Fun At The Telephone Company
by
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We had one form of entertainment that was unique to our job and allowed us to work while enjoying a distraction. The company policy was that no employee was allowed to listen in on customers’ conversations. There was one exception, though: We could listen long enough to determine that a line wasn’t being used before working on it. For this purpose and the purpose of making business calls, we were issued test set phones. The test set phone was a handset with a dial or touch-tone pad on the back of the earpiece and two wires with alligator clips hanging from the bottom near the mouthpiece. The set also had a feature that allowed us to monitor a line without being heard ourselves. All we had to do to listen or make a call was to clip on to a pair of wires or a binding post in a terminal. A telephone man had access to the world from a manhole, a pole, a building, or a rural gravel road. As you may have guessed there were many times when we went on a line to test or use it and heard a conversation. The customers couldn’t hear us if we had the set on monitor. We had to listen just long enough to determine if the call was going to end shortly. There were times when a long-winded conversation could hold up a job for quite a long time. Now, I don’t know about you, but if, while the conversation was being monitored, it sounded juicy, I found it pretty hard to stop listening. Not that I ever did it, but I heard a lot of stories about overheard interesting and funny conversations. There is a lesson to be learned here—if you have a secret, keep it off the phone! Keep in mind, as you read these stories that a splicer is working with wires. He has no way of knowing whose line it is or who is talking. It would be a rare coincidence for a telephone man to recognize a voice; in fact I had never heard a story where the customer was recognized. Most of the conversations we heard involved women; I assume that in the seventies, more women were at home than today. Honestly, I understand that most of the conversations were boring. Then again some were very interesting. One of the best involved a central office technician who had monitored a line he was about to work on. The first time he monitored the line, a woman was talking to a man about getting together. As he listened, it became apparent that the man wasn’t her husband. The conversation was graphic enough that it held the technician’s interest. He worked on other lines for a while, and then monitored the woman’s line again to see if it was clear. The woman was still talking, only this time it was to another man. His interest piqued, the technician listened for a while and determined that it was her husband. The husband was explaining to her that he had been asked to work into the evening shift. The woman was sorry that he had to work late and would miss him, but she was very interested in exactly when he would be home! This was too much! The couple hung up, so the technician quickly preformed his routine and decided to monitor the line again. Now, he didn’t have to monitor it after the maintenance, but being the concerned technician that he was, he did. This talkative woman was at it again! Believe it or not, she was talking to a third man and arranging for him to come over! The technician was so intrigued by this woman that he monitored her line for a long time thereafter. As a result of his monitoring, he discovered that the woman was keeping no less than three boyfriends and her husband happy. What was amazing was that none of the men knew about the others! The woman was skilled at keeping track of all four men’s schedules and juggling them so they never ran into each other.
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About the Book
During my lifetime, I noted that people, particularly men, love to tell stories about their life experiences. If you know a fireman or policeman well enough, you know that they can entertain for hours by relating their on-the-job experiences. Even mundane occupations are settings for good stories. Having worked at a telephone company for thirty-two years, I had my share of experiences. I share them with my friends and family. Sooner or later, someone suggested writing a book. Not a classic, but rather one of those bathroom novels loaded with short stories. That’s what you will find here. However bizarre, they are all true. Of course the names were changed to protect my buddies and me who did and said some incredibly stupid and sometimes dangerous things. In some cases, the company policies and procedures I write about may not be depicted as they actually were. I’ve attempted to depict them as the field foremen, technicians, and I perceived them. You will have many laughs and more than a few “I’ve been there” moments along the way. The telephone company wasn’t my whole life, so I threw in a few personal and family stories along the way. Hopefully between work and home, these stories will give you background on the real telephone company and also a seemingly directionless individual who was successful because of both.
About the Author
Chuck Bozue was nineteen when circumstances dictated the immediate need for a job. Not a career, just a job. After walking out on his first job over differences with his boss, he got lucky. Answering an ad for an entry-level job with the Illinois Bell Telephone Company put his life on track. Following a process seldom seen today, he rose through the ranks from lineman to “lower middle management” over thirty-two years. He is eminently qualified by experience (he has only a high school education) to guide you through the real telephone company. Some of the stories Chuck tells are personally embarrassing, most are funny, some are sad, but all are true. He tells of struggles with his bosses and his antics with fellow technicians. Later in his career, Chuck is the boss and has the inside from several levels of management. The company policies and procedures that were creatively ignored or applied, and the sometimes dangerous antics that happed in the field and the office are depicted from Chucks personal point of view. This book should be required reading in all management 101 courses. It is an eye-opener to what really happens after the formal management training is applied. Along with the laughs will be a few “been there” moments. I guarantee you will think differently the next time you call for the telephone man. Chuck Lives in Channahon, Illinois, with his wife, Linda, the mother of his seven children. Those seven have given him nineteen grandchildren and a huge Christmas gift bill. When not writing, Chuck enjoys home building, remodeling, and riding his Harley.