May 17, 2008
posted by Shelley
The cost of everything is going up — we see it at the gas pumps, in the grocery store and simply every single place we look. I personally am not making any new purchases until I see what the economy is going to do, and I know there are many others like me. Those who would’ve normally benefited from my dollars are going to be making less profit — so they raise their prices…and so on. It’s a circle.
Having lost a sister-in-law to cancer, THIS ARTICLE had special meaning for me. I’ve seen this happen first hand. Scared? We all should be…
May 16, 2008
posted by Shelley
Today UPS delivered green screen technology to the southern office of McKain Performance Group, Inc. We did a quick test that lacked professionalism — the ceiling fan was hitting the light umbrella and the green screen stand was taller on one side than the other — but the end result was still pretty decent:
I added a funky background in PhotoShop and voila! The possibilities are endless…
May 16, 2008
Posted by Perry
I’m frustrated big time. I look through the news and see and read stories that just make me want to scream, “What are you thinking?!”
The price of oil went up yet again to $127.55 a barrel. Goldman Sachs revised their forecast for the second half of this years oil prices to $141 a barrel and now, President Bush is in Saudi Arabia to ask that country to increase production – not likely to happen.
On top of the oil situation, I’ve been reading about convicted criminals (most of them violent offenders) serving a fraction of their sentence. When you get sent up for say, 30+ years, and only serve a little over ten, it makes you wonder just how safe are we when judges allow this to happen. Violent offenders should not be seen nor heard once sentencing is complete. They did the crime – but do not serve the time.
Our education system is falling apart. A global ranking of 4th graders reading scores had the US behind countries such as Russia, China, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Italy and Canada. US colleges were ranked among the most over-priced in the world. No child left behind huh?
I know I should be more even-keeled, but I can’t. Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and have a better outlook on things – I wouldn’t bet on it though.
May 15, 2008
posted by Shelley
After reading Perry’s last post about the Tennessee 911 call, it refreshed my memory of what happened to us just the other night. I posted about the business meeting we had at Scott’s on Monday night, but didn’t post anything about the ride home. Fear not, intrepid reader. Here are the details…
We were driving home late, but Perry and I were both good — we opted for coffee and tea and passed on partaking of even one margarita. We DID bring a gallon of the stuff home packed safely in the trunk as to not violate the ‘open container law’, not even thinking we might be perceived as bootleggers in transport. I was tired; Perry was driving with Garman by his side. I’m texting Ben back and forth, keeping my eyes focused on the screen of my trusty iPhone when Perry yells something about a wreck happening in front of us.
I look up in time to see a car spinning toward the guardrail on the east side of southbound I-465. It had crossed lanes of traffic and had already begun to point the wrong direction. First was a very hard hit, and then the car proceeded down the highway backwards, and slammed into a now barely moving FedEx semi trailer. The car came to rest with its nose heading north, and the driver’s door wedged against the guardrail. Perry stops a safe distance behind the accident, and as he is waiting for traffic to pass so he can open his door — I run to the car to see if there’s anything I can do…see if anyone is hurt.
I see an unconscious woman, head back, arms extended out from her body with palms up. I remember her skin was pasty white and her hair coal black. I try to get in the passenger door and find it is locked. There’s no room on the driver’s side. As I dial 911, her head slips from the car’s headrest and tilts back. Perry is there now and wonders if she’s dead. There is zero blood. The FedEx driver is already on his cell phone too. I ask if he’s ok, he nods. I then ask if he’s also calling 911, and he tells me no — he’s on the phone with his company. Whaaaaa?
Now that the scene is set — let me tell you that I first speak with what I understood to be an emergency operator. I can hear her just fine and tell her where we are only by what I know — we are on I-465 southbound and can see exits 48A and 48B. There is an unresponsive woman trapped in her car. I need an ambulance and the police. I am told to hold, I need to connect with the fire department. I thought I heard them come on the line, but seriously — you can’t hear well when cars and trucks are zipping along right beside you, and there’s more than one party on the same line. I ask if anyone can hear me, but don’t hear a response. I ask again and someone says that they can hear me. I retell my story complete with a repeat of the directions. I’m told they are on the way. I remember banging on the side window trying to wake the young woman when I saw her stir just slightly.
Time passes and the FedEx driver finds a windshield cleaner thing on a long stick and pokes it through the broken back windshield. He skillfully unlocks the back door and we can get in. We didn’t want to move the young woman, but tried to get her to wake up enough to talk to us. She said all she wanted to do was sleep. At this point, the three of us at the scene are thinking about how much time has already passed without help arriving — it’s already been over 15 minutes!! We talk about calling back 911.
One police car rolls on the scene a full 20 minutes after the initial call. With him are an ambulance and at least 4 fire trucks. Fireman were dressed in full gear and immediately go to work, using the jaws of life to peel the entire top of the car off the body like a sardine can. They were very efficient once they arrived — but holy cow — 20 minutes after the call?? I’m telling you, it was over 50 minutes from the time of the accident to the time the pale chick with the black hair made in on the stretcher to be transported. I don’t think that’s acceptable. You may be thinking to yourself that it just FELT like 20 minutes. Ummm…think again. I have the phone time stamps on my trusty iPhone. The call to 911 began at 10:59 PM. The call I made to my Mom the SECOND the injured driver got loaded into the ambulance BEFORE it took off was at 11:49 PM.
I think that 911 callers really want help. They want help NOW. Why didn’t the police get there earlier? The ambulance — why couldn’t it have arrived earlier? I can see how big ass fire trucks might take longer to load with men and maneuver through traffic, but the response time sucked. I do not know if the driver lived or died, but I do know she waited a very long time to get what SHE really wanted.
May 15, 2008
Posted by Perry
Here in the southern branch of McKain Performance Group, we work every day to help organizations deliver the Ultimate Customer Experience – or “UCE” – as we call it.
“The purpose of ANY business is to profitably create experiences that are so
compelling to customers and employees that their loyalty becomes assured.”
— Scott McKain.
Below is an article I found today about a 911 operator who handled a call in Nashville, TN. Can you tell me if this is providing a UCE for people who depend on 911 in times of need?
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — A Nashville, Tennessee, 911 operator has been fired after he was recorded saying that he didn’t “give a s—” about what happened to a woman who had just called to report her ex-boyfriend was threatening her.
Emergency Communications Center spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said Wednesday that Frank Roth was in training during the February incident and was fired a month later.
Roth made the comments after promising police would arrive soon for a woman who called saying her ex-boyfriend held her at knifepoint and later was threatening her.
After hanging up with her but while still being recorded, he said, “I really don’t give a s— what happens to you.”
Sluss says the incident is not reflective of how 911 operators treat callers and that “a series of errors” led to the delay in response to Sheila Jones.
“Certainly this particular caller didn’t receive the service she deserved,” Sluss said. “This is not indicative of how our employees treat citizens. It’s not something that should have been said. It’s not what we train our employees to do.”
It took police three hours to reach the scene after the first call.
Nashville TV station WTVF first reported the story after one of its reporters obtained the 911 recording.
My answer to my above question would be – no. A helpful suggestion to the 911 operators in Nashville – you need to read Scott McKain’s materials!
