Sunday, April 14, 2013

Bosses and Light Switches

This is going to be a combined post because I have a bit to talk about on two different subjects, but didn't want to waste anybody's time posting two smaller entries. Plus, the two seem to tie in together in a weird sort of fashion.

My first topic has to do a lot with the workplace, specifically, interaction with our favorite, or maybe not so favorite person, our supervisor. Working for a small agency, my immediate supervisor is the sheriff's secretary. The head honcho of our whole department is, well, the sheriff. He has the final say on just about everything we do in the comm center regarding policy, changes, etc. He's a great guy and I really like him. I know I have heard people before complain about their supervisors in the comm center. I've heard everything from complaints about their attitude and poor work ethic to blatantly degrading the people below them on the not-so-corporate food chain. We're all in this together, aren't we?

This is where that second topic starts working its way into the equation... Very rarely does the aforementioned head honcho get to see what goes on in dispatch on a regular basis, and that's only because he is busy trying to tend to all the other requests people seem to need him for. He's a busy guy and it's totally understandable! On the other hand, that means that when he is in the comm center, especially when you're on your own, you try to do everything according to protocol. A few mornings ago was one of those "perfect" scenarios that seemed to play out like clockwork. I was visiting with the sheriff when the 911 line went off. It happened to be a party who was involved in a domestic in progress. Best believe that for those few minutes, that switch in my brain went from chatty and laid back to totally serious and ready to go. I got units rolling, got description from the party involved, took all the info I could, relayed it here and there, etc. I even answered and transferred a few non-emergency calls and took info for a traffic stop.

While all this was going on, boss man was staring at me, partly in amazement, and partly (what looked like) in fear. What if I missed something, or somebody didn't get the info they needed? Not the case. After taking the right info, getting it out, and clearing both the traffic and domestic, everything was 10-4 and it was back to sitting waiting for trouble to happen. I think I even struck up conversation right where it left off, no questions asked about anything. It was quite riveting.

There are two things that I want to make clear in this post. First, my boss is awesome and I am grateful that my supervisors are great people. I truly am sorry for those who have to deal with poor upper-level management. Secondly, I have to say, dispatchers are just wired differently. There are times where I am carrying on 3 or 4 different conversations simultaneously, and I have to know what's going on with each one. We have to know, at a moment's notice, what to do, who to call, and where to send the help. And sometimes, we are the only help that person has until somebody can physically get there. We man the radio, the PSAP, the phone, the intercom system, everything under the sun that could possibly be in a comm center is normally under our control. We get to know how to work all of it, know when to use it all, blah, blah, blah... Our job is not your run of the mill "sit at a desk and take phone calls for the boss" kind of job.  It's the kind of job where you have to know what you are doing, when, and why.

Don't let us fool you. 911 dispatchers have to be smart, witty, and slightly cynical to work in this business. Officers take a call here and there, clearing one and waiting for another. We get a call, then another call, then another, clear the first, and answer yet another. We get all the calls. Honestly, you have to be a special person to work in the hot seat, behind the mic of a console. I think I've got what it takes, and I know others do too. We are the calming voice in the darkness of the night, relaying information and keeping the peace. We are Dispatchers.

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