[LINK] Lost in the Blue Mountains

[Jan Whitaker]

At 04:11 PM 20/05/2009, David Boxall wrote:
>  From my own experience in dealing with the public, people don't
>necessarily know what they need. Much of the skill in working the phones
>lies in extracting enough information from the caller to solve the
>problem, rather than just answer their question. Expecting someone who
>may be distressed and disoriented to make a decision about what they
>need is a recipe for disaster.

I have a friend who used to work for an emergency roadside service 
who eventually had to leave because of the 'scripted' nature of 
answering distress calls. She became convinced someone would get into 
real strife if she was required to continue behaving in the way the 
company insisted. This call with the boy in NSW was part of her 
'evidence' for her position. As far as I know, the company she worked 
for still works that way.

Jan



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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