atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information DEFINITION OF PHONE MAN

Maybe Im just a purist, stubborn Bell head, hate change or all 3 but will someone please tell me when did the definition of a phone man change from how it originated into system this, patch panel that, cat 5e/6 specialist, I.T.,blah blah blah and why? Could the industry, society or both not come up with something more fitting for these type of workers? Such as telephone set programmer, inside wire placer ( bus&res of course ) plug the cable/cord in&see if the green or red light comes on guy and if it dont call a help desk guy, telephone set programmer guy or computer guy guy. Or the punch down a cable pair guy, or the only way i know if a pair is good is if i plug in a toner go to the other end where the telephone set programmer guy is programming the phone and see if i hear my tone guy, or the NEW TROUBLE MAN who gets pay raises, kudos, promotions, and is thought of as a telephone repair genius if he doesnt see his little green light or hear his tone and simply finds another spare pair by using his toner until he gets it right and punching it down guy, and last but not least, the same genius NEW TROUBLE MAN who has absolutely no clue how to use a sidekick, TDR, 965, faultmaster or any other piece of equipment to actually identify and locate a trouble who after he has swapped, shotgunned and split every pair possible tells his boss( who got his job via college degree of promoted thru the ranks like this guy dreams to be and dont have a clue either as to ACTUAL TELEPHONE WORK )that simply the plant is old,bad or both and we need it replaced to hide my inferior skills guy? Some may not like this but deep down ( as in star wars ) YOU KNOW IT TO BE TRUE. Can ALL employers read this...The so called " phone guy " you probably pay way too much can NEVER and i mean NEVER, recieve the training, experience, knowledge or know how that a major telephone company " REAL PHONE MAN " has, period. there is no where other than there to recieve all that which if i may add is critical to being a TELEPHONE MAN. So instead of paying a guy like that the wage you pay him and when he really cant do the bare bones part of the job and you have to hire a REAL PHONE MAN on contract to do what he cant do on top of what youre paying him already, why dont you hire former employees of a major telephone compny who have all that know how and just simply have them trained to plug in cords, look for lights, call a help desk, type on a computer and push buttons on a set to make voice mail work? Because those former employees can get that training ALL DAY LONG AND ANYWHERE AT ANY TIME ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR IT, but they can never get the training those former telco employees got. Sounds like a NO BRAINER and a way to save alot of money for your company doesnt it? NOT A RANT, JUST AN UTTERLY DISGUSTED REAL TELEPHONE MAN WHO IS FED UP WITH SOCIETY IN GENERAL AND LIBERALISM IN AMERICA. good day!!!!!

Feel better now?

I'm not exactly sure I follow everything you're saying. However, on this forum you will find many telecom professionals who never worked for a major telephone company. Hopefully, you're not bashing all of us in your rant.

If you think that only true professionals work for major telephone companies, perhaps you should see some of the work these professionals do in some of our areas.

If you're talking about some of the IT weenies who seem to know everything, join the club as many of us have those same feelings.

Regardless, welcome to the board!

... I think I need to call my "read this is transpose it into coherent statements" guy and then have him send it to the "takes documents and scans them and e-mails them" guy and then the "reading this post and having a hard time understanding it" guy (aka me) would know what is going on.

But, what I think it boils down to, is that there is more to being a phone man then just a glorified parts-swapper and checker of the idiot lights.

That's fine. I'm on board with that whole line of thought. I'd almost give a limb if I could deal with nothing but real technician's when problems arise. Maybe two limb's and my nose if I could deal with real technician's on the IT side.

BTW, welcome to the board.

Today's "Real Phoneman" is a lot more technically capable to do many more tasks...plain & simple.

The reason is also simple. Usually when we go on a service call, we don't have a clear idea of what the problem is, because the dimwit that reported the problem didn't or couldn't give us a proper description of what the problem was.

Today's "Real Phoneman" is usually paid more than the old days because he has to know more of different systems, different methods, and different technologies.

The old days as you put it just don't cut it anymore. We, as telephone business owners couldn't possibly afford to have some tech on staff who only knows how to change cords and dials, or only does some other simplistic tasking.

In the scenero I mentioned above, what would you propose that we do? Send out a half dozen techs so the "right one" is there to fix the problem and the others either sit around or go on to another job?

I remember the "Old Days" and I also remember the problems associated with them, such as Residential I&R techs, unable &/or unwilling to help out in a real emergency situation where 1/2 of downtown was flooded and couldn't do much except run cables and tone them. Like I said, though, they would have to accept the tasking as it "wasn't their job" and they weren't paid for doing work of a higher echelon, etc.

Even nowadays, or at least the last I heard, there were arguments on who should be installing the newer systems. If there's programming involved (and there is) the class 2 techs would say that it wasn't a class 2 job, so either promote them to class 1 or get a class one to do it.

The top techs obviously get paid more and they should. They know more, are more experienced on different systems, etc. That, in my book, means more than "time served".

I'm sure that most of us would definately send the "most experienced" tech available to do a specialized job whenever we can, whether it be to use special equipment, testers or whatever. We can't afford to have a tech on site that doesn't know his ar$e from his elbow. The client wouldn't want to pay the invoice later.

For installation, it's the same. If I only dispatched a tech who could do a simple MAC order, as you suggest, then we would lose the "while you're here, can you install a new network cable and add it to our network?" order.

Today's Telephoneman is a lot different in too many ways to count. Whether that's better or not, who's to say?

The BIG companies are still making money, but not by doing better quality work, just by putting the scews to their clients by nickle & dimeing them to death.

Most of the clients that the "New Telephoneman" have, have them as the clients were fed up with the "Old Telephoneman" and/or their practices.

End of rant. I now pass the box...

1. Change your meds.

2. Use paragraphs.

3. Get a life. (or a hobby)

(signed)

Arthur P. Bloom, phone man.

nah guys no meds needed. that was long after i read it.hahahaha basically i think the guys who can actually run a trouble and fix it, know how to place cable, etc. shouldnt be overlooked as potential employees because the knowledge they posess is priceless and employers should look more to train a guy like that versus some IT "weenie" fresh out of college that has ZERO experience especially with diagnosing and repairing troubles over splitting, shotgunning and swapping every availible house pair until there arent any left and throw their hands in the air. and then when an actual phone man arrives to find and repair the troubles they are talked down to and made to feel inferior during conversation about IT crap, switching, Avaya,etc. We arent dumb by no means and feel like we dont get the respect we deserve. perhaps from the lazy, union protected tech that has put a bad taste in one out of 5 customers mouths, but that doesnt mean all telco employees were that way. maryland is moving in leaps and bounds and emplyers are not willing to spend the time to train smart, experienced phone men in todays technologies and i find that diplorable. not bashing everyone, just saying if you dont already, please show guys like myself more respect out and about, on the job ( when we are helping you )etc. thanks guys for not bustng my chops.

Thread moved to The Complaint Department .