“Y-E-E-S.”

Thames Star, Volume LVII, Issue 15119, 4 January 1922, Page 2

“Y-E-E-S.”

answeringTthe telephone

“What sort of a way have you people got of answerng a telephone 1 ’ asked a visitor from America in Sydney a few days ago.

“The efficiency of 'the system is impaired by the way tho attendant answers,” he added. “In New York, if you ring A.B the answer comes back ‘A.B. here/ If you ring a firm in Melbourne the answer comes 1 back ‘Y-e-e-s.’ One never knows where he is. He may b< on the exchange or he may be or the firm he is after. The other day I rang from a big city office, and the girl on the switch, downstairs answered ‘Y-e-e-s/ I said, ‘Exchange-, would you give me A.B V and a voice said, “This is not exchange; this is the office switch/ Then there was a pause, and another voice said, ‘Y-e-e-3/ I found out that this was the exchange, and I asked for my number. There was a brief wait, and a voice said ‘Y-e e-a' again. This time J found out that I had my number. “The duty of a telephone attendant is to tell a man where he is. Life is too short to wait to find out who says “Y-e-e-s,’ or who says ‘Hello’ either. • Wo put flowers on her grave when the people saw that success was for the man who hurried up. And that is a good time ago now. 11l is pretty trying to have someone say ‘Y-e-e-s’ at you when you are in tho middle of a rush.”

Tho telephone authorities say that tho exchange girls usually answer “Exchange,” 4s they are required by regulation to do. People in offices are advised to give their name or - number when answering, but they do so irregularly.