An old publisher of mine started an executive committee meeting with concerns about newspaper subscriber complaints of slow telephone response in the circulation department.
Many were kept on hold so long they hung up and just went without their missing newspaper.
The publisher listened to explanations, mostly about staffing and technology, and said, “Maybe we should put the circulation manager’s picture in the paper with his personal phone number for subscribers who don’t get delivery.”
Warming to the subject, he further jabbed, “Maybe we should say anybody who doesn’t get their paper will have it personally delivered by the circulation manager along with a free pizza on him.”
It never came to a Magoo’s Pizza medallion on the circulation manager’s sedan, but the message of urgency got through, and it wasn’t long before telephone wait times were greatly reduced and abandoned calls nearly gone.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi and our police brass must demand similar urgency on alarming reports of Oahu 911 emergency calls going unanswered. There can be nothing more basic to the city’s mission than picking up the phone when somebody is having an emergency.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported about a 75-year-old Waikiki man being beaten by a vagrant on the Ala Moana bridge across the Ala Wai Canal, who was quick-witted enough to tell his cellphone voice assistant to call 911.
His 9:51 a.m. call got an automated message indicating no one was available to answer. He ended up with a lump on his temple and three broken ribs. His assailant was long gone by the time police arrived.
Police admit there are times operators become overwhelmed with a heavy call load and automated responses are generated.
They can’t quantify the extent of the problem, incredibly, because the police system doesn’t track the frequency of the occurrences, rudimentary data that many business phone systems have collected for decades.
Officials offer many reasons for missed calls: difficulty recruiting operators, with 40 more needed; lack of modern automation to shorten wait times and sort real emergencies from noncritical calls; and a large number of 911 misdials that result in dropped calls operators must waste time following up on.
The city has attempted to take some load off of 911 with the Honolulu 311 mobile app for reporting nonemergency matters such as potholes and parking issues, but it’s been poorly publicized and few know about it.
The problems are valid and being worked on, but the urgency of concrete plans and timelines appear missing. What’s needed is somebody at the top saying, “Just get it fixed and tell me later about the challenges you overcame.”
Local 911 has mostly been a vital service we could depend on, and the city must do whatever is needed to keep it that way. Loss of public confidence in its ability to perform such a basic function breeds cynicism in everything local government does.
When a citizen is under physical attack or having a heart attack, somebody needs to answer the phone. If there’s no operator available, forward the calls to the police chief and see how fast those vacancies get filled.
Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.
