PASADENA STAR-NEWS
OPINION
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
 
 
 
 

YOUR VIEW
 
  'Hello, operator?'
     The child-proof packaging and sealed plastic containers that so many things come in these days are hard enough for the elderly to deal with, but phone calls that are now all computerized to save money for the greedy companies are just too much.
     Today I tried to phone a friend.
     The line was busy for one hour and 20 minutes.
     I tried to call to repair my cell phone. First I had to punch in the numbers from the phone I was calling from Then I had to go through another menu of numbers to specify what I wanted to talk about. None were to repair another phone.
     Finally, I got to a person who wouldn't help me at all until I told him tha last four digits of my hushand's Social Security number. The cell phone service was under his name. They explained the privacy laws forbidding them to give out any account information. I tried to explain that I only wanted to report another phone, other than mine, that was not working. There was nothing they could do.
     But then they had to know if it was a cell phone with their system. It wasn't. So nothing they could do. I handed my husband my other phone, and he dialed the repair number on that phone.
     Then he went through all the computer stuff, but again no help. I suggested he dial zero for operator. In the old days, they could at leasst check and see if there was talking on the line or not. She said there was not. So we wanted to ask the repair service to check it. The operator transferred my husband to the computer again, and, after 10 more minutes, she told him there would be another 15-minute wait. He gave up; the operator thought the phone was off the hook.
     Be sure you get your friends' neighbors' phone numbers too, in case one of your friends drops dead, and you can't reach him or her on the phone. The phone companies won't help you.


Jo Cooper
PASADENA
 

 
 
COMMENT
from a writer friend
Dear Jo:
Very well written letter and I can certainly relate to it as I'm sure many people can. Sorry you couldn't make it to the writer's meeting.
Sincerely, Kay
 

 
 
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