Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-10-21
Mysteries of Hello
Headquarters Made
Plain to Visitors

/ u
Telephone week at the local eX
change has been q very successful in
novation thus Ear and many visitors
who have never before seen the in
terror of a telephone exchange have
delved into the wonders and intrica-
cies of the institution during the past
few DAYS
Among the visitors Thursday was
! Journal representative who spent
! pleasant half hour in the room with
! the operators and marvelled at the
skill and dispatch with which the
| operators kept tabs on an almost
countless number of calls all at the
same time. Miss Kate Brown, the
chief operator kindly explained some
of the workings of the system and
/ then the Journal reporter was left to
absorb the rest and it carefully was
an absorbing pastime.
There are 1900 subscribers or sta
tons in the Waterville exchange and
! the SO operators handle about 10000
/ local calls a day and about $500 toll
calls The busiest period OF the day
! is between $50 and II o'clock in the
forenoon and it was during this per-
.. iod that the reporters call was made.
The Waterville office has d switch
board which allows each of the opcr-
ators to handle any call that may
come in from any part Of the city.
Many times these calls overlap onto
The next girls domain. but they can
/ be reached and during the busiest
times. to the uninitiated. what APP
, pears to be an amazing tangle results.
But each girl absorbed in her own
ter time the rush is over and there
, is lot of time to relax Every two
or three hours. each girl has Is
minute rest period which may he
spent in the rest room in any way
which she prefers.
On 8 ton cali. il It isn't possible
20 get he'paIty called for right away.
If delay is caused by a busy line or
for other reason, there seems TO be
limitless memoranda to make on the
subject. The toll slip bears much IN
forma lion in a small space and added
to the regular memoranda al, infor-
IidlIoii ttSdIulilE IiC SoI cCA"NNH th-
time it is received at the telephone
exchange up TO the time the tonnec-
ton is made is noted down. IL line
is busy and the operator tries to make
connections more than once, east test.
as it is called. is noted on the back OF
the slip and the time it was made
Then there is the call TO the person
who is waiting, to tell him that the
line is still busy, each time the test
is made.
A supervisor has constant super
vision over the telephone operators
walking back and forth. behind their
chairs. ready to answer questions
from patrons who seek it from the
operators. To such it might be said
that it would be impossible for opcr-
ators to answer any questions! Shou4
they stop to do so their calls would
pile up to such rate that they could
never catch up and the whole bust
ness would be thrown into confusion.
A telephone operator must he bless
ed with various qualifications, that is
successful enc. and If she is'i't sue
cessful she doesn't last She must
have good eyesieht. as the Members
on the switchboard are small she must
have good hearing, her mind must b.
alert at all times and she must havn
good health. The work is fascinatins
10 great degree. Sometimes toll.
call will call forth a surprising
amount of ingenuity before it IS filled
and the average telephone girl takes
in 10 yi,,u
cessful issue the orders which are
spoken TO her over the wire. She
wants to get the party that man OF
woman has asked her to get and she
doesn't rest until she does it - there
is possibility of its being done.
A rainy day almost doubles the work
OF the telephone girls. People having
nothing else to take up their minds
resort to the telephone to make W
their long -delayed calls for this o.
! that reason. and to transact business
over the telephone which in pleasant
weather would be done by a personal
call
! The toll calls are handled by a CAL
cuiagraph, by which instrument the
time or the conversation is stamped
on the back of the toll slip. MANY
calls as far as Boston are handled
every day and also as far as New
York. Recent calls have been made 10
Manitoba, B. G.. Seattle, Wn.. and
Cleveland, o.
Miss Brown. the chief operator,
stated that the exchange invites crit
icism. as the idea is TO improve the
service. and what help can be rem
dered from the outside in the way Of
corrective measures il welcome.