2018 Operator Log Excerpts

Seven operators logged over 83 calls in 2018, and as usual, they ranged from boring to exciting and amusing to annoying. Here is a sample of logged calls, with some sensitive and many less interesting examples removed.

  • 2018-01-08 15:36 Caller wanted to make a call. I told them to hang up and dial 1.

  • 2018-01-22 9:41 Caller asked for the number of a specific Social Service attorney, which I provided.

  • 2018-01-25 12:22 Caller asked to make a call, I told them to hang up and dial 1.

  • 2018-02-23 9:25 “I want to call, um, my father’s house.” “Do you know the number?” “Yes, it’s …….” “OK, hang up, dial 1, and call it.”

  • 2018-03-04 17:09 Caller refused to speak, pressed various buttons. I heard some voice mail recordings. Then I thought caller hung up, but no. I mentioned that they could make a call by hanging up and dialing 1. The line went dead.

  • 2018-03-07 17:09 Caller identified themselves as an operator with a voicemail password but no account number, seeking a way to retrieve the associated account number. We decided that the unknown account should be abandoned. Caller was frustrated at the speed with which Futel computers read the password and account number. The call turned away from telephony and towards our complex relationship with permanence.

  • 2018-03-08 16:30 Caller wanted to know “the meaning” of the Futel phone, and of the Fred Flintstones couch (sic) and loudspeaker next to it. I was able to describe the phone & summarize some Futel services. Deeper meaning was elusive. I encouraged caller to explore the menu system & call back with easier questions. Caller was very grateful, said Futel made caller’s day.

  • 2018-03-11 17:06 Caller had many questions re: this phone & Futel in general: who runs it, who am I, who are the other operators, are any of them women, how long has this phone been here, et cetera. I directed caller to the website & shared what trivia I knew. Caller lives nearby, expressed interest both in hosting a phone and in becoming a Futel operator. Caller is very happy to discover Futel. We agreed it is a lovely day today.

  • 2018-03-13 15:44 I answered & heard only touch tones. At first I thought caller did not hear me. But I eventually realized caller answered each of my spoken questions with about as much touch tone pressing as I had used speech, and then waited for me to speak again. I got the impression caller did not actually need assistance. I encouraged them to call back when they did.

  • 2018-03-13 21:35 Caller told me that they finally found the phone and asked for a suggestion on what to try. I told them to call Sissyphus Gardens.

  • 2018-03-14 00:38 Caller asked for the time. Upon receiving the time and date, caller thanked Futel for our service.

  • 2018-03-26 16:20 Caller (a young person who gave the name of Taylor) wanted to know my name, what kind of phone this was, why it was there. Taylor thought phone was “cool”, but described the main menu voice as “creepy”. I encouraged Taylor to play around with the menu system, but I refused to give my name. Perhaps that was also creepy, but overall I felt we established a rapport and parted on good terms.

  • 2018-04-06 17:18 Caller asked if I remembered Taylor. When I said no, caller said, “ok. bye.” and hung up.

  • 2018-04-07 13:56 Caller said they wanted to make a call but decided to call the operator instead. We talked about Futel in general and she asked me how one would be “hired” by futel. I informed them that we do not hire people but we would love volunteers. Sent them to futel.net for more info.

  • 2018-04-18 20:22 Caller asked for advice. Advised caller to stay the course, keep chin up, exercise and eat vegetables.

  • 2018-04-21 12:55 Caller said they “wanted to know what all these messages were about”. I asked what messages they were referring to, they said nevermind and hung up.

  • 2018-05-08 20:44 Caller said hello, then I heard industrial music and maybe birds chirping? No response when I asked if they needed an operator, so I listened until they hung up.

  • 2018-05-23 09:05 Caller needed the phone number for People Ready in Hillsboro. Googled it.

  • 2018-05-31 20:39 Caller wanted the phone number of an individual, which I told them I was unable to look up. Well what can you look up? Well what do you want to find? Caller was able to provide a type of business and an incorrect prefix of the number, allowing me to find the correct number in a popular search engine.

