I have been talking about the “Us vs. Them” mentality between patrol and communications a lot lately. I was thinking how ironic it is that as much talk as there is about the conflict between us that there is seldom any discussion about another little battle that rages daily in the comm center. It is rarely talked about except between those involved and sometimes not even then.
Not only is there sometimes an “invisible” barrier between patrol and communications but sometimes we have our own divisions. Calltakers and dispatchers sometimes have the worst cat fights. It’s really quite funny if you think about it. Most of us chose this occupation because we wanted to help people. But we can be the most mean-spirited people to our own.
I was a calltaker for about four years before I moved to dispatching. I couldn’t leave the phones fast enough. I was constantly biting my tongue to keep from telling the public what I thought they really needed to hear when they called in their “emergencies.” I had to keep myself from giving them my 2 cents worth of common sense. For heaven’s sakes, how did these people get dressed in the morning? That being said, I want to say that I absolutely love, repeat, love my calltakers.
Most agencies have calltakers and dispatchers in separate positions in order to allow the dispatcher to give 100% of their attention to the radios. I have worked for an agency where the dispatchers were the backup 9-1-1 calltakers, and as you can imagine this caused a lot of stress for all involved. This agency also had its calltakers located on a separate floor from its dispatchers. It was really fun when the CADs went down and we were working on cards. That’s when we got our cardio in.
If you’re a smaller agency that doesn’t have the luxury of having separate positions for calltakers and you wear both hats, then this probably doesn’t pertain to you per se but I’m hoping you will stay with me and pick up something useful from all my ranting. Buckle up!!
I have noticed a few things over the years that annoy the heck out of me and others, and I am going to dare to put it down in black and white right now. I have always been one to stand up for the under dogs, so I’m getting out my soap box now. I hope you’re ready. And I hope if you recognize any of these awful traits in yourself you’ll try and rectify them immediately.
No. 1: I have seen dispatchers treat their calltakers as their personal butlers. I guess they think that because we have those annoying umbilical cords attached to us that this entitles us to treat our brothers and sisters as go-fers. “I need a drink.” “Can you bring me something from the breakroom?” “Can you go to my locker …?” I understand the occasional favor, but I’m talking about all day every day. Do you remember the Boy Scout motto? “Be Prepared?” If you can’t take regular breaks, pack your snacks and drinks. Or wait until you get up for your break to run to the breakroom or vending machine.
No. 2: Yelling! How many of you are guilty of yelling at your calltakers about the calls they are putting into the CAD? This is especially distracting if they are still landline with the complainant while you are yelling at them. Please! There is rarely a reason to yell across the room to your calltaker, you might miss something on the radio! Not to mention go over someone else’s radio. Trust your co-workers. Believe it or not, they are professionals too! Remember what it was like when you had the intoxicated or belligerent caller that couldn’t or wouldn’t answer any of your questions? Or the third party caller that is not on scene and can provide no descriptions or details? What about the language line? Remember how slow it can be when you are trying to interrogate thru someone else and another language? The field unit really only needs an address to respond to a call. Yes, it’s nice to have all the details before he gets there but that’s not always possible and he’s trained to treat all scenes and persons as hostile or a threat until determined otherwise no matter what kind of call they are dispatched to.
If they are making mistakes (and not just minor typos my friends!) that need to be addressed. We don’t like being called out on the radio when we make a mistake do we? So why announce someone else’s mistake across the room? Bring the problem to a supervisor and let them handle it. That’s why they get the big bucks right? Yelling is distracting and disrespectful in any environment. Can you imagine two secretaries yelling across the office at each other at an attorney’s office? “Hey Jan!! You forgot to file the Smith project AGAIN!!” I have said it before, it’s not what you says folks; it’s how you say it. I have seen 20-something-year-olds yell at women who are old enough to be their grandmothers in a tone that would have gotten the taste slapped out of my mouth by my Momma back in the day.
No. 3: Pecking Order. Or what is perceived as seniority in the comm center. For some strange reason, some dispatchers feel like they have some kind of authority over calltakers. Typically, dispatchers started their career in communications as calltakers and moved into dispatch either for more money, the challenge or their agency requires everyone to be cross-trained. We are co-workers. Dispatchers cannot do their job without calltakers any more than officers can do their jobs without telecommunicators.
