European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Dial o for operator yes but which operator by Eric n. Berg new York times Hile vacationing recently in Vail colo., Kirk Bloede a new York investment banker decided to phone Home. Using his . Credit card he completed the Call from a pay phone in a tavern and As he said later i thought no More about  after returning Home Bloede found that he had been billed by a company he had never heard of International Tel credit inc. And that the Cost just Over $5, was More than twice what he had paid for other Calls of comparable length. Not Only was the Price High More than $1 a minute Bloede said but i did t even know i was buying a More expensive  Kenneth Mceldowney executive director of consumer action a san Francisco consumer group recently paid another Long distance company Elc Otel $5.13 for a six minute Call from a Berkeley calif., pay phone to Washington . The same Call on . Would have Cost $1.94. Though toll charges vary from company to company alternative operator services . Sas these companies Are known generally Cost two to five times More than . Many americans do not realize that the pay phone they use May be tied to an alternative operator company. Unlike conventional Long distance companies in the United states such As m.c.i., . Sprint Allnet and ., . S Are wholesalers. They provide Long distance service including operator assistance to hotels motels hospitals owners of private pay phones and others. The establishments then resell the service to the Public receiving a commission ranging from 15 to 20 percent on each Call. The alternative operator service Industry began about two years ago when . Stopped paying commissions to Sellers of its Long distance service. Roughly 40 companies have been formed and they have been tried in virtually every major hotel Chain including Hyatt Sheraton and Hilton. Last summer the Sheraton corporation offered . Service in some of its hotels but abandoned it after guests complained about the rates. William Oates Sheraton s manager of hotel systems and telecommunications said that during the Day the alternative companies rates exceeded . S by up to 60 percent evenings and weekends the rates were More than double . S. Major . Companies include National Tel charge National Telephone service inc. And Telesphere. Some modifications Are being made according to Paul Gamberg president of the operator service providers of America a new Trade group which has recently initiated a code of responsibility. Overcharging has been a problem to some degree but it has been exaggerated he said. Alternative operator service companies do not Deal directly with the Public so a traveler can use one without knowing it. Operators Are not required to identify themselves to callers and because of Billing arrangements it is possible for a traveler to use an . Credit card and think the Call is being routed by . Some companies Bill in three minute increments rather than the actual time of the Calland some Bill for Calls that do not go through while some charge up to twice what . Charges for operator assistance. For callers then the issues Are twofold first How do you know if the Call is being carried by an alternative operator service second How can you avoid being billed More than you think is reasonable when you stay in a hotel or use a pay phone in a restaurant or bar ask the operator whom he or she works for. If it is . Or another Carrier that you use regularly you will pay their rate. If it is a company you Haven t heard of chances Are your Call will be carried by an alternative operator service. In that Case you should ask what the Call will Cost before you place it. Generally the rate will be cheaper if you Bill your Call to a major credit card such As visa or american express because the alternative operator service s Cost of Billing is less through these cards than if you dial directly and your Bill is prepared by a local Bell company. Nonetheless if the Price seems High there Are a number of choices. The easiest is to ask the operator to connect you to your regular Long distance phone company. You might also try dealing your company s 800 number. , and . Sprint for instance maintain toll free Access numbers in All major american cities. . S number is 800-950-1022 . Sprint s is 800-877-8000. It is also sometimes though not always possible to use 10xxx codes to reach your regular Carrier. Under a program worked out As part of the Bell system breakup the caller first dials whatever digit it takes to make a Long distance Call. In most hotels that is an 8. You next dial 1 and 0 followed by a three digit code to reach the Carrier. . S code for example is 288. Once you reach your Long distance company Complete the Call by dealing 1 followed by the area code and number. Eventually the hotel will receive a charge for the Call and Bill you by mail. Generally it is not possible to make credit card Calls using 10xxx not spoken As 10 triple x dealing. The caller May still be frustrated however if the phone has been wired to route Calls Only to an alternative operator service. This so called blocking of Calls including 10xxx sequences is common. The Only Choice then is to find another pay phone preferably one owned by one of the Bell companies. Under terms of the Bell system breakup local phone companies May not automatically direct Calls to any single Carrier. The Federal communications commission saying it has received hundreds of complaints about alternative operator services from Consumers has issued an advisory urging travellers to ask beforehand whether a Call is being handled by an alternative operator service and if so what the Cost will be. At least 25 state regulatory commissions As Well As a committee of the House of representatives have begun inquiries into alternative operator services. . Has started mailing letters to its credit card holders alerting them to the proliferation of alternative operator companies and suggesting things similar to the advice Given above the card holders can do to avoid paying higher rates. One reason the acc has been hesitant to order changes in the Way alternative operator services work is that they represent Competition for other companies. To maintain their competitive position though the alternative operator services have had to innovate. One company International Tel charge offers operators fluent in several languages. Others including Micro devices inc. And automatic communications inc., Are starting a service that allows callers to record a message if the party the caller is trying to reach is not Home. The service then redial the number every 10 minutes until the party answers the message is then played Back. Industry representatives say that alternative operator services Are making other adjustments. Many of them have Cut prices. The code of responsibility requires members to Post signs in hotel rooms and on private pay phones notifying users that their Call is not being carried by a conventional Long distance company. It also requires alternative operator service operators to identify themselves each time they answer a Call. And it condemns Price gouging and the practice of blocking. Telephone toll charges May vary from company to company but alternative operator services generally Cost two to five times More than a. . Not sunday August 28, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 17