The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-21

telephone operator and watch what he dees.- Probably he rattles the hook up and down in an exasperated way Incidentally preventing the operator from getting the signal, and when he gets central proceeds +te 'bawl her out'' because she is slow After complaining to everybody he can obtain connection with, he, per- haps, finally cools down enough to get the number he desires,
 Who is to blame for this condi- tion, Sometimes we fear it is the telephone company. Why? Because our service is so uniformly prompt. We answer calls in an average time of four seconds, EwhfIe but 3 per cent. of the calls wait over ten seconds for an answer. Had we trained the pub lie. to expect a ten second answer anu perhaps run it up to half a minute at times we could take it easier and live longer.
 Once in a while, but not as often as in the distant past, appears the man who wants to flirt with the operator. He takes down his receiver and says in dulcet tones, Hello, Kiddo," or Good Morning dearie," or How is the little girl today?" To all of which the operator replies, Number please ?'' If he gets too in- sistent, she will connect him with the chief operator and he can pour his love words into the ear of man. As n voice, he te1ephonteally beats it.''
 Te1eph one operators would, of course. never f1irt besides, how do they know but that the chief or a supervisor is listening ''on her head ?'' --by which we mean that the opera tors telephones are so wired that they can be listened on by someone in authority without their knoWIedge This is an effectual preventive meas ure.
 As you know we tell what time it is. Now. we are willing to tell what time every five minutes to the same per- son and we do think that it is thougntless of the subscriber in a little country office to call a night operator. who sleeps at 100 or 2:o0. o'clock in the morning, and ask her what time it is.
 A case occurs to- us that happened in just such an office. The exchange in question has, in the summer sea- son, a large number of telephone users. One of them greatly annoyed the one operator on duty by asking the time at unearthly hours like 800 a. m. Finally, she began to feel the strain and feeling that an exp1ana- ton was due she said to the eds toner one day. What is the mat cIock2s' T.fOh, yes.'' replied the sub scriber, IT got a. clock I just want to get my moneys worth Of the tele- phone. p
 The subscriber who calls his house and in reply to the operators report Of They don't answer, says Ring them again. know there is some one there,'' is the pest par excellence Upon a second or third report of Don't answer,'' he calls the com plaint operator or the chief opera tor and bitterly complains of the service, saying that he can never de- pend on his telephone The chief tries his telephone. and of course, gets the same report.
 Does this make him feel any more kindly towards the service? Not on your life! When he gets home and tells wiley all about it does she help out the company? Not noticeably. She has probably spent the afternoon at the movies though she has been told by hubby that he considers e1la.s no way for a lady to spend her time, that she should be home keeping his house for him. So she simply says t'Why isn't that funny, II was here all the time.,'4 And the telephone service has fot another black eye
 Now let us consider the man WHO has his branch exchange operator or his office boy get a distant party on the line and then makes the called party wait until he is ready to talk This is Just plain, ordinary, every day bad business manners that ought to and probably does. make such a man lose nponey. He is matched by the business man in a. distant city who has his operator insist on putting on the calling party on 8 long distance