NBC chimes (Jan 1947-Dec 1948)

JANUARY • 1947 3 "WELCOME TO NBC" G.R. Ticket Division Opens Our Studios to Over Two Million SUGGESTION WINNERS Dear Sir : At your convenience I would appreciate 2, 4 or 6 tickets to any or oil Broadcasts during the coming year or even one. The City of Newark has 9000 Civil Service Employees and any time you wish to fill a studio broadcast send me the tickets and I will give them to the City Employees intelligently. Penned on lined yellow paper by an old-timer who described himself as "60 years old, married 34 years and a grandpa," this letter is typical of those delivered to the Guest Relations Ticket Division. In 1945, I, 973,455 tickets were distributed. In 1946, the number increased to 2,001,135. And of this number, II, 763 tickets went out by mail to people like the old gentleman quoted above. Filling such requests has resulted in cementing friendships with NBC's broad listening public. Actually, ticket distribution isn't as easy as it sounds. Seats for our popular shows are limited and NBC has control over only 30% of the studio capacity. The agencies handling the broadcasts receive the remaining 70%. This means that with our allotment we must fill not only the requests of our listeners, but those of departmental business contacts and employees. Tickets to our programs are handled by five attractive young women (see cut) — Helen Clarkson, Rosemary Frasier, Alice Kennell, Muriel Morgan and Joyce Lester. All of them came up through the Guest Relations ranks and have had first class experience in handling people. So, in spite of the fact that there are never enough tickets for all the jpeople who want them, the girls do their jobs with marvelous good humor. Helen Clarkson, who heads the Ticket Division, handles the tickets for all the special and most popular programs — i.e., Fred Allen, Duffy, Charlie McCarthy. She gets her quota after they have been ordered by the Sales Department and multigraphed in Duplicating. The tickets are processed in the Ticket Division's counting room and careful record is kept of where and to whom each goes. Muriel Morgan is the ticket dispatcher, responsible for seeing that all orders are delivered to the proper people. "We try to help everybody," Helen acknowledges, "but I do wish we had Carnegie Hall at our disposal." Rosemary Frasier and Joyce Lester have been delegated the mail analysis as their special job. Far from being monotonous, the requests are as varied as the people who send them. There have even been occasions when a particularly eager listener sends in a blank check for the Fred Allen show "at any cost." In most of these cases, the tickets are sent — but without charge. Mail, of course, is heaviest during the summer and holiday seasons. As each letter is received, it is date and time-stamped. The tremendous volume does not permit personal replies and the Ticket Division has a handsome form letter for almost every possible request. Tickets are mailed a week in advance in artistic folders bearing a welcome message from the Company. Many times, however, out-oftowners are already on their way to Manhattan when their request is received. In these cases the Ticket Division either wires or phones their hotel that the tickets can be picked up at the Mezzanine Reception Desk. Added to the bulging mail boxes in the Ticket Division is the steady din of ringing phones. The source of these calls is within the building and generally from employees. Alice Kennell sits before a vast expanse of tiny pigeonholes where multi-colored tickets for the current week are neatly filed. As the calls flood in she is able to tell at a glance what is available. These tickets are Our photographer arrived in the Ticket Division just as the gals were putting up their Christmas decorations. Deluged with calls and mail all day long, they distribute NBC's broadcast tickets to our agencies, employees and friends. Left to right: Rosemary Frasier, Joyce Lester, Muriel Morgan, Helen Clarkson, Alice Kennell. We have six suggestions to talk about this month. All six of them won $5 awards. In the $5 category we have Margaret Barry, fourth floor receptionist, who won her certificate and savings stamps for suggesting that the Company subscribe to magazines to be placed in the Program reception room. Margaret Hadley, Harry Woodman's secretary in Traffic, is next in line with an award for suggesting that the word "Central" be eliminated in listing the Supply Room in the office telephone directory. This winner, incidentally, has many a previous award to her credit. Then there is Peggy Harrington, secretary in Sound Effects, who followed up her fine award several months ago with a second successful attempt. Her suggestion concerned improvements in the air conditioning system. Shortwave monitor Karl Korter of the News Room had an awardworthy idea for revising the description of the News Room by the Guidettes on the studio tour. A Recording Engineer, Delmar Nuetzman, also reaped $5 by submitting an idea to the Suggestion Committee. His concerned the addition of U. S. Savings Bond salary withholding forms in the "New Employee's Kit," which is issued to all NBC newcomers. From the Music Library and Jay Seibel came a brainstorm for improving Chimes. Jay suggested that the departmental headings in the "It Happens at NBC" section be set in bold caps. Turn to page six to see the results. in addition to those allotments sent to each department for employee distribution. A busy sidelight this year is the NBC Symphony. With this great program on a sustaining basis, tickets have been made available to employees and business contacts. Cecilia Diaz was recruited from the guidette staff to be liaison between Guest Relations and Employee Services in making a pair of tickets available to each employee interested. It is to the credit of all these members of the Ticket Division that a fine job of public relations is being done and that thousands of people are able to see, free of charge, the country's top-flight entertainers as they broadcast on America's Number 1 Network. HOW WE DID IN 1946 It's been a good suggestion year. The total number of ideas received since the Suggestion System was installed now comes to 2881, of which 1078 were tabulated this year. It's been a good year for awards, too, as ninety-six fortunate NBCites will testify. The Committee issued 109 award certificates accompanied by $1050 in U. S. Savings Bonds and Stamps. The highest award was for $100; the secondhighest for $50. There were also ten for $25, one for $15, thirty-one for $10 and sixty-five for $5. Far and away the most successful participant in the Suggestion System is Sam Kaufman of the Press Department. Sam now has ten awards to his credit, a total of $100. Three of these he won this year. Other people who won three awards are Lauretta Feeney of Engineering, Peggy Harrington of Sound Effects, Betty Michaelis of Purchasing. An interesting sidelight is the list below showing the number of suggestion winners in each department. Department Adv. & Prom. Cont. Accept. Controllers Engineering Executive General Service Guest Relations International Nat'l Spot Sales Network Sales News Personnel Press Program Purchasing Radio Recording Research Television Traffic WNBC Winners 4 1 5 31 1 4 13 2 3 3 1 1 3 6 3 1 6 1 3 3 The Company is eager for your ideas to make its operations more effective and efficient. So . . . DON'T DELAY— SEND YOUR'S IN TODAY! Suggestion Department of the Month Engineering Department 15