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re: Have you ever made a collect call before?
Posted on 7/29/18 at 11:15 am to liz18lsu
Posted on 7/29/18 at 11:15 am to liz18lsu
what would todays youth do if they picked up their rotary home phone landline and heard other people talking and could only use the phone for an emergency?
Along Party Lines circa 1950 Bell System; Telephone Operator Training Film - YouTube
LINK
Along Party Lines circa 1950 Bell System; Telephone Operator Training Film - YouTube
LINK
0
Posted on 7/29/18 at 11:16 am to rebeloke
Have you ever made a good thread before?
Posted on 7/29/18 at 12:02 pm to rebeloke
AIT after basic training in 95. Half my salary paid for collect calls back home. I was a Mama's boy.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 12:06 pm to rebeloke
You can only make collect calls from jail at $10 per call.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 12:27 pm to redstick13
Made several. My work around on toll charges though was to call our switchboard on the 1-800 number. They would then patch the call through on an outgoing WATS line. Could do this from any number in US. The VHF radio was fun to listen to. Between the fisherman and the offshore folks they was always something to laugh at.
This post was edited on 7/29/18 at 12:29 pm
Posted on 7/29/18 at 12:27 pm to Napoleon
I knew some kids in college who would call home collect and use the family dog’s name. That was the signal for the parents to call them direct at the dorm, which was cheaper than accepting a collect call.
I worked for a small business that used collect calls to tell customers when a special order was ready. When the operator would tell them it was collect from ABC, Inc., they sometimes would not recognize the name of the company. I would interject, “iIt’s about your —— you ordered” and they would accept.
I worked for a small business that used collect calls to tell customers when a special order was ready. When the operator would tell them it was collect from ABC, Inc., they sometimes would not recognize the name of the company. I would interject, “iIt’s about your —— you ordered” and they would accept.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 12:37 pm to SelaTiger
quote:
I remember when my parents and parents of friends would from time to time say things along the lines of “y’all better not be making long distance calls”. You don’t hear that anymore.
My teenage best friend lived 20 miles away (Mandeville to Slidell) and it was long distance back then. I remember we once ran up a $200 phone bill and my Dad got disgusted and finally threw the phone in the garbage. (My poor Dad had 6 daughters.)
Posted on 7/29/18 at 12:40 pm to rebeloke
(no message)
This post was edited on 1/23/21 at 4:46 pm
Posted on 7/29/18 at 12:47 pm to gingerkittie
My grade and middle schools were 5 miles from my house and they were long distance calls.
This post was edited on 7/29/18 at 12:48 pm
Posted on 7/29/18 at 12:51 pm to Bullfrog
quote:
A pay phone could dial the operator without putting money in it. You’d collect call your house. Parents would deny the charge, the operator would end the call and the parents would come pick you up.
Yup.
And the "wehadababyitsaboy" commercial below is exactly what I think of when someone mentions collect calls. Hilariously true commercial.
I can't remember how it worked, but the 10-10-220 deal was the weird phase between collect calls and the proliferation of cell phones.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 1:33 pm to rebeloke
Yeah from out of the country to my credit card company
Posted on 7/29/18 at 1:41 pm to redstick13
quote:
My grade and middle schools were 5 miles from my house and they were long distance calls.
BellSouth was making a killing back then with the money they charged. I remember that you used to HAVE to rent the phone from them. You couldn't just buy a phone at Walmart back then.
It was like $5-$10 a month per phone, i think. It was around the 90's when I got ahold of my MIL's bill and saw they were charging her around $20 a month for "rental" of phones that she didnt even have.
It was crazy, she had paid probably thousands of dollars over the years and didnt even know it. It wasn't like you had a choice and could change phone companies back then.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 1:43 pm to rebeloke
All the time. My family is from Avoyelles parish so all of our calls were long distance. People look at you crazy when you tell them how lucky they are to just call any number bc we had to worry about it being long distance & a lot of money to talk to people just right across the river.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 1:46 pm to Bullfrog
quote:
We used to do that as kids when the movie was over and it was time for our parents to pick us up.
A pay phone could dial the operator without putting money in it. You’d collect call your house. Parents would deny the charge, the operator would end the call and the parents would come pick you up.
Worked like a charm
Posted on 7/29/18 at 1:54 pm to gingerkittie
quote:Your pops should have got a Lacombe exchange number and you could have called both Mandeville & Slidell exchanges as local calls.
My teenage best friend lived 20 miles away (Mandeville to Slidell) and it was long distance back then.
I knew someone who had a house in Bay St Louis whose family business was in Gulfport. They had in their house a Pass Christian exchange number (452-xxxx) that allowed them to call both Bay St Louis & Gulfport numbers as local (free) calls.
They had to also have a local number for 911 service but it was a smart fiscal move back in the day.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 1:56 pm to rebeloke
yes, and my parents would say no, 2 frick with me.
We had a dealio, i would make collect call and on voice recording, it would say, ready to be picked up. He would say no, hang up and come get us.
this was before cell phones, and we were always broke from playing video games and eating in the food court, while at the mall as teenie boppers
We had a dealio, i would make collect call and on voice recording, it would say, ready to be picked up. He would say no, hang up and come get us.
this was before cell phones, and we were always broke from playing video games and eating in the food court, while at the mall as teenie boppers
Posted on 7/29/18 at 2:10 pm to VernonPLSUfan
Hell, I remember picking up the receiver and asking for grandmas house, then we got dials and we practiced 8s and 9s because they were harder to dial. We even had a party line at the camp.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 2:19 pm to Bestbank Tiger
quote:
When I was in. 8th grade one of my classmates (Jesse) was out sick, so I prakned him by collect calling him at his house and telling the operator I was Jesse.
I also used to collect call random long distance numbers and say I was Bart Simpson.
My best friend and I used to check the phone book to see who had a "children's line" listed. (Back then, some parents had a line installed just for their kids so that they kids wouldn't tie up their telephone). We would prank call the kids lines just for fun.
Also, back before call waiting, you would get the operator to break into the call and they would get the people to hang up so you could get thru to whoever you wanted to call.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 2:23 pm to gingerkittie
Also, remember those old dang phones that you had to dial and how it sucked if you screwed up and had to redial? My gram had those forever, long after everyone else had pushbutton phones.
Posted on 7/29/18 at 3:41 pm to gingerkittie
quote:i remember seeing that one in the phone book a time or two. Now, with all the creepos the Internet has spawned, I doubt anyone list a second line like that anymore.
My best friend and I used to check the phone book to see who had a "children's line" listed. (Back then, some parents had a line installed just for their kids so that they kids wouldn't tie up their telephone
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