Did you really hear me say that?

[greensinestro]

Long ago, when I was an operator for Bellsouth, we would have customers call wanting to know why a number they were calling was busy. Much of the time, it was because the person did not have call waiting, so it would give out a busy signal. Sometimes, it could be a problem on the line.

My favorite question was "I need to know if it's off the hook or not." I always told these customers that I was sorry, but I have no way to tell that without being able to physically see it. Mostly, this was advised because if we told the customer a phone appeared to be off the hook, it would turn into a war, such as a customer calling their local pharmacy and not being able to get through.

I would check the line for these people, then if it had conversation on the line, I would tell them so. If it had no conversation but was still busy when called, I would let them know there most likely was trouble on the line, and it would need to be handled in repair. Instead of these people allowing me to connect them to repair, many would say, "Well, it's off the hook then" after I explained in great detail how there was no way to tell without seeing it.

It always made me want to ask how they heard me say what I did not say instead of interpreting the truth.