Cowley County Administrator Leroy Alsup admits there are always a few adjustments needed with any kind of a new system. That word of wisdom may well apply to the new county telephone system.
Attempts to reach several offices Friday produced only an answering machine and?a?calm voice that told the listener to spell the first and last name of the employee being called.
Duh! How many taxpayers know the name of anyone working in an office? How many taxpayers know the name of the elected official who runs the office being called?
Just when you’re ready to organize a march to protest how your tax dollars have been spent, the “voice” is back with instructions on how to reach the operator. Before the caller can breathe a sigh of relief, the same?”voice” is back to announce the operator isn’t available.
“Do you want to leave a message,” the?”voice” asks.
“Oh yeah,” the caller replied without hesitation. “Your system sucks!”
A word of advice. The new system came with caller ID.
Alsup said the feedback he’s received so far has been good, with perhaps one exception. Callers won’t usually get an?answering machine. Somebody should answer calls except at night or on weekends. All of the phone numbers remained the same.
The new system was approved by the county commission several months ago and cost more than $100,000, according to Alsup. The old system consisted of six or seven different systems tied together. Some systems were over 20 years old and replacement parts were no longer available.
