5 ms·

>Two months training is not enough training? You've never answered the phone, have you? I've worked in customer service and (while that's not exactly any way

by eksith 13y ago

>Two months training is not enough training? You've never answered the phone, have you? I've worked in customer service and (while that's not exactly any way on par with what these operators go through) there's an entire volume of stuff to keep in mind before going in. Being an operator involves engaging in a fundamentally unnatural mindset that's often completely antithetical to what your normal responses would be. No matter who's screaming, shooting, dying, it's still your job to remain calm, clear and transfer as much information as possible to emergency workers. Try listening to a few 911 calls. There are tons on the interwebs (LiveLeak has a whole lot). Be prepared to lose sleep for a day or two.

300bps 13y ago
You've never answered the phone, have you? I was the CTO of a large publicly traded insurance company that had 3 call centers across the country and thousands of sales reps and customer service agents. I designed user interfaces and system architecture that enabled them to rapidly quote and service prospective customers and existing customers. I spent 1 day per week in one of our call centers every week with a headset on listening in on calls eight hours per day. I did that for 10 years. I know call centers and I most likely know them better than you do. I think considering someone being given two months training "throwing them in" to be hyperbole.
- eksith 13y ago
  None of that meets much of the training necessary to save lives. The insurance company has to keep current customers and make sure to gain new ones. That's it. Only monetary loss or gain. The callers at 911 centers (and I'm guessing you still haven't listened to any of these calls) have to handle different systems (with no ability to modify the UIs) contact different services, handle vital data and filter it out from non-vital ones when anything critical lost would mean deaths (as it had been). E.G. To become familiar with police, emergency medical and fire codes. Respond to caller situations appropriately, calmly and above all else, cogently. This is a far greater burden than any insurance operator will ever face in the line of work. It's most definitely not hyperbole.
  - 300bps 13y ago
    You've proven that no matter what I say, you will discount my experience and make guesses as to what I have or haven't done. Why would I continue writing to you? Have a nice day.
EvanAnderson 13y ago
I can't agree w/ this assessment more. I did some contract work on network gear in a rural Ohio county's 911 center a couple of years ago and spent a few days around the dispatch center. I have a ton of respect for the work that the dispatchers do. I listened to them stay calm, cool, and collected while taking calls from people who were completely freaked-out (angry, injured, scared, etc). The job is certainly a lot more than just answering the phone.
- eksith 13y ago
  Obviously there's a whole heap of details, systems and other areas to be thoroughly familiar with. My criticism was of OP suggesting that somehow 2 months not being good enough was a stretch and the story was hyperbole. Although I haven't dealt with 1/100th of the stress a 911 operator has to go through, I can say that sentiment is quite silly.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - EpicEng 13y ago
    You can say that based on experience? I don't know. I hear account A from someone who actually does the job, and retort B from some guy on HN who says little more than "answering phones can be stressful, but it's not hard." I'm inclined to believe the guy who has experience in the matter.
  - doorhammer 13y ago
    I'm pretty sure everyone responding to the 'hyperbole' comment in this particular thread is agreeing, but in a really confusing way
  - scott_s 13y ago
    EvanAnderson is agreeing with you. Perhaps you misread his comment?
LekkoscPiwa 13y ago
aren't you simply wasting a tone of precious time checking the details? Can't you find out the cause, send the folks the help, and only later gather all the details and pass them on to the crew on the way?
- eksith 13y ago
  Just a couple of things callers are surprising ambiguous about (this is just from the calls I've heard): - Where are you calling from? (Shockingly, this one is absurdly difficult to get from some people) - What's the emergency? (Often times, they don't even know) So you have to decipher, poke and prod until you get a response. You have to also understand that emergency resources are limited. A cop at one address is one less available at another, more critical, location. Same with ambulances and firefighters. What may turn out to be a mundane call could have diverted precious rescue resources form where it's really needed. So it's not that simple.

by eksith 13y ago

300bps 13y ago

You've never answered the phone, have you? I was the CTO of a large publicly traded insurance company that had 3 call centers across the country and thousands of sales reps and customer service agents. I designed user interfaces and system architecture that enabled them to rapidly quote and service prospective customers and existing customers. I spent 1 day per week in one of our call centers every week with a headset on listening in on calls eight hours per day. I did that for 10 years. I know call centers and I most likely know them better than you do. I think considering someone being given two months training "throwing them in" to be hyperbole.

eksith 13y ago
None of that meets much of the training necessary to save lives. The insurance company has to keep current customers and make sure to gain new ones. That's it. Only monetary loss or gain. The callers at 911 centers (and I'm guessing you still haven't listened to any of these calls) have to handle different systems (with no ability to modify the UIs) contact different services, handle vital data and filter it out from non-vital ones when anything critical lost would mean deaths (as it had been). E.G. To become familiar with police, emergency medical and fire codes. Respond to caller situations appropriately, calmly and above all else, cogently. This is a far greater burden than any insurance operator will ever face in the line of work. It's most definitely not hyperbole.
- 300bps 13y ago
  You've proven that no matter what I say, you will discount my experience and make guesses as to what I have or haven't done. Why would I continue writing to you? Have a nice day.

EvanAnderson 13y ago

I can't agree w/ this assessment more. I did some contract work on network gear in a rural Ohio county's 911 center a couple of years ago and spent a few days around the dispatch center. I have a ton of respect for the work that the dispatchers do. I listened to them stay calm, cool, and collected while taking calls from people who were completely freaked-out (angry, injured, scared, etc). The job is certainly a lot more than just answering the phone.

eksith 13y ago
Obviously there's a whole heap of details, systems and other areas to be thoroughly familiar with. My criticism was of OP suggesting that somehow 2 months not being good enough was a stretch and the story was hyperbole. Although I haven't dealt with 1/100th of the stress a 911 operator has to go through, I can say that sentiment is quite silly.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- EpicEng 13y ago
  You can say that based on experience? I don't know. I hear account A from someone who actually does the job, and retort B from some guy on HN who says little more than "answering phones can be stressful, but it's not hard." I'm inclined to believe the guy who has experience in the matter.
- doorhammer 13y ago
  I'm pretty sure everyone responding to the 'hyperbole' comment in this particular thread is agreeing, but in a really confusing way
- scott_s 13y ago
  EvanAnderson is agreeing with you. Perhaps you misread his comment?

LekkoscPiwa 13y ago

aren't you simply wasting a tone of precious time checking the details? Can't you find out the cause, send the folks the help, and only later gather all the details and pass them on to the crew on the way?

eksith 13y ago
Just a couple of things callers are surprising ambiguous about (this is just from the calls I've heard): - Where are you calling from? (Shockingly, this one is absurdly difficult to get from some people) - What's the emergency? (Often times, they don't even know) So you have to decipher, poke and prod until you get a response. You have to also understand that emergency resources are limited. A cop at one address is one less available at another, more critical, location. Same with ambulances and firefighters. What may turn out to be a mundane call could have diverted precious rescue resources form where it's really needed. So it's not that simple.