Texas Emergency Hurricane Hotline Outsourced to India
Sun Oct 2, 2005 20:38
64.140.158.93
Texas Emergency Hurricane Hotline Outsourced to India
By CHARLOTTE SECTOR
http://abcnews.go.com/International/HurricaneRita/story?id=1164181&page=1
Sept. 28, 2005 — As Hurricane Rita roared toward them, more than 300 people called the local emergency number broadcast all around Nacogdoches County in east Texas. What they didn't know was that the operators on the other end of the phone were 7,000 miles away in India.
With power down and limited means of communication, Nacogdoches County Judge Sue Kennedy, who acts as the emergency coordinator, decided to set up a phone bank to help people out. She called a local firm that runs call centers and asked if they could help the community. Effective Teleservices, based in Nacogdoches, had a power generator big enough to keep a phone bank running but management didn't want to put employees in harm's way by making them come to work.
So the operating officer, Matthew Rocco, offered what he had proposed to his other clients: He could redirect calls to the company's offshore site in India, in a city north of Mumbai.
Kennedy didn't hesitate.
"In disasters we respond more quickly with the help of our local businesses and move much faster than by waiting for federal or state aid," she said.
She and her staff polished off a script with vital information regarding the location of ad-hoc shelters and what people needed when they left home.
"We wanted to make sure they [the operators] kind of understood and could give specific answers to questions," Kennedy said.
Who You Gonna' Call?
Across the globe, Jim Iyoob, the director of operations at the Indian call center site, gathered 15 of his customer representatives and trained them to work the emergency hotline. Iyoob had lived and worked three years in the Nacogdoches area so he was able to give additional information to his staff before Kennedy's people called to see if the "local" hotline worked.
The operators passed the test and within hours the switchboard was lighting up in sun-drenched Gandhinagar – a world away from hurricane-battered East Texas. The Indian operators offered words of encouragement to concerned Nacogdoches callers, and there were no reports of problems during the operation, Kennedy said.
GREAT! 'CREATING JOBS' A-LA-BUSH... EXCEPT, IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES, FOR PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR, TO FILL THE POCKETS OF LOCAL BUSINESSMEN, WHILE LEAVING AMERICANS STANDING AT THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE.... KEEP VOTING REPUBLICAN!!
==============
BEST TALK SHOW .... PHX AZ KXXT 1010 AM 6 AM - 9 AM LISTEN LIVE:
Charles Goyette Bio
http://1010kxxt.com/
Charles Goyette, recently honored as “Best Phoenix Talk Show Host“ by the New Times, is a familiar voice to radio listeners all across Arizona. His broadcasting career has taken him from Flagstaff to Sedona and Tucson, with stops in southern California as well, before settling in Phoenix.
Charles joined Pulitzer’s KTAR in 1990 with an evening talk show. In less than a year, as his show grew in popularity, Charles was moved to afternoon drive. After several years with KTAR, Charles returned to the investment business, still occasionally filling in for other popular talk show hosts.
Finally when Clear Channel Communications moved into the market in the fall of 2000, Charles was lured back to the Phoenix airwaves with the coveted afternoon drive slot at KFYI. Listeners found they couldn’t get enough of “Fearless Talk Radio” from Arizona’s Most Trusted Watchdog! A dispute with Clear Channel over his opposition to the elective war on Iraq became public in 2004. In December of that year Charles signed on as host of the morning drive talk show at Air America Phoenix 1010 Talk KXXT, now Arizona’s fastest growing talk station.
Goyette grew up in Flagstaff and started in radio at NAU's campus station. "Don't tell anybody, but we used to leave a window in the back of the radio station unlocked, then after it signed off the air at night and the building was locked, we slipped in through the window and fired the station back up. I suppose the reason we never got caught was that no one was listening!" Still, it must have been good training. One Phoenix radio columnist recently wrote, "Goyette is a thorough pro who thinks before he speaks -- which he does very well."
"I'm not here for a good, old-fashioned chat," Goyette says. "I usually have something a little more provocative in mind." Perhaps best known for the role he played in breaking headline news stories in the state’s Alt-Fuels scandal and the Cardinals Stadium story, Charles also battled Qwest over misuse of customer’s private records, and took on “America’s Toughest Sheriff” over the potty-cams in the women’s jails.
Always original in his point of view (“I’m the son of a philosophy professor! What would you expect?”), Charles positively delights in questioning the conventional wisdom. There is no political correctness, no sacred cow or authority that he won't challenge - with plenty of fun along the way!
