Bad Telephone Practices

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26126, 31 May 1950, Page 3

Bad Telephone Practices

“Answering with the salutation, ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good afternoon’ usually provokes similar salutation by the caller. The result is line-time wasted,” said the Chief Postmaster (Mr D. R. Thomson) yesterday, discussing some common telephone practices. ‘‘Answer with the name of the firm or, in the case of private calls, with your name or telephone number. Undue use of expressions like ‘Hello,’ and ‘Are you there’ wastes time.” Other common causes of delays in the exchange were the practices of removing the receiver before knowing the number to be dialled, and asking callers to hold the line while seeking information. Subscribers making person-to-person calls, said Mr Thomson, should tell the operator right at the start that a personal call was wanted. This saved him copying the particulars on to the special card used for such calls. “Remember the peak load periods 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 5 p.m., and if possible transfer your unimportant calls to other hours,’’ he concluded.