When I took care of the telephone system at Calvin College, I encountered a lot of really smart people who were functionally illiterate. So, it was not unusual to get a service call for what was a user error.

On one particular occasion, I was called to the office of the Vice President. When I arrived, he instructed me to pick of the handset and listen. I did. Then he asked me what I heard. Dial tone, I replied. Next, he dialed “9” for an outside line and asked me again what I heard. Again I said “dial tone”. Then, he dialed the number 2 and asked what I was hearing. Nothing, I said.

Ah ha! he replied. Something is wrong with my phone because the dial tone quits working once I start dialing a number.

Since the dial tone always goes away after you start dialing a number, I felt that tact and finesse was needed.  So, I replied that I was trying to save money by conserving on dial tone. He seemed satisfied with my answer so I left. Two weeks later I received a letter of commendation for my efforts to save money.