Quick Connections

12/20/2025

12/18/2025

Looks like we are back up and running but haven't gotten the final word from our computer and telephone vendors.

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12/18/2025

We are experiencing some technical issues where we are not hearing the callers. Please bear with us as we try to get this resolved. Will post updates here

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11/17/2025

Why were telephone operators all women?

In the 1870s the telephone was introduced to the world.

In the early days of the telephone, every call had to go through an exchange, or switchboard. A person sat there and manually connected you to the person you wanted to reach. When you picked up the phone a operator would say, “Number, please,” then “Hold the line, please.” They would plug and unplug wires to connect your call.

At first, teenage boys did this job - but they were often rude and impatient. Worried about customer service, telephone companies replaced them with young women, who were seen as more polite and dependable. These women became known as “Hello Girls,” and the job soon became an almost completely female-dominated profession.

The job gave many women new independence and better pay than factory or domestic work. By the early 1900s, about 80% of all telephone operators in the U.S. were women.

As telephones spread, the demand for operators exploded. In big cities, hundreds of operators worked side by side.

But the job wasn’t easy. Operators needed quick hands, sharp hearing, good eyesight and had to be tall enough to reach the top wires. They had sit for 8 hours in straight-backed chairs and were not allowed to talk to their coworkers while working. Some handled up to 120 calls per hour and were often scolded by the caller if a connection wasn’t clear.

From the early to mid-1900s, automatic exchanges began replacing manual ones, and by the 1970s, switchboard operators had mostly disappeared.

Sources:

Latson, Jennifer. 2015. “The Woman Who Made History by Answering the Phone.” TIME, September 1.

Science Museum Group. 2018. “Goodbye to the Hello Girls: Automating the Telephone Exchange.” October 22.

Singh, Akanksha. 2023. “Hold the Line.” JSTOR Daily, July 3.

05/22/2025

We are back fully functioning. Thank you for your patience

05/22/2025

All of our operators got kicked out of the system and we are unable to get back in. I will update as soon as I have more information but right now we are unable to answer any calls.

01/03/2025

SNOW and very cold weather is in the forecast.

Don't fret Quick Connections will be business as usual.

Keep in mind that snow during the week is our busiest time. So please do your best to let us know as soon as you do if you will be modifying your hours, cancelling your appointments, etc. This will help us to help you.

Thanks!
QC Staff

email any changes to: [email protected]

12/24/2024

Santa was nice enough to visit Quick Connections and record a message for the kids of all ages. If you would like to listen to it and leave a message for Santa, please see below.

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving, we are thankful for our clients, callers and our staff.

10/24/2024

Thank you for your patience during our upgrade. We are back up and running.

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