The Municipality Needs To Hire More Mediums

I answer the main phone line for a municipality. We collect the caller’s information and then dispatch our workers out to fix issues as necessary. We take traffic light issues very seriously and immediately contact staff to have them fixed as it is a safety hazard. We have hundreds of crosswalk buttons across the city, and while they do regular maintenance, there is no way they could check each button every day, so we rely on callers to inform us of problems.

Caller: *Screaming into the phone* “YOU NEED TO FIX THE CROSSWALK LIGHTS ON [STREET]! I WAS ALMOST HIT BY A CAR!”

Me: “Okay, I am sorry to hear that. Can I ask what intersection those lights are at?”

Caller: “Are you f****** listening? I said I was almost hit by a car! You need to fix the lights!”

Me: “Yes. I need to know where they are on [Street] in order to have them fixed.”

Caller: “They are at [Intersection]! You need to fix them right now! That’s a f****** safety hazard! I was almost killed! I have a daughter! If I was hit by a car, you would have a bigger problem! You need to do something!”

I keep trying to get a word in while she is screaming over me.

Me: “Okay, I am going to let the crew know right now and have them fix it.”

Caller: “You have to fix it now! You can’t just ‘let them know’! You have to do something!”

Me: *Trying to interject again* “Okay, this is the first I am hearing of it so I will let them know right now.”

Caller: “Are you f****** kidding me? You can’t just use the excuse that this is the first you are hearing of it! You have to fix it! I was almost hit by a car! I have a daughter! I could have been killed!”

Me: *Trying to speak over her screaming* “Okay, I am going to dispatch them now.” *Disconnects the call*

I called the crew right away and they said they would be there shortly to fix the button. She ended up emailing to say I was rude and didn’t care about her issue and didn’t fix it immediately. I am not sure how she thought we would know it was broken if no one had to told us, or how she thought I would dispatch a crew while she was screaming at me on the phone.