911 Again

Another 911 operator from the same area in Florida didn't do her job properly. After being notified there was an unresponsive man off the side of a road no one was sent to investigate. There is a bit more to this. Apparently the person reporting could not provide an exact street address but gave turn by turn directions to the operator. She said "our system doesn't work that way." Her system does provide for her to notify someone else however. It also provides for her to look up road names that were similar to what the caller was saying. Fifteen hours later the same caller returned to the scene to find the man still there.

One of the comments I received about this event made the excuse "What do you expect from someone paid minimum wage?" I expect them to do the right thing!! I know that is not the norm. We have lowered our expectations and some people are happy to stupe to a lowered bar. This operator was being paid $35,000 per year. I am not convinced making more money would motivate people to do a better job. We seriously need to look at how we handle our personal responsibilities. Every job needs to be done well. If you don't want to put effort into your job, quit!! Someone else will. What really gets me is I am fully aware that when you have one person who puts little or no effort into their job someone else is doing twice as much to make up the difference. This is not limited to employment.

Although 911 operators have made news lately for being irresponsible, they are not alone. More training is not going to get people to do the right thing. You either understand the importance of doing your best and caring about the effect your actions have on others or you don't.