Contact Centre Chat
Page 11
Call Sign March 2012
To answer Richard Barford's article on the pre-
vious page (work generates work), let me first say
that when I read the first two paragraphs I
thought how refreshing it was for a member to
With Keith Cain
put into writing the same words that are nor-
mally said by a Board Member. He asked why that
possible they were nowhere near close enough
particular trip was not made non-rejectable.
to accept the booking and be there on time.The
It is the controller who has to make the deci-
non-rejectable issue then causes them to break
sion and making any trip non-rejectable does
the procedural rules by letting the trips time out
have its consequences for the controller. By con-
and the controller has to be physically monitor-
sequences I mean flak from members of the
ing the system at the time to see this happening
Society. While I fully accept that the decision to
before being able to put a driver on complaint.
make a job non-rejectable is in the best interest
Again, with the weather and the work being as it
of the whole Society, those drivers who are
was, it was just impossible for the controller to
forced into taking a trip never see it that way, so
police.
I believe that in some cases controllers do bow
Another possible scenario could have been
to pressure from some drivers. Let me add that
that one or all four of the drivers booked into
this should never be the case when doing your
SE1E were on a STC, which means we have to
job, but after all, our controllers are only human.
wait for them to become available before the trip
This trip was a 7 am booking and therefore
was offered to them. It is also interesting to note
would have been masked as an `as directed' trip.
that when a controller makes a trip non-
of those messages showed that the majority of
So the initial trip offers would not have shown
rejectable, it goes back out to the primary zone
our members are conscientious and expressed
where the trip was actually going and the only
only as non-rejectable. If it then goes to a back-
frustration about the work not being covered.
reason I can see as to why it was not covered
up zone, it automatically reverts to a normal trip
Serious problems controllers do have of
was because those drivers who did not accept it
unlike the Executive Account trips, which are
which I mentioned earlier in this article and have
were not actually within the SE1E zone.
non-rejectable at all times.
been written about many times before is when a
There is also the question that Richard raises
Finally I would like to say that I fully agree
driver is booked into a zone that they are
about playing on driver's consciences and this
with the comments Richard makes about drivers
nowhere near to.
can work the majority of times, but it can have
putting themselves out for the sake of the
Unfortunately I cannot go back and check the
an adverse effect especially when the booking is
Society and I would also like to add that no mat-
drivers who were booked into SE1E to see their
running close to the pre-booked time.
ter what a controller does to a trip, there are
exact position, but for controllers to actually
I have retrieved messages from that Friday that
occasions when the good service we give to
check this does take a lot of time and requires
I feel make interesting reading. These were in
clients in the majority of times does sometimes
them taking a print out of the screen in real time.
response to the controller's message about the
fail. Just as it did on that Friday, but happily that
On this day with it being so busy it was impossi-
seriousness of not covering the work. The first
still remains a rarity...
ble to do, but we know when we've had purges
one read: Please direct your messages to the dri-
on driver zones, on many occasions they are
vers who rejected the trips. It's busy out here. In
Contact Centre Manager
booked into zones that they are nowhere near.
contrast, another message read: Our drivers are
Driver's Operations Manager
When you see, as was the case with this trip, that
either out to work or not? Burying their heads in
there were four drivers booked into SE1E, it is
the sand is not the right answer. I feel that both