  • 2018-05-31 20:50 Caller was looking for an individual. Searching turned up a web page. I gave them the phone number listed on that page.

  • 2018-05-31 21:20 Provided the number for Multnomah County Pretrial Services.

  • 2018-05-31 21:25 Searched for a phone number for an individual.

  • 2018-06-01 7:59 Caller wanted the number for Multnomah County pretrial supervision, but decided that I was taking to long to find it and hung up.

  • 2018-06-01 15:39 Caller needed number for DHS, wanted to be transferred. Informed them that it was not possible for me to transfer them and gave them the number. They called back 1 minute later asking for it again because they forgot it.

  • 2018-06-05 09:55 Caller wanted to place a collect call. I informed them that all calls to the US and Canada are free. Caller was thankful and hung up to make a call.

  • 2018-06-06 18:42 Caller wanted to know if Futel was an “art project or a non-profit or what?” I told the caller that we are a non-profit that does telecom services and operates free telephones and puts art on them. The caller told me that they knew we had a website, and that they would look at it.

  • 2018-06-09 10:54 Caller requested the local number for Ride to Care. Was able to provide that number.

  • 2018-06-09 14:19 Caller requested the local number for Tango Personals.

  • 2018-06-11 23:03 Caller requested the time. It was 11:03pm PST.

  • 2018-06-18 18:28 A child’s voice very quietly in the background: “Did it go off?” Then Ipanema.

  • 2018-06-18 18:28 A young caller asked an inappropriate question in a very bad attempt at a prank call. I informed the caller that Futel should only be used for good-natured pranks and hung up.

  • 2018-06-18 18:34 A child asked “Is this Pizza Hut?” I said yes and demanded a CC number, address and Social Security number. They hung up.

  • 2018-06-18 18:38 Same kid, different story. This time it was “I have projectile diarrhea. Can you help with that?”. No.

  • 2018-06-20 22:17 Caller told me they had been using the phone for a while and asked if I wanted to talk to their friend. I declined. Caller asked who they should call, I told them to call their mother.

  • 2018-06-25 20:42 Heard keypad buttons being pushed, then a child said hello and hung up when I responded.

  • 2018-07-15 12:45 Caller wanted the number for Rodeo Chat.

  • 2018-07-17 16:54 Caller wanted the incoming number to use for voicemail. Caller also asked what the other menu options did, I told them to try them out.

  • 2018-07-18 7:42 Two individual’s passed the phone between them and each asked what Futel was, provided a short explanation

  • 2018-08-06 13:30 Caller asked to be connected to Sissyphus Gardens, I told them to use the directory.

  • 2018-08-06 13:40 Caller asked for the number of the phone, I supplied it. Caller said they had a question about setting up voicemail, said something unintelligible, and hung up.

  • 2018-08-08 13:20 Caller wanted me to know they take limos, not cabs. They called back and requested some new releases from Hershey candies. I couldn’t understand the requests.

  • 2018-08-08 13:40 Caller rambled semi-intelligibly about an air force base and sexual predators, asked if I was still there, and talked some more. They ended with some kind of question, I replied I wanted to do what I could, they thanked me and hung up.

  • 2018-08-09 13:20 Caller was confused as to why they got me and not Pizza Hut. Caller hung up.

  • 2018-08-17 19:05 Caller asked for the number of an airline, but hung up before I could provide it. I called back, told caller they had hung up on me, heard their response, and hung up.

  • 2018-08-21 13:52 Caller was having trouble dialing 211. I gave caller the full number for Oregon 211, 866-698-6155. Caller thanked me and hung up to dial.

  • 2018-08-24 18:45 Caller told me they were glad that the phone was working.

  • 2018-08-28 7:20 Caller wanted phone number for PeopleReady on Kelly avenue. Provided it.

  • 2018-08-28 21:15 After I introduced myself as an operator several times, caller asked me what town I was operating in. I replied that it was not relevant and hung up.

  • 2018-08-29 4:37 Caller wanted the number for a hospital business center, which I provided.

