Back in the day calls were less frequent and tended to be placed by people you want to hear from

I agree with Corey. Another thing about phones today. It allows people to be late - Because you can you always text and receive a pass. One the other hand - if some one is late a text is always appreciated. However.... YOU of all people LOVE your phone.

Screening calls is nothing new but the technology has changed. It is no less offensive when an assistant answers the phone and then checks and makes up some excuse.

I still use two cans and a string

Back in the day, the caller was never credit card services or the resort I (didn't) recently visit.

It is true that unfortunately the telephone has been taken over by the solicitors, the "fishing" firms and perpetrators of frauds. -----that is on my unlisted hardline home telephone number which for whatever reason I continue to own. We actually never answer it until we hear who's on the other side. I'm still excited when that voice on the other end is someone I really do want to hear from

First of all, if that Cherry Wood Operator Position existed today it would be worth Thousands of Dollars. Also back then, Circa 1960's, one of my first management assignments at AT&T, was Maintaining the Switchboard Operators for Long Distance & International Telephone Calls. Let me share some food for thought:
1: All operators were woman
2: All operators wore dresses to work
3: All Management were Men & wore Suits & Ties (Some Women were "Chief Operators" and maintained a row of Positions. They were not management.
4: The Operators were represented by The Communications Workers Union
5. My guess is they made $1.25 an hour x 8 hours = $50.00 a week at that time. The Chief Operator was paid an extra $1.75 per day for her services.
6. They worked 4 hours which included a paid 15 minuet break, got 45 minutes for lunch and another 4 hours which also include a paid 15 minute break.
7. If they needed to leave the position for a "Nature Break", they raised their hand and when the Chief Operator saw fit, you left. If you left on your own, disciplinary action up to and including termination was proper.
8. What the Operator was doing was, physically connecting a subscribers telephone line, which was physically wired from one's home to the Local Telephone Office, where a local Operator either physically connected your line to another local subscriber or to a "Trunk Line "Connecting to another Local Telephone Office, where that operator physically connected your line to a local subscriber in that Service Area.
9: Back then a Local Telephone Office could only serve 1,000 subscribers. 212-(687)-0000 to 9999 (687 was known as MurrayHill - 7) prior to the late 1950's area codes like 212 did not exist.
10: To complete a Long Distance Call to, say California, you can't imagine the "Physical Connections" and yes back then all was over a Physical Wired Connection.

In closing:
1: The Equipment which was once located in Huge Building is now located in a closet, or "The Cloud" and does so much more.
2: As for the Women that did these jobs, they were "Special" and a product of their time. I cannot believe "The Rules & Regulations" we were asked to "Enforce".
3: As for what's better "A Real Person Answering and Directing a Caller" or "A Recorded Voice or Prompt Directing a Caller". Ask your receptionist "What would he or She Really Like to Be Doing Today.

Respectfully,
Al Fecci
Gotham's Once Crowned "Telephone Doctor" now "Office Products Professional"

I love the the usefulness of the phone; I get work, can be more creative, have access to the world. It's a valuable tool. Yes we miss some lovely touches, but the benefits for me are truly infinite. And, of course, these are #firstworldproblems

I Agree with Cayce - It's also freedom.

I agree. Love it. It's connection.

While as great deal has been gained by the speed of our technological innovations of the past 50 years, communication and social interaction has clearly suffered. The actual mistakes made during the commission of a text or email often lead to tumultuous misunderstanding and errors. Tone is lost completely (not even a dial tne). Phones still allow you to hear and listen.

In the 1950's (yes I am that old) I lived in Israel and every March 2nd I would call my best friend in the US. That required a three day reservation and a whole day wait. But oh what joy when the call sis come through. Today is is Whatsapp!

Call me a cynic, but I refuse to believe that communications carriers in collaboration with regulators like the FTC and FCC are powerless to put a stop to the kind of nuisance/robo calls that have made the telephone an object of disdain and suspicion. When you think about the sophisticated, pinpoint, and highly nuanced tasks that can be accomplished with digital smart technology amid the Internet of Things, it flies in the face of reason that technology innovators are helpless at the mercy of troll solicitors. Someone--and it is not just the spammers and scammers--is making a lot of money on this national aggravation... Verizon and ATT... Can you hear me now?

Remember busy signals?? How frustrating was it when you called someone and all you would get was that annoying sound??!!

Remember party lines were we had to wait for some other household (who we did not know) give up the line so we could use the phone. . I appreciate the technological progress, and also lament the loss of eye-contact and casual conversation in the (metaphorical) elevator. The inability to reach out to a stranger face-to-face causes me to wonder about the effects (positive and negative) of this.

Phone etiquette . When I was a kid my parents taught me to say things like "Hello Mrs. Davidson this is Neil Hollander . "May I please speak with Joanne ? " rather than " Is Joanne there ?" Or bypassing Joanne altogether and asking Mrs. Davidson out for a date . Those were the good old days . Roslyn 3 or Mayfair 1. Or you could just dial "O " and ask the operator out on a date. Or dial "M" for murder . My mother used to talk to our next door neighbor on a beautiful sunny day on the kitchen phone for HOURS ! In her bra and girdle . Jesus ! My father was never known to use the phone . These days I consider the actual phone phone to be obsolete . In fact it's nowhere to be found . In the past it was the enemy . Ringing off the hook at all hours destroying my privacy or sending me to some far off land on a whim .Now of course I text . Which in itself can be frustrating but gets the job done . Especially during an athletic event . An impromptu comment like " CC is a fat loser !" to Fred after he gives up a double to clear the bases . The phone has evolved in to a neurotic instrument of anxiety and frustration also . Coo coo ca Choo Mrs. Robinson .

Hollander Sends