Collect Calls

[DavidMcmillan]

Another change in everyday practices. I just watched a commercial for Thermal Windows and remembered their old commercials. I believe it was their founder or president who would always end the commercial with, “out of town, call us collect”. I guess the only collect calls being made today are from jail.

 

[ifishok]

Probably not to many people know what a collect call is anymore.

 

[GlockPride]

‘Tis true. Not many collect calls being made these days. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I heard one being made/accepted/discussed.

 

[okietool]

In the motel / hotel bidness , the operator would call back with a room
Number time and charges.

 

[Pstmstr]

The last collect call I got was when my dumb butt brother got arrested. He pawned a handgun that he had bought from an individual that he didn't know was stolen. Got quite the wake up call when Edmond PD had him spread out on the pavement and took him to county. It all worked out but was quite the ordeal for him.

 

[2busy]

When relatives traveled and wanted to let you know they made it safely they would call collect. You would just not accept the call but still find out they made it to their destination.

 

[DavidMcmillan]

In the motel / hotel bidness , the operator would call back with a room
Number time and charges.

While in college, I worked three years (1967-69) at a Holiday Inn, and naturally was very familiar with that process. I hadn’t thought about that until you mentioned it.

 

[Shinneryfarmer]

When relatives traveled and wanted to let you know they made it safely they would call collect. You would just not accept the call but still find out they made it to their destination.

Use to do that with Person to Person asking for predetermined name and of course that person was never there so no charges.

 

[TerryMiller]

When I used to drive 18-wheelers hauling Anhydrous Ammonia, we were hauling out of a plant just east of Dodge City, KS. Since our office, from which we would get our daily loads from, was in Canyon, TX, we would be calling in collect to get our assigned destinations for delivery.

I did that process one day and the operator and I listened to the phone ringing with no answer. Finally, it hit me, and I asked the operator, "What day is today?" When she said it was Sunday, I told her never mind, that our office was closed. After that, I always bought watches that had both the day of the week and the date of the month. (Well, until I bought a new one about 2 or 3 weeks ago. This one just has the date.)

 

[Forgalspop]

When I used to drive 18-wheelers hauling Anhydrous Ammonia, we were hauling out of a plant just east of Dodge City, KS. Since our office, from which we would get our daily loads from, was in Canyon, TX, we would be calling in collect to get our assigned destinations for delivery.

I did that process one day and the operator and I listened to the phone ringing with no answer. Finally, it hit me, and I asked the operator, "What day is today?" When she said it was Sunday, I told her never mind, that our office was closed. After that, I always bought watches that had both the day of the week and the date of the month. (Well, until I bought a new one about 2 or 3 weeks ago. This one just has the date.)

I am very familiar with the plant you hauled Anhydrous Ammonia out of.

Back many years ago when I worked as a supervisor building railroads for a railroad contractor, we rebuilt the track going into that plant.

If my memory serves me correctly, there was a fracturing plant on one side of the tracks and another plant on the other side that produced different gases such as helium, oxygen, etc.