My very first job out of high school was as a telephone operator, using a board-and-cord system not much more advanced than this, even though it was 1981. Dawson Creek, BC still had one of the last local telephone exchanges in the province, and we provided operator service for all of northern BC. Direct-dial long distance was still a bit new and many people preferred not to use it, and there were all the other features like person-to-person, returned charges, collect, etc.
It was an awful job - the absolute worst combination of boredom and tension. The only occasional excitement came when an ageing cable came loose in your hand and administered a nasty electrical shock. I lasted about two and a half months.
My very first job out of high school was as a telephone operator, using a board-and-cord system not much more advanced than this, even though it was 1981. Dawson Creek, BC still had one of the last local telephone exchanges in the province, and we provided operator service for all of northern BC. Direct-dial long distance was still a bit new and many people preferred not to use it, and there were all the other features like person-to-person, returned charges, collect, etc.
ReplyDeleteIt was an awful job - the absolute worst combination of boredom and tension. The only occasional excitement came when an ageing cable came loose in your hand and administered a nasty electrical shock. I lasted about two and a half months.