No. 4: The Rumor Mill. Now, I grew up knowing the meaning of the word rumor. But Telecommunicators bring the definition of the word to levels the non-public safety world could never begin to understand. I think I’ll leave this topic for another day as I could write for days on this nasty subject. But suffice it to say that rumors and gossip have no place in the workplace but as long as it’s tolerated or not addressed it will continue to rot away your comm center like a cancer.
So why has this behavior been tolerated for so long? Why do we treat each other so badly? Why are we are own worst enemy? I recall years ago being told by my trainer to be able to be a good calltaker that I had to have thick skin to survive. I thought she was referring to the calls I was going to be receiving. Little did I know, it wasn’t the screaming lunatics on 9-1-1 I was going to be having nightmares about! I think it’s a behavior passed down from “generation to generation” because as I was told, that’s how it’s always been done. I don’t know how many times I saw a trainee thrown in the deep end and told “It’s sink or swim time!” There was never any consideration for the individual. You either got along or you got out. There are plenty of us there who learned through the school of hard knocks.
Things have gotten better over the years. Training has helped us better understand the adult learner, how to recognize burnout and stress in our employees, and how to deal with the problem employee. Technology has helped us connect with our peers through conference calls, round tables, video conferencing so we can brain storm and help each other. But we still have so far to go my family.
At the end of the day, all the issues that I have listed are really our problems not our employer’s. These are common courtesies that you should have learned growing up. I know you know how to behave with in polite society. I have seen it. I see you outside of work and I don’t hear you yelling across the restaurant for the waitress because she forgot your silverware. I see you in the mall and I don’t see you making your 3 year old carry all your packages. And just because I saw you talking to a man I know is not your husband I didn’t run back to everyone at work and tell them you are having an affair. And you didn’t belittle the girl at the counter who rang up your order wrong, she is new and in training after all.
If we can act like compassionate and considerate human beings outside of work to people we don’t know, why can’t we be respectful to the people we spend most of our time with: Our work family? Think about your words and actions. I’m not suggesting group hugs or songs of Kumbayaaround a camp fire before your next shift, but hey, if that’s what it takes. Just kidding, but a smile or a good morning, wouldn’t kill ya would it? And no yelling!
About the Author Cindra Dunaway is a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office. Contact her via e-mail at cdunaway@sheriffleefl.org.
Not only is there sometimes an “invisible” barrier between patrol and communications but sometimes we have our own divisions. Calltakers and dispatchers sometimes have the worst cat fights. It’s really quite funny if you think about it. Most of us chose this occupation because we wanted to help people. But we can be the most mean-spirited people to our own.
I was a calltaker for about four years before I moved to dispatching. I couldn’t leave the phones fast enough. I was constantly biting my tongue to keep from telling the public what I thought they really needed to hear when they called in their “emergencies.” I had to keep myself from giving them my 2 cents worth of common sense. For heaven’s sakes, how did these people get dressed in the morning? That being said, I want to say that I absolutely love, repeat, love my calltakers.
Most agencies have calltakers and dispatchers in separate positions in order to allow the dispatcher to give 100% of their attention to the radios. I have worked for an agency where the dispatchers were the backup 9-1-1 calltakers, and as you can imagine this caused a lot of stress for all involved. This agency also had its calltakers located on a separate floor from its dispatchers. It was really fun when the CADs went down and we were working on cards. That’s when we got our cardio in.
If you’re a smaller agency that doesn’t have the luxury of having separate positions for calltakers and you wear both hats, then this probably doesn’t pertain to you per se but I’m hoping you will stay with me and pick up something useful from all my ranting. Buckle up!!
I have noticed a few things over the years that annoy the heck out of me and others, and I am going to dare to put it down in black and white right now. I have always been one to stand up for the under dogs, so I’m getting out my soap box now. I hope you’re ready. And I hope if you recognize any of these awful traits in yourself you’ll try and rectify them immediately.
No. 1: I have seen dispatchers treat their calltakers as their personal butlers. I guess they think that because we have those annoying umbilical cords attached to us that this entitles us to treat our brothers and sisters as go-fers. “I need a drink.” “Can you bring me something from the breakroom?” “Can you go to my locker …?” I understand the occasional favor, but I’m talking about all day every day. Do you remember the Boy Scout motto? “Be Prepared?” If you can’t take regular breaks, pack your snacks and drinks. Or wait until you get up for your break to run to the breakroom or vending machine.
