The Operator Was Sleeping: A Seattle Telephone Scandal
In 1885, Seattle residents were so fed up with poor service and sleeping operators at the local telephone exchange that the newspaper demanded a total administrative overhaul.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The manager of the telephone company, in a letter which we print this morning, admits, punctually, all that has been said in criticism of the telephone service, but promises reform in the future. This is really a very shabby defense. The company does not postpone the collection of rates till the indefinite future, but it promptly takes in upwards of $1,000 per month just as if it gave value received. There is no excuse for delay in reforms which might be made tomorrow. Another operator for day service; a boy big enough to keep awake at night; civil talk in reply to civil inquiry—these are reforms which need not wait upon the completion of the stone block. If Mr. Cady would employ somebody to look after the construction of lines and transfer his personal attention to the administration of his office, it might be a good thing.
“The company does not postpone the collection of rates till the indefinite future, but it promptly takes in upwards of $1,000 per month just as if it gave value received.”
More than a century before modern tech giants were criticized for poor customer support and monopolistic practices, Seattle's early telephone subscribers were already battling 'shabby' service and unresponsive management. The struggle to hold essential service providers accountable in a rapidly growing city remains a persistent theme in Seattle's civic discourse.
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