My hell as a 911 operator • Hacker News Board

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#131

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:15 PM UTC

eksith wrote: post #56

EvanAnderson wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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]

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#132

Post by doorhammer » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:17 PM UTC

gregd wrote: post #115

doorhammer wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree. Even in projects at work, the worst possible thing people think they could do is admit that something they're working on doesn't work the right the first time. I will say, though, that in the case of most projects I've worked on that are failing at some point, we do have something to show for it. We just have things that need to be fixed. Even a totally failed try is something you know doesn't work. It…

"My boss is comfortable saying "this didn't work, that's fine, let's figure out why it didn't work and make something that does."" The taxpayer is much less forgiving about "failures" and tend to trot out pitchforks and torches at the drop of a hat. They're much more guided by perception than actual facts. So for them, there's very little room for a distinction to be made between utter failure, failure, almost failur…

I don't actually know the answer to this question, as I'm not an overtly politically savvy person, but, are they really that much less forgiving?

Maybe I shouldn't say my boss is 'comfortable' with failure. He's just got the fortitude to deal with the realities of most situations and the track record to back it up.

Most of the managers and bosses I know of deal with projects in exactly the same way as this 911 project looks like it was handled. They push push push and don't accept any hint of failure because they think the perception others have of them would be unfavorable if they admitted some failure and tried to fix it. Of course, in this case it's the perception of the management and upper management members, and not a voting public. I have to say, though, their opinions don't seem much less fickle at times than the voting public.

In an anecdotal way, it doesn't seem like public works/government projects are immune to delays and push-backs. Seems like it might depend on the type of project as to whether there was public backlash?

I'm really just spitballing about something I'm not well-informed of at this point.

The main idea being that there's not a whole lot of forgiveness in the corporate environment I work in, but I stick with the boss I have because he's got the reputation and fortitude to own problems, when necessary, instead of trying to underbus everyone.

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#133

Post by EpicEng » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:19 PM UTC

eksith wrote: post #56

EvanAnderson wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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.

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.

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#134

Post by snitko » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:21 PM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #126

snitko wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. I respect the fact you don't want to discriminate when it comes to matters of health and safety. I, on the other hand, would like to discriminate. If a person who led unhealthy lifestyle knowingly requires medical attention, I want to have a default option of not paying for this out of my own pocket, because I don't know that person at all. Now, say I'm a Canadian citizen too: would you give me the same amount of…

> "If a person who led unhealthy lifestyle knowingly requires medical attention" It's interesting how, when this particular viewpoint comes up, the hypothetical individual is always deeply irresponsible, borderline malicious. But the person making the argument never is. > "Now, say I'm a Canadian citizen too: would you give me the same amount of respect and not require me to pay tax money for the things I have no int…

> It's interesting how, when this particular viewpoint comes up, the hypothetical individual is always deeply irresponsible, borderline malicious. But the person making the argument never is.

No, I may be the most irresponsible person in the world. The difference is, I'm not asking you or anyone else to pay for it.

> No, because this is a fundamental philosophical difference that runs to the core of who we are. I value the collective, and am willing to make sacrifices to my individual in order to advance the whole.

So would you then personally come to my house with a gun and demand money and escort me to jail if I politely refuse to pay, explaining my reasons? Will you do this, knowing my family is going to suffer? Will you look my kids in the eyes and say "Your daddy is a criminal because he refuses to pay for what I think is right".

> As a Canadian citizen myself, stay on your side of the border, please.

Please do not assume everyone here is from the US. I'm not talking about a specific country, I'm talking about a principle. US is socialist in many ways too.

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#135

Post by jessaustin » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:22 PM UTC

gregd wrote: post #104

GigabyteCoin wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just saying that 20 years ago handwriting was the only option, and police still managed to get the job done.

Oh boy. In 1993 handwriting wasn't the only option. And we're talking about 911 dispatching, not just police. Fire, medics, police, dog catchers, tow trucks etc., are all involved now.

Successful management of any endeavor requires prioritization. If dog catchers and tow trucks are in the same bullet list as ambulances, they're doing something wrong.

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#136

Post by smutticus » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:23 PM UTC

nostromo wrote: post #60

What if we made 911 into a voucher program. When signing up for a phone, you must pick a 911 provider. The cost is fixed, so you're not choosing based on saving money, but based on quality of service. Each provider would be audited and would publish response times, etc. You could choose the government program described in this article, or go with someone more technologically advanced.

So your answer to too much government bureaucracy is to add another layer of government bureaucracy. Really?

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#137

Post by doorhammer » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:23 PM UTC

eksith wrote: post #56

EvanAnderson wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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.

I'm pretty sure everyone responding to the 'hyperbole' comment in this particular thread is agreeing, but in a really confusing way

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#138

Post by EpicEng » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:23 PM UTC

This sort of thing doesn't surprise me. Anecdotally, I've heard more than a few people bemoan a new POS system. Because I write software for a living, I usually prod them for details.

Even though their old system was some DOS based thing from 1991, it worked. It was fast and simple. Now they have some new, enterprisey, WPF + EF behemoth that is buggy and slow.

Sure, new software will almost always have more bugs than the system it is replacing; the old system, whatever its flaws (perceived or actual), was battle-hardened. It was probably written in a time when speed was more important than the technology stack it used.

These people don't care so much about a nicer looking interface. They need something that works and stays out of their way so that they can do their job.

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#139

Post by LekkoscPiwa » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:26 PM UTC

jowiar wrote: post #117

I am tired of HN (and the rest of the country) taking shots at government employees. They're talented. They work hard. They take pride in their work. They do a damn good job. If you look at any good technology product that's come out of government, it's almost always been a creation of federal employees: CFPB. Data.gov. Healthcare.gov. Some neat things coming out of the OPM. Accumulo. There are Github repositories: h…

yeah, sure just have more forms for folks taking 911 calls -- I call it the Government efficiency!

Re: My hell as a 911 operator

#140

Post by LekkoscPiwa » Sun, Jul 28, 2013, 7:33 PM UTC

eksith wrote: post #40

300bps wrote: post #30

Holy hyperbole. Definitely seems like this worker is frustrated beyond sense or has an agenda with saying things like: They give rookie operators two months training, and after that just throw ’em in. They’re not ready. Two months training is not enough training? This is implausible. At its core, they're answering the phone, determining the reason for a call and typing information from the call into a computer. They'…

>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.…

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?