How to piss off an officer from a dispatcher's point of view.
I walked into work today to hear exactly how bad a few dispatchers had done the day before. The comments were brutal, but honest. So dispatchers, here's what they don't like from my observations:
1. NEVER answer the radio with attitude and/or a big sigh (my personal pet peeve).
We are the voices that are supposed to calm our officers and reassure them in their time of need. No attitude!! Yes I know they will give us attitude, but we are different. We are their lifeline and attitude is never acceptable, do it once and it becomes habit. They have to trust the voice and that's hard if there's sarcasm. I could rant about this for a long time..besides that, it's unprofessional...
2. If they ask for information, give it back as soon as you can. We don't know what they have on the other side of the radio.
3. Don't tell an officer to stand by just because you are eating. Part of the job is learning to talk clearly with your mouth full. I kinda like my food cold now.
4. Not asking for all the important information. (I'm not saying ask if the barking dog has weapons, if you're a dispatcher you should have common sense--use it.)
5. Refusing/not taking the time to call back and get the important information. Do it right every time or take initiative and fix your mistake. Their job is as unpredictable as ours.
6. Be prepared and listen to the radio. Again unpredictable jobs...yadda yadda
7. If your officers come and see you, there's a reason. They may need to talk or decompress. Be empathetic and keep stuff confidential. You understand things their significant others/friends don't. Some stuff they won't feel like they can burden others outside the job with.
If you are a good dispatcher they trust you on the air as well as off the air. Keep it professional and have fun! And remember, the officers will eat any food you have out... :)
Ugh
1 year ago
We never eat your food, cuz you have already eaten it. OOO! But all in fun. I'd eat too, wait I do on patrol when you are trying to give me a call and i'm eating breakfast with my partners.
ReplyDeleteWe always cringe when some officer gives you guys attitude, I've done it about 3 times in 10 years. I appoligized but it was warranted. Asking for a return on a D.L. and after 30 min and clearing the call they still hadn't. And it was dead slow.
Ha, you never know when that dog might have a Smith&Wesson in the dog house! I agree with what you mean by the decompress,everyone needs someone they can let it out with. Oh and we have the 'curse of the hot meal' at our center too. If you get something hot, by the time you get to eat it, its cold.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feedback, I'll winging an email your way shortly.:) This post is great! I've had to work on the whole answering the phone or radio after just taking a bite! Chew quickly and try not to choke... haha
ReplyDeleteNumber 1 is my personal pet peeve. And if I actually heard a dispatcher on my shift tell an officer to hold on because they were eating, I would get arrested for assault.
ReplyDelete911R,
ReplyDeleteI wish more people cared about their jobs, how the way they do their jobs affected others and were as conscientious about being professional as you are. This was a great post. I hope the right people read it and take it to heart.
Thanks Hotflash!
ReplyDeleteWe need more dispatchers like you! We have a few dispatchers who ALWAYS throw attitude. It's just their normal conversational tone I guess.
ReplyDeleteI won't even use the radio when they're on if I can avoid it. I'll use an MDC and run folks myself, or just not even bother.
Don't get me wrong. We have LOTS of great dispatchers, but the attitudinal ones screw it up for all the others because they're the ones everyone remembers.