Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!casbah.acns.nwu.edu!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request
From: herbison@ultra.enet.dec.com (B.J.  17-Jan-1991 1000)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Recording Phone Calls
Message-ID: <16156@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 17 Jan 91 15:57:16 GMT
Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu
Organization: TELECOM Digest
Lines: 33
Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 46, Message 1 of 13


In Volume 11 Issue 43, Rob Knauerhase asked:

> [Side question: does anyone know how such a recording system might
> work?  Loop tape of a certain length, I'd assume...]
 
Your question was in respect to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.  I
don't know what they do, but I do know how one large financial firm
operated.

A couple of years ago I had a problem (since resolved) with my account
at a large financial institution.  The problem was compounded when a
service representative lied to me about the state of my account.
Fortunately, the institution recorded all calls so the lie was
recorded.  In the process of clearing things up, I asked a few
questions about the recording process.

The person who lied to me was part of an office that handled up to
sixty simultaneous conversations with customers.  I was told they had
a machine that recorded all conversations on a sixty track tape.  The
tape was changed every twelve hours.  They kept the tapes for six
months so they could be reviewed if a problem arose.  They also kept
records of which representatives were talking on which track at which
times.

If you could give the approximate time of a call and the name of the
representative, they could search for the call fairly easily.  They
now give out confirmation numbers, and I assume those numbers contain
a direct or indirect key for accessing the conversation in their tape
library.


B.J.