sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information I'm Free !!!

Got called for the annual "please come over and get our phone system up and running" from the local rich folks' hotel/restaurant. Every Spring, I go find out why the entire system is dead, or why some rooms in the hotel aren't working, or which VZ lines have gone bad over the winter. I spend a day or two getting the whole place running. Sometimes it's the memory batteries in the Partner system have run down, sometimes it's mousies have chewed through the station wiring, sometimes it's the new management doesn't know how phones work...

I walk in, take a look at the KSU, and it's unplugged. That answers their question of why the whole system is dead.

I see that the KSU which I have been massaging for years (and which I keep trying to get them to replace) is gone. The KSU (which is unplugged) has a sticker from a company located in the next county, a 1.5 hour drive and a boat ride away.

I call the company and ask them WTF? Why have you stolen my customer? Lots of apologizing, lying, excusing, etc. The customer has no clue when or why the company came all the way out to this island to replace a system.

The local manager, a decent guy, understands the gravity of the situation: I live a mile away, and have been very good to these folks, responding at a moment's notice on a holiday weekend to solve an emergency for them. Sometimes the emergencies didn't involve the phones; sometimes it was the drink machines, the kitchen ventilators, the gas grill, etc that didn't work, and it was APB to the rescue.

So, I tell them "sorry" I don't work on other companies' equipment...warranty, insurance, etc., issues.

I complained to the local county department of consumer affairs that an unlicensed contractor from outside my county stole my customer. They are not interested in pursuing the matter.

So...this summer, I will not get called in the middle of the night because some rich POS can't get his WIFI to work in the hotel room.

I'M FREE!!!

Free at last, free at last....

You'll be back. They will beg and plead. But you'l be back on your terms.
Been there done that.

No good deed goes unpunished OR
its a brother ,cousin , cable guy or verizon guy
Who will disappear and your phone rings.

The best thing they will find a co in jersey who will make
one call charge a fortune and never come back because its
a pain in the ass trip.

Give them directions to eli hospital they can get the bullet
out of their foot

But your free sleep well.

Here's the excuse I get all the time being from Jersey "We can't find a company in the city to service us" Then I tell them I charge portal to portal and use public transportation in and out which is 3 hours on a train. I guess they find either another Jersey company after that. In all fairness the little job I did do in the city Tuesday was more to see the Occulus and the work being done around Liberty and it was a last minute favor for a friend. If get a call from them again I will point them to Ken.

Ugggh! I did that just ONCE and never again. I knew one guy who used to carry a tool bag and a 6 foot ladder on the trains. Ain't no way! Don't know what's worse, that or driving a service truck into the city.

I know that there is a lot of money to be made there but no thanks!

-Hal

I vaguely recall Sam saying years ago that NY Tel had repair techs walking to calls in downtown New York City. I am guessing that these crews would have ladders, wire, spare sets etc in each building?

Nothing vague about it. Most NYTelCo repairmen and installers were on foot in Manhattan, at least below 59th Street. Above that street, the districts were combination walking and driving districts. If an I/R person needed a large amount of cable or other materiel, a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood, or a ladder, etc, the stuff would be delivered by a truck and waiting for the technician when he got there.

There were also many conveniently-located storefront supply lockers where a walking or driving guy could use the facilities , wash up, eat lunch, call the dispatch desk, and get the needed telephones, parts, supplies and phone books for his next job. Non-capital (hand) tools could be turned in and replaced on a one-to-one basis. Knowing the locations of these lockers was handy when traveling around Manhattan while off-duty, if nature called or there were no convenient pay phones in the vicinity.

They were all "keyed alike," with replaceable-core BEST locks, Jeff.

Later, during the AT&T-IS days, (1984 to 1989) the company arranged for UPS to deliver the phones and KSU, and the installer just walked in and did the installation. We had several "roving" teams who wore work clothes and carried cables, drills and ladders in vans. These guys supported the walking "grid" technicians who dressed in casual business attire and carried hand tools in a briefcase.

I could write several chapters about that era and how it all turned to $h!t when the local Bell-head managers screwed it all up.

Yes, Arthur. We have a company that constantly tries to steal our customers. It's really annoying. When confronted, it's always "Sorry, we didn't know they were your customer." I guess the Americom sticker on the front of the KSU was too subtle of a hint.

Downtown Pittsburgh was similar. Of course, Pittsburgh is no New York. But the service techs that worked downtown basically worked out of two COs and had supplies delivered to them. Occasionally, on an emergency or really big job, crews from other areas would work the downtown area and report to one of two COs. Some large office buildings had similar supply depots and Bell Telephone had a good working relationship with the building managers. After 1974, it all went away, just like Arthur said.

Ah, "the good ole daze." Herbert Hoover, No Welfare and you could buy a LaSalle for under a grand.

Rcaman

Arthur, I have quite a few 'BELL SYSTEM' Best padlocks in my collection