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Life was so much better before the FCC allowed AT&T to become, well, the corporate monopoly they have become again! With this takeover AT&T has been allowed to do, it will be pretty difficult to tell new stories like the ones I can tell from the Baby Bell days.
In Florida, we have very unique customers, most from the early days of telephone service when AT&T monopolized the market (the first time around, that is). I first started with Southern Bell as an operator, back in the early 1990's. Pretty much then, customers from that era would dial "0" for just about everything, whether it was wanting the time of day, wanting to review their bill, or some, just to have someone to talk to because they were lonely.
Sometimes, you would get some that you just wanted to give a smart-assed answer back to. I, and several co-workers of mine, would get irked whenever you would answer with "Southern Bell operator, how may I help you?" and the customer would say, "Hi! Is this AT&T?" Nowhere did any one of us say "AT&T" in the greeting. I at one point wanted to say, "No, this is not AT&T. Can't you hear good? I said 'Southern Bell' when I answered the phone. What part of that did you not hear correctly?" Of course, it would have meant a trip to the exit if I had said that.
Or, we used to get those who had their bill open and in their hand, reading the whole thing including the number for customer service, yet the customer would dial "0" for an explanation of their bill. Nowhere did it show on a customer's bill to dial "0" for help about a phone bill.
Now, with AT&T being permitted to once again monopolize the telecommunications industry, things are not as easy for customers like this anymore. Operators are pretty much automated, let alone cost you money to even speak to one. Or you have to go through tons of menu options before, if at all, you get to speak to someone!
In Florida, we have very unique customers, most from the early days of telephone service when AT&T monopolized the market (the first time around, that is). I first started with Southern Bell as an operator, back in the early 1990's. Pretty much then, customers from that era would dial "0" for just about everything, whether it was wanting the time of day, wanting to review their bill, or some, just to have someone to talk to because they were lonely.
Sometimes, you would get some that you just wanted to give a smart-assed answer back to. I, and several co-workers of mine, would get irked whenever you would answer with "Southern Bell operator, how may I help you?" and the customer would say, "Hi! Is this AT&T?" Nowhere did any one of us say "AT&T" in the greeting. I at one point wanted to say, "No, this is not AT&T. Can't you hear good? I said 'Southern Bell' when I answered the phone. What part of that did you not hear correctly?" Of course, it would have meant a trip to the exit if I had said that.
Or, we used to get those who had their bill open and in their hand, reading the whole thing including the number for customer service, yet the customer would dial "0" for an explanation of their bill. Nowhere did it show on a customer's bill to dial "0" for help about a phone bill.
Now, with AT&T being permitted to once again monopolize the telecommunications industry, things are not as easy for customers like this anymore. Operators are pretty much automated, let alone cost you money to even speak to one. Or you have to go through tons of menu options before, if at all, you get to speak to someone!