs !
126 operators for all of its shifts. 1t |
maintains ample operators to take |
fire alrms. At such a time, with |
hundreds of calls for information
of which come from child |
rem, according to the telephone Off |
Gals, II merely means necessary neg
lect of other calls to handle the bust
ness, and the officials do not think |
they are justified in making such a /
move"
But one question stands out prom
Inently even in view OF the statement
above If the phone operators can
receive calls for information about a |
fire and ira nsfer them to the fire de-
partment. why could they not give
location of the fire in the same breath |
and time and trouble it would take to
make that transfer?
Is it not easy to say: 1910 West
street, as il is TO say. I'll transfer
you to the fire department?
Parole for Fred keehn