Black Telephone Still Popular In City

Press, Volume C, Issue 29480, 5 April 1961, Page 16

Black Telephone Still Popular In City

In Christchurch, the black telephone still leads in popularity over each of the six coloured models available, according to a survey just completed by the Post Office. The total requests for coloured telephones, however, shows a preference for these in the ratio seven coloured to three black. In the survey, which covered more than 1000 applications, the percentages of requests for black and the various colours were: black, 30; ivory and red, 19 each; green, 13; grey, 12; yellow, four; blue three. The preference for coloured telephones was, in general, more marked in the newer suburbs than in the older parts of the city. The rental for the black telephone is Ils a year less than for the coloured models, which are distinguished by their more modern style as well as their colour. The numbers of people wanting the one-piece Ericofon type telephone were not given, but according to the Chief Postmaster (Mr C. J. C. Simpson) these are “much less popular” than the usual two-piece type. The extra rental for the Ericofon is £2 a year. The survey was made without any reference to a “Mercantile Gazette” article on the subject of coloured telephones quoted in “The Press” yesterday, Mr Simpson said, but was useful in dealing with some of the points raised in the article. The relative popularity of the one-piece telephone, for example, was quite different here from the figure quoted for the United States survey, although it could possibly be that the American figures referred to a different style of one-piece instrument. The Ericofon was available here in ivory, grey, and green, but not in black The marked American preference for ivory was apparently not shared by the Christchurch public to anythink like the same extent, although it was one of the two most-preferred of the available colours. Asked why the rental for coloured telephones was higher than for the black type. Mr Simpson said that to offer such a choice the Post Office had to hold stocks of seven different telephones instead of one at each depot in the country. Moreover, many of the spares needed for servicing the various coloured instruments could be used only for a telephone of the appropriate colour, so that again there was duplication. The regional engineer (Mr S. M. Reynolds) added that

the main reason the Ericofon was charged at a higher rental than the other type was its bigger cost to the department.

Mr Reynolds also said that no more black telephones were at present being imported. Two large consignments of the coloured types had been delayed by the shipping hold-up at Lyttelton, but were expected to come to hand soon.

Mr Simpson said that wherever supplies of any particular colour of telephone were for the moment unavailable, the subscriber was given a black instrument or one of another colour as a temporary measure. When a telephone of the desired colour came to hand, the other was replaced free of charge. There was no extra installation cost for a coloured telephone, but where a subscriber wanted to exchange an existing black telephone for a coloured model, an installation fee of £3 was charged.