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)