  • 2018-08-30 11:24 Caller asked for an alternate 211 number, claiming that the menu option and dialing 211 from the dialtone didn’t work. I gave them 866-698-6155.

  • 2018-09-01 13:51 Caller asked for the nearest other Futel phone, I directed them to Taylor St.

  • 2018-09-01 20:38 Caller asked for the location of the Ainsworth phone.

  • 2018-09-05 8:43 “They say the cat’s abandoned, is this the [mumble] hotline?”

  • 2018-09-05 15:23 Caller asked if I could look up a number, I said I could try. After some negotiation they said they wanted an insulation business in Washington. I replied that I could search for that on the web. Caller was incredulous that I didn’t have a listing, and asked me what happened to the yellow pages. I replied that I did not know. After a long and boring conversation about the regional nature of Futel, caller thanked me for my time and hung up.

  • 2018-09-08 13:20 Caller asked if this was Burger King, no the Coca-Cola company, and hung up when I replied that this was the Futel operator.

  • 2018-09-12 14:40 Caller asked for the number of the Department of Human Services food stamp office.

  • 2018-10-08 11:17 Caller asked for the number of a refillable credit card used for benefits, which I supplied.

  • 2018-10-08 17:06 Caller asked for the number of a bakery in Manzanita, which I supplied.

  • 2018-10-09 18:36 Caller asked how to place a call, I instructed them.

  • 2018-10-11 14:35 Child was playing with the phone.

  • 2018-10-13 18:01 Caller sought the number for Wilsonville Womens’ Prison. I provided the number.

  • 2018-10-15 15:00 Caller said they “wanted to make a prank call”. I acknowledged. Caller said a weak joke, I made a snarky reply and hung up.

  • 2018-11-01 11:04 Caller was seeking the Portland district attorney’s office. I provided the number.

  • 2018-11-01 11:30 Mathew Caller who had previously called seeking the district attorney’s office was now seeking a personal injury lawyer in a Portland suburb, but unsure of the spelling of their name. With search engine assistance I was able to identify the lawyer’s name and number.

  • 2018-11-01 11:51 Caller wanted to thank Futel for our service, and had successfully reached their lawyer.

  • 2018-11-01 16:16 Caller asked for the number to Ride to Care. I supplied it and informed them that it was also in the directory.

  • 2018-11-18 11:54 Caller informed me that the Ypsi phone was fixed and had a new handset.

  • 2018-11-22 20:00 “I was wondering what this line was for.” “You called the operator, do you need an operator?” “It depends on what this is for.” “If you think of a reason, call back, maybe an operator can help you.”

  • 2018-11-26 18:10 Callers had questions about what Futel was about and why. I explained aspects of Futel’s ambitions for telephonic domination to several parties including impressionable youth.

  • 2018-11-29 10:09 Caller talked about the Israeli army and hung up mid-sentence.

  • 2018-12-03 09:39 Caller wanted to know who I was, I told them I was the operator. They didn’t believe me at first. They said they were having all kinds of problems with the phone, were trying to dial an 800 number. I told them hang up & dial 1 for outside line, etc.

  • 2018-12-12 12:05 Caller complained that their cellphone has been bolted to the ground.

  • 2018-12-12 20:00 Caller asked for a residential number, which I was unable to provide.

  • 2018-12-13 17:02 Caller asked for the number for Washington County Probation and Parole, which I provided.

  • 2018-12-23 09:29 Caller was seeking a nearby microwave to re-heat lunch. I informed caller that as a Portland resident I didn’t have access to that information. Caller was understanding and wished me a merry Christmas.

  • 2018-12-23 11:41 Caller asked how to call Lance. I told them to hang up, enter 3 for the directory, and listen for his listing. Caller thanked me and hung up, after which I remembered that his listing was now “the Druid of Sissyphus Gardens”.

  • 2018-12-30 13:56 After I introduced myself, the caller said, “Hello, operator, my name is Chase, and I’m looking to speak with… you!” I waited for them to continue fulfilling their desire, but they hung up after 30 seconds. I called back, but the line was busy.

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