No. 2: Yelling! How many of you are guilty of yelling at your calltakers about the calls they are putting into the CAD? This is especially distracting if they are still landline with the complainant while you are yelling at them. Please! There is rarely a reason to yell across the room to your calltaker, you might miss something on the radio! Not to mention go over someone else’s radio. Trust your co-workers. Believe it or not, they are professionals too! Remember what it was like when you had the intoxicated or belligerent caller that couldn’t or wouldn’t answer any of your questions? Or the third party caller that is not on scene and can provide no descriptions or details? What about the language line? Remember how slow it can be when you are trying to interrogate thru someone else and another language? The field unit really only needs an address to respond to a call. Yes, it’s nice to have all the details before he gets there but that’s not always possible and he’s trained to treat all scenes and persons as hostile or a threat until determined otherwise no matter what kind of call they are dispatched to.
If they are making mistakes (and not just minor typos my friends!) that need to be addressed. We don’t like being called out on the radio when we make a mistake do we? So why announce someone else’s mistake across the room? Bring the problem to a supervisor and let them handle it. That’s why they get the big bucks right? Yelling is distracting and disrespectful in any environment. Can you imagine two secretaries yelling across the office at each other at an attorney’s office? “Hey Jan!! You forgot to file the Smith project AGAIN!!” I have said it before, it’s not what you says folks; it’s how you say it. I have seen 20-something-year-olds yell at women who are old enough to be their grandmothers in a tone that would have gotten the taste slapped out of my mouth by my Momma back in the day.
No. 3: Pecking Order. Or what is perceived as seniority in the comm center. For some strange reason, some dispatchers feel like they have some kind of authority over calltakers. Typically, dispatchers started their career in communications as calltakers and moved into dispatch either for more money, the challenge or their agency requires everyone to be cross-trained. We are co-workers. Dispatchers cannot do their job without calltakers any more than officers can do their jobs without telecommunicators.
No. 4: The Rumor Mill. Now, I grew up knowing the meaning of the word rumor. But Telecommunicators bring the definition of the word to levels the non-public safety world could never begin to understand. I think I’ll leave this topic for another day as I could write for days on this nasty subject. But suffice it to say that rumors and gossip have no place in the workplace but as long as it’s tolerated or not addressed it will continue to rot away your comm center like a cancer.
So why has this behavior been tolerated for so long? Why do we treat each other so badly? Why are we are own worst enemy? I recall years ago being told by my trainer to be able to be a good calltaker that I had to have thick skin to survive. I thought she was referring to the calls I was going to be receiving. Little did I know, it wasn’t the screaming lunatics on 9-1-1 I was going to be having nightmares about! I think it’s a behavior passed down from “generation to generation” because as I was told, that’s how it’s always been done. I don’t know how many times I saw a trainee thrown in the deep end and told “It’s sink or swim time!” There was never any consideration for the individual. You either got along or you got out. There are plenty of us there who learned through the school of hard knocks.
Things have gotten better over the years. Training has helped us better understand the adult learner, how to recognize burnout and stress in our employees, and how to deal with the problem employee. Technology has helped us connect with our peers through conference calls, round tables, video conferencing so we can brain storm and help each other. But we still have so far to go my family.
At the end of the day, all the issues that I have listed are really our problems not our employer’s. These are common courtesies that you should have learned growing up. I know you know how to behave with in polite society. I have seen it. I see you outside of work and I don’t hear you yelling across the restaurant for the waitress because she forgot your silverware. I see you in the mall and I don’t see you making your 3 year old carry all your packages. And just because I saw you talking to a man I know is not your husband I didn’t run back to everyone at work and tell them you are having an affair. And you didn’t belittle the girl at the counter who rang up your order wrong, she is new and in training after all.
If we can act like compassionate and considerate human beings outside of work to people we don’t know, why can’t we be respectful to the people we spend most of our time with: Our work family? Think about your words and actions. I’m not suggesting group hugs or songs of Kumbaya around a camp fire before your next shift, but hey, if that’s what it takes. Just kidding, but a smile or a good morning, wouldn’t kill ya would it? And no yelling!
About the Author
Cindra Dunaway is a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office. Contact her via e-mail at cdunaway@sheriffleefl.org.