Telephone Calls

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 65, 9 December 1937, Page 7

Telephone Calls

"IMPATIENT '

OALLER,"

Sir,— Some montlis ago the PoSt and Telegraph Department made some reductions in the cost of telephone calls at night, with the object no doubt of popularising telephone calls as against other means of distance communication. The department embarked on a scheme of advertising to draw attention to the reductions. If my experience a few evenings ago is the lot of those wlio desire to use this means of communication, either distance telephone calls will ccase to be so popular, or the department will liave Lo reverfc to its former scale of charges, without having to go through the form of making the calls ' ' urgent. ' ' Last night I put a call through to Wellington at 8.50 p.m. At 9.45 p.m., when I asked when I might expect to get through, I was told there -were ten ealls still thead of mine. Allowing a

trifle over three minutes for each of the ten calls I rang up again at 10.20 p.m. There were still six calls in front of mine, and most of the calls coming iii were made "urgent," .so that mine would wait until all the "urgents" and six other e had been put through, That might have meant after uiidmght so I cancelled the call. Had I been using the ptiblic telephone box I might have had to wait nearly three heutfi before my call could have been put thtbUgh. If tbe department canliot cope with the business at the redtieed rates( would it not be better to restore the original rates s.0 that there Should be no misunderstanding. — Yours. etc.,

This letter was referred to the Hastings Postmaster, Mr C. Clark, who made the following comment: — "The introduction of lower rates for toll calls has resulted in gteatly increased business, and this, combined with the approach of the Christmas season, has aggravated the position. "However, the department is alive to the possibility of still further increased traffic and in the very near future the number of circnits aVailable will be donbled. The delay is due to the fact that the modern 'carrier current ' apparatus, which had to be ordered from England some months ago, has not yet arrived. With the installation of this apparatus delays should be reduced to a minimum.,,