A long time ago, in a far off land, anyone could make a telephone call and someone else would answer it. The person receiving the call often expected it to be good news. A friend or neighbor just wanted to talk.
Companies were especially glad when someone called. It was probably a customer. Maybe they needed help. It was thought that a customer who had been helped became a lifelong friend. They might call again, needing something else.
So when you called a company, it was almost like calling a friend. "How can I help?"
This was before anyone thought to assign account numbers. Your name was what they wanted. They would confirm your address. It was almost like they were your neighbor.
"I'd like to buy a couple more of those rose bushes I got last Saturday. Could you drop them off?" "Of course, Mr. Rogers, we'll be by this afternoon. I'll send you the invoice."
Since the answering machine didn't exist, everything happened in real time. It was surprisingly efficient and pleasant.
Credit ratings didn't exist then. Nobody imagined that you wouldn't pay. When you bought a vacuum cleaner, the clerk could approve your credit. She knew you.
Telephones were useful for lots of things. You could call a number and get the exact time, so you could set your watch. Or you could ask someone if they knew. "It's 5:42, but I'm probably a minute fast."
You could call 0 and ask for the fire department because a real person answered and she wanted to help.
The operator would also connect you to the police department or fire department.
She liked hearing from you.
Banks weren't so friendly then. They opened at 9 and closed at 3. "Bankers' hours", we said. But they had people who you got to know. They knew you wanted $10 cash. Cash was king. Nobody knew what a credit card looked like or what on earth you'd use one for. Nobody would take them as payment. Even a check could be iffy. They had to know you were good for it.
But you could call a bank and ask how they were or what the time was or when they would be closing. They were happy to hear from you. They knew your folks and where they came from.
Companies didn't have big departments. They had one number. You could call it and ask for "hardware, please". It rang a couple of times and somebody who knew what he was doing would pick up and you could ask a complicated question and get an answer.
The phone book was a thing, and it wasn't very big. It listed people's names, their numbers, and their addresses. Nobody was afraid to let people know where they lived. Maybe someone would stop by and say they were new in town.
If you used the phone to buy an airplane ticket, well, first of all, you were rich, but you could do it and go tomorrow. You could have someone drop you at the terminal, walk in, pick up your ticket and walk out to the airplane. Security hadn't been invented then.
Government buildings were the same. An offer to search would have been met with a slap.
And so on.
I want you to remember this stuff because it's important. I'm 80 now and I'm not going to remember it much longer.
Maybe I'll go call someone and see if they pick up and see whether they're happy to hear from me.
