Call 9-1-1 for that ice cream headache
So, my good friend Steve Carr, a telecommunications consultant that does work for the state, put together a 5-year strategic plan for California’s 9-1-1 Emergency Service Program.
He was telling me that the widespread use of 9-1-1 for non-emergency calls in the state is somewhere between astounding and stupefying. That's NON-emergency calls.
People call 9-1-1 and ask, “Was that an earthquake?” or, “That fool behind the counter at Burger King screwed up my order and won’t gimme my money back. Can you send a cop to arrest him?” or, “Can you send someone to help me find my cat?”
In fact, the 9-1-1 call centers in California get 24 MILLION non-emergency calls every year! I know, think about that. That's more than 65 thousand NON-emergency 9-1-1 calls every day! What the hell!
But I’ve always said we don’t use enough carrot and stick regarding 9-1-1 calling. We’ve had some pretty spectacularly failed attempts at educating the public about when and when not to call. The outreach has been a joke.
But, look at the policy for bringing liquids on board an aircraft: 3-1-1 (3 ounces, 1 quart bag, 1 bag). They’ve simplified the policy to a no-brainer and then just continually drum it into our brains at airports anyway. It's virtually impossible to NOT know the rules.
If California's Emergency Services Program Office was really prepared to simplify an outreach program, for the long haul, and then follow it up with actual fines, they could change the whole dynamic inside of a year.
Fines could be assessed as a regular part of your phone bill like a tax for non-emergency calls. It's not like they don't know who to fine. They've got your phone number and address.
And they should add a motto like the airports' 3-1-1 program - just to make it stick. I'm thinking, “Don’t call and whine, or we’ll drop a dime,” or “Before you dial, bleed awhile.”
Maybe even simpler would work best. They could comprise a little diddy that everyone could sing so they remember what is actually an emergency. Or like a cheerleader, “H - L - B - G, Hearts, Lungs, Brains and Guns. Nothin’ else for the 911s. Go Team!”
Whaddaya think?
He was telling me that the widespread use of 9-1-1 for non-emergency calls in the state is somewhere between astounding and stupefying. That's NON-emergency calls.
People call 9-1-1 and ask, “Was that an earthquake?” or, “That fool behind the counter at Burger King screwed up my order and won’t gimme my money back. Can you send a cop to arrest him?” or, “Can you send someone to help me find my cat?”
In fact, the 9-1-1 call centers in California get 24 MILLION non-emergency calls every year! I know, think about that. That's more than 65 thousand NON-emergency 9-1-1 calls every day! What the hell!
But I’ve always said we don’t use enough carrot and stick regarding 9-1-1 calling. We’ve had some pretty spectacularly failed attempts at educating the public about when and when not to call. The outreach has been a joke.
But, look at the policy for bringing liquids on board an aircraft: 3-1-1 (3 ounces, 1 quart bag, 1 bag). They’ve simplified the policy to a no-brainer and then just continually drum it into our brains at airports anyway. It's virtually impossible to NOT know the rules.
If California's Emergency Services Program Office was really prepared to simplify an outreach program, for the long haul, and then follow it up with actual fines, they could change the whole dynamic inside of a year.
Fines could be assessed as a regular part of your phone bill like a tax for non-emergency calls. It's not like they don't know who to fine. They've got your phone number and address.
And they should add a motto like the airports' 3-1-1 program - just to make it stick. I'm thinking, “Don’t call and whine, or we’ll drop a dime,” or “Before you dial, bleed awhile.”
Maybe even simpler would work best. They could comprise a little diddy that everyone could sing so they remember what is actually an emergency. Or like a cheerleader, “H - L - B - G, Hearts, Lungs, Brains and Guns. Nothin’ else for the 911s. Go Team!”
Whaddaya think?
posted by The Doctor | 11:42 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home