"RING COMPLAINTS"

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19378, 16 July 1937, Page 14

"RING COMPLAINTS"

TELEPHONE SERVICE VIEW BEHIND THE SCENES If the complaints section of a New Zealand telephone exchange is pictured as a collection of officers endeavouring to placate exasperated subscribers it is very far from reality. A visit to the complaints board of one of the larger exchanges and an investigation into the methods of dealing with telephone troubles discloses the unexpected fact that the majority of the complaints do not originate from the public, but come from vigilant telephone operators and others who are. constantly watching the system in order to discover incipient faults and remedy them before any trouble is given to subscribers. The complaints section is a very well organised part of the telephone exchange where conversation is quietly carried on without the slightest evidence of a "complaint" atmosphere. Associated with the complaints section is an outside staff maintained for instant service in the same way as a fire brigade.

A subscriber having some difficulty with his telephone rings "Complaints" and speaks to an operator experienced in this work. The nature of the trouble is noted and the operator has close to his hand in a card index a complete record of all subscribers' equipment with notes of previous troubles if any have been reported. This card with the latest complaint passes to the senior test clerk, who from his desk at the exchange is able to make a test of the subscriber's line. Action started by the subscriber's complaint is not allowed to rest until the i'aultman has reported that everything is "0.K." However, tests may disclose a fault in the actual exchange where there are mechanicians constantly on duty to attend to these troubles as well as to maintain a regular watch on the working of the equipment. Over 600 faultmen and mechanicians are employed in connection with the Dominion's telephone service. A large proportion of telephone circuits are now contained in leadsheathed cables carried underground. The wires are insulated by strips of thin paper but damp in the cable reduces or even destroys the insulation and causes trouble on the subscribers' lines. However, there are constant tests of cables so that before any subscriber finds cause for complaint the telephone staff has usually discovered a developing fault and is at work on the remedy.