In many businesses the most important person in the house was the telephone operator (think Lily Tomlin) sitting at her Western Electric switchboard with all the tangled wires and blinking lights. All incoming calls passed thru her headset and she knew whose wives were calling and sometimes why. It was a prudent person who remembered her at Valentine's Day and Christmas. And in a crisis or emergency you wanted an old pro at that key station. As an apprentice I was sometimes asked to sit in when the operator went on break - when the lights all started blinking it was panic time. I also learned that by leaving the key open the operator could monitor the conversation but, of course, protocol dictated that this was never done. These brief stints at the console gave me an appreciation of the dexterity of this clever person with the professional manner and clipped diction - she could pronounce the number nine in two syllables. Her voice was the first heard by a caller as she portrayed the image of your company. Hence, I say "bouquets and kudos" to your telephone operator - and give her/him a raise.
tjs
Next - Epitaphs II
I remember the Operators at Camden Trust, when I was a Messenger.
ReplyDeleteWise Women, who could have run the bank.