I remember a business trip to NYC in the early ‘90s, I got settled and dialed in to do some work, and after thirty minutes I started getting visits every ten minutes from the receptionist, concierge, and a maintenance worker who came as a group to “fix” my off the hook phone. This went on for several hours before they gave up. They never admitted it but I suspect the hotel only had 2-3 phone lines. Not soon after when I moved there I remember initially it cost ten cents each to make a local call.

Everything in NYC at the time was cash-only and metered. No refills on drinks. Ketchup packs were are a quarter each. I never saw so many hands out except for India. The people were much nicer in India, in NYC it was more your classic Klingon style “Buy something or die!”