"It will be a really sad thing to shut down St.
Louis' time and temperature; I've had people tell me they often called the
number late at night in the 1980's and 90's and even 2000's as a teenager so
their boyfriend or girlfriend could call while they listened to our service
over and over on the other line AND THEN would click through to their boyfriend
with call-waiting on the other line so the phone wouldn't ring and wake their
parents. There is a lot of history here"
The number of calls to St. Louis' free time and temperature
service is falling. No, it's not the mild Summer weather in St. Louis this
year, but rather the free and easily accessible weather information on the
growing number of smart phones.
Attorney Michael E. Carter, the operator of Time And
Temperature, said that "we used to get over 500,000 calls per month, but
that is steadily decreasing to where we are lucky if we get 250,000 calls in a
month and many many of them are repeat calls. I watch it closely because our
law firm advertising on the service is directly impacted."
Here is a sample Time and Temperature Advertising
Announcement http://tinyurl.com/TempTime
.jpg)
The free time and temperature service has been around since
the 1930's when people originally dialed FA1-2522. Since then, a line of
several banks took over the service until August 2002 when Bank of America
turned it off because it wasn't part of their marketing mix.
Then, in 2005, then Senior Lecturer Michael E. Carter's UMSL
marketing class looked into re-establishing the line and was able to procure
the old phone numer which Southwestern Bell had said was a "retired
number."
"It had been three or so years since Bank of America
turned it off, but when we plugged in three or four phones and the 321-2522
number went live; low and behold, it started ringing instantly and constantly.
I guess people still dialed the number out of habit. It started at like 300 a
day right away and then quickly climbed into the 1000's and around daylight
savings time and during other weather-related events it would climb to 30,000
and even 40,000 calls a day," said Carter.
In recent years Carter says the call count has continuously
went down. Nearly every smart phone has the weather incorporated into the
phone's services. He also noted that more and more vehicles have outside
temperature indicators in the cabin.
Carter said "it is really a sad thing to shut down St.
Louis' time and temperature; I've had people tell me they often called the
number late at night in the 1980's and 90's and even 2000's as a teenager so
their boyfriend or girlfriend could call while they listened to our service
over and over on the other line AND THEN would click through to their boyfriend
with call-waiting on the other line so the phone wouldn't ring and wake their
parents. There is a lot of history here"
Contact: Dixon 636-916-4040
felicia@carterlegal.com
Technology? :-( Not always better
ReplyDeletevestalink It’s a great option for home phone service that’s sound quality is so comfortable and the service is 100% reliable and you cannot beat the price, very affordable. Very esay to set up and immediate service. Great cheaper than the other providers.
ReplyDeleteThe reason nobody calls is because we have to listen to a bunch of BS advertising. As bad as the internet and the weather report is less extensive.
ReplyDeletefritz i think you're alone in your response. how much BS advertising do you have to listen to or read to get many other forms of info? While I don't particularly like the advertising, I certainly appreciate it as that's what pays for the forecast!!!
ReplyDeleteHere here to that last response
DeleteWhen I moved to St. Louis in 2005, I quickly learned this number and called it more than once per week. Then I found its web page by 2009 or so. I'm sad to see it gone.
ReplyDeleteI am from St. Louis and have remembered this number for over 35 years. I can't remember my own number, but this one I do. Yes, I was one who would call over and over late at night so when my boyfriend called the line would click instead of ringing...that way my mother never heard the phone ringing at that time of night. Those were the good days!
ReplyDelete