The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1922-10-30


both Of us properly. fairly and i'm
partially.
4 look forward to the time when
there viii be 100 per cent co-opera-
ton between all parties to tele-
phone call; namely. the person call
ing. the telephone company and the
person called. We are constantly
striving TO make improvements in
cur practices and methods and err
roTs Tor which we are responsible
are being reduced to a minimum
Perhaps we have not done as ,nncb
as we should have done in the direc-
ton of educating our subscribers IN
respect to the best methods they
should use in order to obtain max
imum Of efficiency. benefit and sat
lsiacuon from the use of our ser
wee. There are correct WAYS Of
making and answering telephone
calls which result in much more sat.
lstactory service TO both the person
making the call and the person re-
ceiNlng II, such as clear euuncta-
tion' the giving OF the RICH num-
Der obtained from the last issue If
the telephone directory instead IF
from a hazy memory. Telepbone
manners or courtesy not merely he
tween the subscribers and the opsr-
aeorS out between the subscribers
themselves and between their en-
proves and the employees of other
subscribers are also OF the utmost
Importance. All OF these things
and many others that could be men
toned are essential fol the best re-
suits and other things of a sim
liar nature have a bad effect on
service IN general.
An inspection OF the new te,e-
phone exchange, to which we will
invite You rs soon after IL has been
placed In service as possible, and we
trust that you and all OF our sub
scrtbers in Whiting will accept our
invitation. Will no doubt be a rev
citation to you in many ways and
Will dispel any impression that the
telephone system consists only OF a
number ~ telephone sets connected
to central office and Will show
you that the service is furnished by
complicated system OF equipment
efficiently operated and managed.
look forward to the time when we
may expect al least one visit a year
In person from each oe our subscrib-
ers In Whiting TO tho telephone ex-
change SO that they may see the
various interesting features the
chief operator VIII point out; learn
moro about how the operators
handle the calls and how the ap-
paratus works and why 1T works as
1t does. and ask questions that will
put them in a position to receive
the best possible results in connec-
ton with their service.
7 think sometimes a telephone
user really does expect too much
Of the telephone itself. Some OF
them seem to think 1t IS a magical
device that will accomplish the mi
raculous without effort on the part
Of the user. 4 man who Is very
careful in bis emunciat ton to his
stenographer; man who puts brain !
power and effort into the letters he
writes. is sometimes very careless
IN his manner of using the tele- I
phone. He seems to forget that any
effort on his part IS necessary-his |
words are inaudible-he has relaxed /
and in a passive sort OF way smokes |
q cigar; speaks away from the |
transmitter. salutes visitors enter !
ing his office; directs the office |
boy: asks his stenographer to make
certain corrections in correspond |
ence and at the Same time expects !
the man at the other end OF the |
wire to understand what he says /
and what II IS all about. The same I
inattention is sometimes more pro-
nounced at The time such a person |
IS giving his order to central so II !
Is surprising that with the mumbled |
tumble central gets. more wrong I
numbers are not the result Wrong !
numbers for which the operators /
are responsible average less than /
three per one hundred
THE time was, when the majority |
of telephone users merely consid- !
cred the instrument en- the wall or |
the pedestal on the desk rs con-
.stituting the sum total for which /
they paid their money. they seemed |
that anything more was necessary |
for successful telephone service |
than the mere matter Of having |
an instrument installed. Wires.
cables, conduits, trunks. power
plants. exchanges. switchboards. OPP
orators and service were things they
never dreamed of. II anything went
wrong the telephone itself was 20
blame; they had no idea that any
such thing as corporation played ,
any part in connection with tele-
phone service: they gave not a
thought to the fine effort that was
being put forth by efficient en-
ployees and were ready at the drop
of the hat TO find tault and call
the service rotten. These same peo-
pie in their dealings with trades
people were most considerate If up
on entering a store to make a hur-
ried purchase they found others
ahead of them and were unable 10
secure immediate attention: they
could see the fine efforts being put
forth by the sales people and could
appreciate the fact that the delay
was inevitable and unavoidable and
think nothing about il, but when
they pick up the telephone regard
less of the rush hour. expect to
get instant service.
The very finest and best effort
is being put forth at all times by
the telephone operators in order that
our patrons may have the very best
of service but because their efforts