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From: brian@ucsd.edu (Brian Kantor)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Marking COCOTS Out of Order
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Date: 7 Jan 90 06:10:33 GMT
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Reply-To: Brian Kantor <brian@ucsd.edu>
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 12, message 3 of 4


I wonder if perhaps the best solution to noncompliant COCOTs isn't to
just hang an OUT-OF-ORDER sign on all that you encounter, with perhaps
a written explanation of what's wrong with the phone.

I suspect COCOT owners will pay attention to an empty coinbox more
quickly than almost any other thing.  And it's much more polite than
repairing the phone with an axe.

	- Brian


[Moderator's Note: But the proprietor may come along and rip the sign
down.  Better to use some *very sticky* pre-printed (office copy
machine?) labels which say "Out of Order Due to Misprogrammed
Routing/Rates" which you slap on the phone across the coin slot area.
Make sure you cover the coin slot.  Once you have thus affixed the
notice, be sure to visit the location in a day or two to see if the
phone is still marked out of service, or if some creature came out of
the swamp and scraped off the notice; if so, you will need to affix a
new sticker after checking the phone to see if it is now 'repaired'.
Minimum repair requirements will be considered met if dialing 10288-0
produces you know who, and if dialing a sample 800 number produces a
'thank you' without demanding a deposit. 

If you have the time and money to stand there and perform further
diagnostics, please do.  In your new role as trouble-shooter, you may
also wish to get cozy with the manufacturer of the COCOT as a
potential buyer of several hundred units.  With the installer's manual
at hand, perhaps you can liberate -- uh, I mean reprogram the firmware
yourself. :)   PT]