Have you ever wondered who is on the other end of the telephone when you call 911? Of course not.
That is a moment of stress in your life; you’re tending to an injured loved one, you’re calling in a wreck or someone’s trying to break into your house, for example. This isn’t a time for reflection; it’s often a time fraught with panic and high anxiety.
Now, imagine if that disembodied voice on the other end of the line was unhelpful, frantic, mean, unresponsive. You probably would remember.
Instead, that voice on the other line is just what that voice should be: not particularly memorable, which is a good thing, because that person is there to extract information quickly and calmly to help you.
This week is National Telecommunications Week, set aside to honor the emergency dispatchers among us. They are unsung, because you don’t know them, you don’t see them, but, frankly, where would you be without them?
We know dispatchers, we’ve married dispatchers, we have dispatchers in our families, we’ve employed former dispatchers and we’ve seen former dispatchers go on to jobs in other sectors of service.
They are a breed that does exceptionally well in the workplace and in life because of their temperament, whether through their God-given ability or through their training.
They don’t overreact. They can’t. They don’t under-react. Again, they can’t. They have to be pragmatic and calm, but assess a situation for what it is.
We’ve often wondered if you put an experienced dispatcher through a battery of psychological evaluations how they would rate. Our guess would be they would be the type of man or woman you’d want by your side when the going gets tough, be it a high-stress emergency or even an emotionally draining moment.
Being a dispatcher is not an easy job, and we’re not simply talking about the difficult hours. We’re talking about some of the emotional aspects of the job that have to be stuffed down for later. They deserve this week and this recognition, so if you know a dispatcher, tell them you appreciate what they do.
Chances are, though, you don’t know one, and that’s the way it was meant to be.
THE ISSUE:
National Telecommunications Week.
WE SAY:
Dispatchers are unsung, but a rare breed you want on your side.
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
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