Which street are you on?

[BOD]

This cautionary tale shows that the mobile phone is no substitute for bushcraft skills if you are lost.

It can’t save you from morons answering phones in centralized call centres and call handling protocols designed by idiots.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...006784,00.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...07/2563357.htm

This is not the first time that the system and the robots manning it has screwed up

[Mesquite]

Such a sad and tragic loss that could have been so easily prevented.

[Nagual]

This cautionary tale shows that the mobile phone is no substitute for bushcraft skills if you are lost.

It can’t save you from morons answering phones in centralized call centres and call handling protocols designed by idiots.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...006784,00.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...07/2563357.htm

This is not the first time that the system and the robots manning it has screwed up

That's an incredibly sad story of incompetence. I've tried working in a call centre and it's simply not for me, to be fair most of the people working there are fairly bright, but there are a handful of amazingly dense people. I think our centre seemed to be blessed with more articulate and bright folk that others, as we often had callers pleased to come through to ours and not others (our accents kinda gave us away). If someone had called saying things like that, I would like to think everyone would have handled it correctly.

[BOD]

That's an incredibly sad story of incompetence. I've tried working in a call centre and it's simply not for me, to be fair most of the people working there are fairly bright, but there are a handful of amazingly dense people. I think our centre seemed to be blessed with more articulate and bright folk that others, as we often had callers pleased to come through to ours and not others (our accents kinda gave us away). If someone had called saying things like that, I would like to think everyone would have handled it correctly.

Sure. I'm not saying all people in call centres are morons or that all call centres are bad. My son back in OZ worked in several. Australian ones do have a bad track record especially the ones for emergency services however.

I do think the government is mainly at fault by privatising these services to companies that squueze the most out of their client and employees.

[Nagual]

I understand that completely and hope I didn't infer you were saying that. As soon as these critical services become private, it becomes all about the money, saving money means less wages which generally attracts poorer quality of worker ( not always though) and less money means less training, less quality control etc.

[xylaria]

999 services in britain are well trained and very professional. I go out the bikes with the kids I bring an OS map now in case I need to ring them. Last year my son broke his arm in children's playground, it was somewhere we had never been before, and the ambulance had trouble finding us. The directions I gave the operator were "the children's play area next to the A50 between the Meir roundabout and tescos roundabout. We are on the side of the carriageway going towards the city. We are on the opposite side of the A50 from Meir baptist church. " That sounds like clear instructions but I needed to repeat several times as the traffic noise was horrific. The ambulance car turns up and parks outside the baptist church, gets out and starts looking for a playground on the wrong side of the road. I frantically jump up and down wave my arms from the other side of the dual carrageway. If it wasn't for a passing cyclist who was in dayglo clothes and was well over six foot the driver wouldn't of seen us. There is no substitute for a clear OS or GPS co-ordinate.

The only real idiot I have talked in medical emergency was the when I had to ring the emergency doctor.
" My partner has just been discharge after having colonoscopy and is having complications"
"Is he conscious?"
"Yes. he is throwing up brown liquid, and is in severe pain"
"Where exactly is the pain?"
"He has had colonoscopy he is in severe pain"
"yes, but where is pain?"
"EERrrr in his colon, his tummy area. Can speak to someone who is medically qualified?"
"I need to assess your partners needs, Does he have pain anywhere else apart from the tummy?"
"Ahhhhgggghhh, , can I please speak to someone who is not an idiot"
ummmpph clicking sound of phone
"Hello practice nurse here"

[Mistwalker]

That is a sad story.

A couple of our local 911 centers have made the papers...though it has been some years now...for similar stories. Matters are made worse by people making prank calls to the centers. I think if caught and proven that should carry a pretty stiff penalty.

[charadeur]

Wow this really shows the cultural differences. Here in the US the 911 operator would never apologize because that would be admitting guilt. They would get sued in court anyway probably for millions but at least the family won't have proof by admission.

Too bad this kind of thing happens in the first place. You would think if the emergency operator was not doing anything the kid would have called family for help.

[woodstock]

On Tuesday, counsel for the NSW Ambulance Service unreservedly apologised to the boy's family for the failure to pass information to the police.

David's parents, Stephen and Mary-Anne Iredale, said yesterday they were grateful for the apology.


Well I think sometimes sorry is just not enough