Sure-fire way to annoy me before...

[JLRodgers]

Missed that - apologies

Not a problem

[Naaman]

Possible, but highly unlikely considering she said she'd been there with her kids, and as the police will take calls if it runs over

Missed that - apologies

[Bosch]

You could always do what my neighbor did once. When calling 911, and getting that question... he replied with "the big fucking house with the flames pouring out. Trust me, you can't miss it"

Yep or like i did, look for the car stacked on top of the other three and being on fire its hard to miss.. I saw the crash from my apartment and gave them my address, telling them across the street north side of the same street and the operator wanted that address, my response "the cars that are now on fire block the address markers".. Use mine take it or leave it, cause I am not walking through fire to read the building"..

[JLRodgers]

Would they have a system for "if it's busy the call gets routed to nearest available centre?", if so they may be working off Mapquest and TomToms...

Possible, but highly unlikely considering she said she'd been there with her kids, and as the police will take calls if it runs over -- I've heard a normal officer say "911" when answering the phone before. So if it did get outsourced, it'd mean all the police officers had been killed or busy doing things... so uh... we'd be screwed.

My town only has 6700 people in it (20,000 in the county) and there's only one firetruck and one ambulance on hand any given day.

[Pagan]

For all the "911 center could be in another place" people, I have to say

Yeah, but

.... she said it's the park she takes her kids to all the time.

And she still sent the police to the wrong place and end of town.

[Naaman]

They might not be in other places, but it's in our sheriff's office, actually when you walk into the office they're the first people you see -- they had to put up a sign that said "911 operator -- please use other window <---" because people went to them.

Would they have a system for "if it's busy the call gets routed to nearest available centre?", if so they may be working off Mapquest and TomToms...

[JLRodgers]

Not all 911 operators are local. They're generally a state or county thing, as such, the call center could be quite a distance away from the particular city you're calling from.

They might not be in other places, but it's in our sheriff's office, actually when you walk into the office they're the first people you see -- they had to put up a sign that said "911 operator -- please use other window <---" because people went to them.

[Hyndis]

Know what's worse than the corner thing and 911 operator's asking "what corner?"

A 911 operator in a town that's only like 1 square mile, and only one city park (that has baseball diamonds, pool, swings) asking "what park's the city park? Well which one with the baseball diamonds? Which one with the pool? [you know, like we've got two+ with each] Sir you need to be more clear." And when I said "you've got two police cars here on the other side talking right now, one's the K-9 unit, just send them to the bathrooms at the place they're at (we only have one of those)".... she still had no idea who to call, both the cars left before I was able to reach them because she called them away to a school because she thought "park" meant "school" ---- the pedophile taking semi-dressed/nude photos of boys and girls got away.

Not all 911 operators are local. They're generally a state or county thing, as such, the call center could be quite a distance away from the particular city you're calling from.

[JLRodgers]

And even if the park doesn't have a name, I am willing to bet that the STREET that the park is on has a name.

It does, it's called "townname's city park", "city park" if you're in-town. It's off three roads (or 4 if you include the one that runs along half of it) -- one runs into it, one is one of the 2 main roads in town (that's one block from the police station, and it's visible from them as well). I gave directions using all of the streets from easiest to "hardest" (talking one involved "leave the police station heading towards the court house, take the first, second or third streets south [turn left] the park is on your right, you'll be in it, or to your left (depending on the street). She still didn't get it... mentioned it's across from where the police get fuel (which she knew where that was), that it was off of the road leading to the #2 employer in town (that can be seen about 10 miles outside of town it's so big/tall)... finally had to have her go to a map to see the big "open space".... she said it's the park she takes her kids to all the time.

And she still sent the police to the wrong place and end of town.

[blas]

And sometimes, for some unexplainable and crazy reason, you can call 911 and reach an operator who is hundreds of miles away!

A friend of mine was in Wisconsin Dells and witnessed a car accident. He dialed 911 and the operator answered "911 dispatch for Sawyer County" (it was either Sawyer or Rusk County...both of those counties are almost 100 miles north of Wisconsin Dells!).

[Mr.Customer]

You could always do what my neighbor did once. When calling 911, and getting that question... he replied with "the big fucking house with the flames pouring out. Trust me, you can't miss it"

I was working at a gas station when a car caught on fire under the hood (it was the battery) We called 911 and the Firetrucks went to the wrong gas station that was on the same street but 2 miles away from us. (lol I can imagine their shock when a couple of firetrucks came racing in with light blaring etc) You really should give them as much information as possible, I think and emergency is the one time where it's ok to assume they might be somewhat dense (and likely the poor 911 operator has a fireman on the other line asking her which side of the street it is on)

As for the 911 operator who doesn't know where the park is and is asking which one, she might not, and probably doesn't, live in the town. And while it might seem obvious to the caller, I bet you that the park has a NAME, as people are fond of naming places. And even if the park doesn't have a name, I am willing to bet that the STREET that the park is on has a name.

[protege]

Know what's worse than the corner thing and 911 operator's asking "what corner?"

You could always do what my neighbor did once. When calling 911, and getting that question... he replied with "the big fucking house with the flames pouring out. Trust me, you can't miss it"

[Mr.Customer]

I really wonder what answer you could have given them that would have been satisfactory? "No, not the big corner on the top. The LEFT corner on the fourth side." "OH!"

Well in a larger city it might make a huge difference to which route they will take to get there or where they will look for parking to avoid making left turns, or crossing the street at a buzy intersection, especially if they have to park out of sight of the store in order to find a space available. The really can be a legitimate question if they don't know the area.

And really how hard is it to say "the corner on the right as you come north up such and such a street"

[JLRodgers]

I had a call like that, with a 911 operator of all people....

Know what's worse than the corner thing and 911 operator's asking "what corner?"

A 911 operator in a town that's only like 1 square mile, and only one city park (that has baseball diamonds, pool, swings) asking "what park's the city park? Well which one with the baseball diamonds? Which one with the pool? [you know, like we've got two+ with each] Sir you need to be more clear." And when I said "you've got two police cars here on the other side talking right now, one's the K-9 unit, just send them to the bathrooms at the place they're at (we only have one of those)".... she still had no idea who to call, both the cars left before I was able to reach them because she called them away to a school because she thought "park" meant "school" ---- the pedophile taking semi-dressed/nude photos of boys and girls got away.

[Automan Empire]

"Which corner" is a perfectly legit question. They're asking for NW, SE, etc. By knowing this, they can plan their approach to the place without a hairy left turn.

I find it VERY rare to meet someone who actually knows their cardinal directions, so it is a pleasure to me to tell them.

As far as the Prada lady, I get that a lot... "Can you give me a specific answer to a very vague inquiry?"