Information Please in the Global Village

#globalcommuication

 Some Residents of the Global Village are old enough to remember the old rotary dial phones, the meaning of "dial tone" and how to dial the number required to call a friend or family member. The rotary dial was an advancement over the earlier version that required operator assistance to place a call. Every household and place of business had its own phone number--usually seven digits like 454-0639 or GL4-0639.  The rotary dial displayed both numbers and letters. The use of letters was a memory aid. Each digit was significant. 45 was the code for the Gladstone region of the town or city where the phone switchboard was located. The third digit was used for expansion as more phones got connected. So 454 could expand to 455, 456. etc. The last four digits functioned like a house number.

Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

 

While calls between phones in the Gladstone region could be dialed directly, any calls to phones outside the Gladstone area required Operator Assistance. So you dialed "O" and the switchboard operator answered. You told her what number you were calling and she connected you. If you did not know the phone number, you could dial "O"  and request "Information Please" The switchboard operator would connect to the Information Operator who had access to the "white pages" of every phone region in the country. If you gave her the name and/or street address of the party you wanted to reach, she would look it up and hook you up directly. You could also write it down and call later. This was also the procedure for "Long Distance" calls to other parts of the country or other countries. 

 

Photo by Museums Victoria on Unsplash 

 In the early days, neighborhoods were linked on a single party line and family members gathered around the phone for the rarity of a long distance call. Such calls were expensive and usually brought bad news about deaths or illness. More joyous occasions like weddings and births were announced by mail.

For nearly 50 years, telephone operators were on duty at switchboards 24/7 including holidays and especially during weather emergencies. In those days, the telephone and the switchboard operator were the only way to call police, ambulance, and fire services.

But that was before automation and computers, when operators plugged calls into a manual "cord board," and their job was considered vital. In those days, with fewer calls to handle, there was more time for the customer.

The Operator would identify herself and the phone company when she answered, 'AT&T, this is Rose, how may I help you?' This made it personal."

It is not like that in the Global Village. Now Rose, like Siri and Alexa, is a disembodied voice projected by Artificial Intelligence.You will get precision service but don't expect empathy. That has not been programmed into the switchboard operators of the Information Age.

 

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