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What If It Were Your Family? in Juneau, Alaska

  • American Emergency Preparedness 6255 Alaway Avenue Juneau, AK, 99801 United States (map)

Providing exceptional service to every caller

What if it were your family needing help in an emergency? Why would you offer them a different level of service or "go the extra mile" for them, only to give the average caller or responder a different level of service? Is it possible to use terms that you would use with a family member when you are dealing with an "every-day call for service"? How can we make simple but substantial changes in our wording, mindset and thought processes to drastically improve our level of service?

The idea of "what if it were family" will be a thread throughout this information filled class that will change the "mindset" of many of your staff members. It will also validate the commitment and service that many of your team members already embrace while offering them new and exciting tools and phrases to use.

This concept has received rave reviews so far and we are sure that your team members will respond to the WIIWYF (What If It Were Your Family) values. This class is refreshing and reaffirming; instead of demonizing current practices, it simply shows you a "better way" of doing things with modest changes in our questioning that lead to more favorable responses and interactions with both co-workers and callers. This class is an absolute game-changer for the 9-1-1 industry!

Topics include:

  • Gathering better information from hysterical or uncooperative callers

  • Handling mentally ill and suicidal callers

  • What to say and what NOT to say

  • Active listening techniques and listening and responding to "keywords"

  • Domestic Violence call taking and Dispatching - Family & Responder Safety, you can make the scene safer!!!

  • Asking clarifying questions (i.e., the difference between “he has a gun” and “he is threatening me with a gun”)

  • Effective voice inflection skills. We will use simulations of scenarios in class to define best practices in call taking and professional conversation as a whole.

Breaking some simple bad habits can go a long way to instantly see better service and improve quality assurance scores. The class will examine strategies for information gathering, calming techniques and "connecting emotionally" with callers. The class will discuss our various customers and how we can meet or exceed their expectations. We will also discuss effectively communicating with our internal co-workers (fellow dispatchers) and how providing internal service is essential. This class is action packed, fast paced, and loaded with great ideas that any 9-1-1 professional can use right away.

The class will cover additional "hot topics" such as communicating with agitated subjects, speaking to those with mental impairments, and using creative, yet professional, information-gathering tools. We will utilize both great and not-so-great examples to illustrate both effectiveness or failure. For agencies that are using "scripted" or protocol-based dispatch systems, we will emphasize how to best utilize questioning sequences and how to employ various customer service phrases to enhance your quality assurance scores. Demonstrations of "clarifying questions" and "responder safety" questions will be demonstrated and utilized in scenarios.

This class uses case studies, audio examples, and stories that received national attention and cases where 9-1-1 professionals went above and beyond to offer assurance or assistance. This is a great opportunity to get your yearly re-affirmation of customer service training that will offer new and proven tools for providing the best possible service. This is a great way to get refreshed, renewed and rejuvenated!

Class Length:

8 Hours

Target Audience:

Any call taker, dispatcher, trainer, supervisor, or manager.
Law, Fire and EMS responders are welcome to attend.


Contact us to confirm this course can be used for continuing education credit at your PSAP.

To enroll in this course, or if you have any questions, e-mail booking@ameri-prep.com or call (401) 344-0054 between 8am-4:30pm Pacific time.