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To: CRL who wrote (14856)	8/24/1999 11:48:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Chuck, the manner in which you described your Dad's perspective is probably unfathomable to many investors. But it's true that telephone craftsmen of yore had an ingrained sense of service urgency that took top priority. Service was King to craftsmen. There were no craftswoman at the time. The extent of this almost paranoia like mentality (in comparison to today's plug and play thinking) can be seen to some degree in the wording of the Bell System Safety Credo which used to read: [It's paraphrased. Maybe someone can recite the real thing?] "No Service is so critical, and no situation is so urgent, that we cannot take the time to perform our services safely." Okay, there is room for cynicism there, but only from folks who've not lived through the culture of that bygone era. Regards, Frank Coluccio

To: CRL who wrote (14856)	8/27/1999 3:48:00 AM
From: RTev	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

[OK. I'm late catching up on this fast-moving thread... but just had to comment on this mostly off-topic aspect of the Ma Bell culture of yore.] My father worked for the old Southern Bell for 40 years and his last concern was profit, which meant that his true last concern was the customer. I know just what you and Frank Coluccio mean. My father also worked for Ma Bell. 45 years at Mountain Bell in his case. I saw the same thing. I even tried to work for them briefly in college as a part-time job, but couldn't do it. I was an arrogant college kid (fortunately, I've gotten over that, ahem) and I couldn't believe the "customer is king" lines being fed me. I had read that stuff years in the slick Bell magazines sent to the house, but I didn't realize how deeply ingrained it was as the company culture. Despite the "We don't care. We don't have to" bumber stickers that were common at the time, Company employees really did care and did want to provide great service. Unfortunately, only the more problematic aspects of that culture seem to have survived in the Ma Bell progeny.