Callers beware, party lines less fun than advertised

Callers beware, party lines less fun than advertised

JAKARTA (JP): More than 25 services are trying to win the
long-distance phone business of Indonesian callers.

One of the services even originates in the Netherlands
Antilles (country code 599), a tiny country in the Atlantic
Ocean. In their ads, found mostly in magazines for teenagers, the
services omit their business names or addresses in favor of such
phrases as Mari Bergabung (Let's Join). They cloak their services
in friendly names line Partylines, Chatlines, Global Friendship
and Horoscope, most of which attract male callers.

Few believe the services are really operated from the country
codes listed as all the chat lines have Indonesian-speaking
operators. When asked to communicate in other languages, the
staff can usually get by in broken English and some even speak
Chinese and Korean.

Conference lines are also available, although the
conversations are not unlike those heard on CB frequencies, which
are cheaper and where English-speaking frequencies are also
available.

After listening to the boring introduction, a female operator
-- if you get one at all -- will answer and say in a friendly
voice: "Hello, this is (mentioning her name). Who's calling,
please?"

The less fortunate will get a recording that plays over and
over as your telephone bill continues to climb. The operators
will try to keep callers on the line by speaking slowly and
taking their time to answer your questions.

After a long introduction, the woman will introduce you to
other parties wanting a conference call. If you want to meet one
of the callers, you can ask for his or her phone number, set a
date and get off the line. If you can't find anyone that amuses
you, just keep on exploring and listening to the endless options
offered until you find the right time to hang up. (bsr)