This growth in earnings was possible, in part, as a result of rate increases that the company won in 1951 and 1954. In 1958, when Rochester Telephone petitioned the state public utilities commission for yet another rate increase, the anger of some of its customers again spilled over onto the editorial pages of newspapers. Some Rochester Telephone customers in outlying areas were still forced to rely on magneto crank telephones, and in certain suburbs customers were grouped into four- and eight-party lines. The company's preoccupation with the all-important and enormously expensive dial conversion effort had resulted in serious lapses in service in other areas. After the Public Utilities Commission publicly scolded Rochester Telephone for its inept management—calling its incompetent conduct of business 'inexcusable'--the company underwent a major reorganization, and a significant portion of its management was replaced.
