Remember the Bell telephone operators? Remember real live women on the line assisting in placing your long-distance call? I almost became one. I would have been a Western Rocky Mountain Belle. Remember Lilly Tomlin and one ringy dingy? Remember Dell Reeves?
I recall the regional Bell phone companies. I believe ours was C&P Telephone (Chesapeake and Potomac.) Regarding real humans at the other end of the line...just like smoking in offices, it's one of those "No Way! That never really happened!!!" kinda things many younger people will not believe.
In a way, the gal who answers the phone at some company that you need help from is also a telephone operator. I remember one from a company that had to do with the aftermath of my motorcycle accident. It turns out that they were located in Tennessee and she had the most pleasant and cutest drawl I had ever heard. I told her so and that it was a pleasure to speak with an American for a change instead of some offshore person.
That is true, but these gals had to pull phone plugs and know what jack to plug it into. Sometimes it took several "patches" to complete a call. There were racks and racks of phone plugs with several lengths of patch cords. An international call would involve several operators. Big centers had "walkers" that coordinated the operators in completing complex calls.