The Gentle Art of Courtesy

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 49, 20 June 1930, Page 11

The Gentle Art of Courtesy

"Static" from the South

A PURSUIT that is especially interesting to enthusiastic radio listeners is the collection of a good log of stations received. The practice is fairly general with listeners interested in this angle to write distant stations reporting their reception of same, and securing in return a card acknowledging reception. Through this means many amateurs paper the walls of their -- — am

radio dens with cards representing radio "scalps." . From the listener’s point of view this is an entertaining little hobby, but that there is another angle has been forcibly brought to our notice by correspondence made available by a Wellington listener. . It seems that this Wellington enthusiast had for some time logged in one of the southern B stations, and several times forwarded reports in the hope of securing a card. No reply being forthcoming, he at length wrote specifically but courteously asking for one. This request, combined with complaints from other listeners which have been given, apparently roused the southern station, with the result that a quite extraordinary letter was received, followed later by another of the same calibre. In publishing some excerpts from this letter the "Radio Record" desires to say that the mental atmosphere reyealed is not credited as being general with the proprietors of B class stations. Many of those stations are ably and courteously conducted, and in return for the personal advertisement received are rendering a service to their special communities. The southern letter to the Wellington writer began as follows: "Hor some time past various letters have been ap-

pearing in the ‘Radio Record’ stating that B stations have not been answering DX reports sent to them. You say "that we never reply and that you have sent three reports." How can we reply if you send your reports to the wrong address? "You say ‘that you are a regular listener.’ You can’t be, as you don’t listen to the announcements of the ad4+

dress of the station! Your letter states that you deserve an answer if you write-we quite agree with you, and you will get one. But have you ever stopped to think for one second? We have £1000 invested in the most modern station in Australia or New Zealand. It cost at least 15/- per hour to run the station, and last year we broadcast 1580 hours: we provide first-class programmes for you listeners, and we are not in receipt of any support from either the Government nor anyone else, and, further, we are not allowed by law to earn any income with our stations.

"Yet you seem to think that we should provide a large staff of clerks to answer your reports by the next mail, And you can believe us when we say that answering listeners reports is no small matter. We often receive 100 reports by one mail, and at present we have at least 2000 reports for April and May unanswered; yoursthe only one we have received from you -is right at the bottom of the heap.. You can figure out when you will get it-but you will get it O.K when we come to it, "You say ‘It takes time and a little patience. Well, what about us, don’t we take more time and patience in the transmission than you do in reception? Leaving out the matter of building the station or auxiliary equipment, and it was all built in our own shops, it takes us more time to go to a gramophone shop and select a programme than it does for twenty of our listeners to tune in and then write us a report. "In any case, your letter of the 12th inst. is not a report. You say ‘The transmission is all that one could de- sire at all times.’ Why, you don’t even say if you use a crystal set or what! Did the transmission fade? No. Or anything else? No. But just like the usual small boy report: ‘Dear sirs,-I heard your station last night; the programme was good. SEND ME A CARD.’ "Figure this out. Go to a printing shop and get a price for 10,000 station cards, of the usual postcard typeand our new ones are fully illustrated folders-then add up the postage bill and the time of the clerk who opens the reports, reads them, classifies them, files them and answers them, always later but never, NEVER. Then listen to some more good programmes from us, and compare the modulation, eta, with the YA stations who receive your 80/-, and then-write us another letter and let us know whether you receive any enjoyment from the "B’’. stations, not forgetting that the "B" stations don’t cost you any 380/-, but are free, gratis and all for nothing. ‘ "Our primary object is to provide a first-class supplementary service to that of the local YA stations, and we ‘can guarantee anyone who lives in our high class service area, 30 miles radius, and who has any good set, better music by radio than he can receive from a high class electric gramophone. No static, no power leaks or any other noises, but good clean music all the time." FTER condemning YA service and praising B station transmission over long hours, the writer said: "Hyerybody is satisfied-except the (Concluded on page 12.) --EE

Static!

(Concluded from previous page.) jokers who don’t get reports answered the next day-nuif said!... If you are the joker who writes the letters to the ‘Radio Record,’ please write to them again and tell them that you thought that the -- "B" stations received about £20,000 a year, for providing radio programmes and answering reports, but that you are very sorry about the matter, as you made a bad qgnistake. Yours till you hear from us again, You'll get a card sooner or jater, but most likely later, but some time." To the foregoing epistle the Welling- ‘ ton correspondent replied, still requesting the favour of a card. This was responded to by another letter, the envelope of which was addressed "Card-hunter, etc." This letter read as follows: "We are in receipt of your effusion of the 22nd inst., for which we thank you. Evidently you are under the impression that we took the trouble to give you ‘a special reply to your letter of the 12th inst. because we were liars. "We again state that no previous eorrespondence from you has ever been "yeceived at this station.... You state ‘that you didn’t ask for the service. ‘Well, we don’t ask you to listen either. "There are plenty of people here who ask for the "B" station’s services often enough. Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! We are thinking of putting on some studio programmes in the near future, and we want a professional humorist. We will consider an application from you, and most likely give your application pre_ference." This letter is certainly not typical of ‘gtation courtesy, but we publish it as a sample of a type of response which is fortunately rare.