Charles has been interviewed by newspapers and magazines, as well as television and radio stations around the world. His articles and transcripts of his speeches have been published in The American Conservative Magazine, newspapers, and popular political websites. A contributing columnist for the Scottsdale Arizona Republic, Charles has also recently inaugurated a new column, “Inner Views,” for America West Airlines’ in-flight magazine, with a monthly circulation of more than a million. Charles has shared his views with television audiences locally and nationally on MSNBC and Fox News, including on The O’Reilly Factor. Recently a national television documentary team chose to feature Charles’ radio show for a forthcoming PBS special exploring immigration issues. In December 2004, Charles was featured on the popular PBS program “NOW with Bill Moyers.”
A dynamic and popular public speaker, Charles has addressed conferences, seminar and civic audiences across the country on economic and national policy issues. Charles enjoys skiing, hiking, good company and conversation, as well as writing. In addition to writing about politics and current events, Charles has completed a screenplay on the life of the famous American seer, Edgar Cayce.
Charles is the proud father of two sons, Michael and Steven.
http://1010kxxt.com/charlesbio.php
By CHARLOTTE SECTOR
http://abcnews.go.com/International/HurricaneRita/story?id=1164181&page=1
Sept. 28, 2005 — As Hurricane Rita roared toward them, more than 300 people called the local emergency number broadcast all around Nacogdoches County in east Texas. What they didn't know was that the operators on the other end of the phone were 7,000 miles away in India.
With power down and limited means of communication, Nacogdoches County Judge Sue Kennedy, who acts as the emergency coordinator, decided to set up a phone bank to help people out. She called a local firm that runs call centers and asked if they could help the community. Effective Teleservices, based in Nacogdoches, had a power generator big enough to keep a phone bank running but management didn't want to put employees in harm's way by making them come to work.
So the operating officer, Matthew Rocco, offered what he had proposed to his other clients: He could redirect calls to the company's offshore site in India, in a city north of Mumbai.
Kennedy didn't hesitate.
"In disasters we respond more quickly with the help of our local businesses and move much faster than by waiting for federal or state aid," she said.
She and her staff polished off a script with vital information regarding the location of ad-hoc shelters and what people needed when they left home.
"We wanted to make sure they [the operators] kind of understood and could give specific answers to questions," Kennedy said.
Who You Gonna' Call?
Across the globe, Jim Iyoob, the director of operations at the Indian call center site, gathered 15 of his customer representatives and trained them to work the emergency hotline. Iyoob had lived and worked three years in the Nacogdoches area so he was able to give additional information to his staff before Kennedy's people called to see if the "local" hotline worked.
The operators passed the test and within hours the switchboard was lighting up in sun-drenched Gandhinagar – a world away from hurricane-battered East Texas. The Indian operators offered words of encouragement to concerned Nacogdoches callers, and there were no reports of problems during the operation, Kennedy said.
GREAT! 'CREATING JOBS' A-LA-BUSH... EXCEPT, IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES, FOR PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR, TO FILL THE POCKETS OF LOCAL BUSINESSMEN, WHILE LEAVING AMERICANS STANDING AT THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE.... KEEP VOTING REPUBLICAN!!
==============
BEST TALK SHOW .... PHX AZ KXXT 1010 AM 6 AM - 9 AM LISTEN LIVE:
Charles Goyette Bio
http://1010kxxt.com/
Charles Goyette, recently honored as “Best Phoenix Talk Show Host“ by the New Times, is a familiar voice to radio listeners all across Arizona. His broadcasting career has taken him from Flagstaff to Sedona and Tucson, with stops in southern California as well, before settling in Phoenix.
Charles joined Pulitzer’s KTAR in 1990 with an evening talk show. In less than a year, as his show grew in popularity, Charles was moved to afternoon drive. After several years with KTAR, Charles returned to the investment business, still occasionally filling in for other popular talk show hosts.
Finally when Clear Channel Communications moved into the market in the fall of 2000, Charles was lured back to the Phoenix airwaves with the coveted afternoon drive slot at KFYI. Listeners found they couldn’t get enough of “Fearless Talk Radio” from Arizona’s Most Trusted Watchdog! A dispute with Clear Channel over his opposition to the elective war on Iraq became public in 2004. In December of that year Charles signed on as host of the morning drive talk show at Air America Phoenix 1010 Talk KXXT, now Arizona’s fastest growing talk station.
Goyette grew up in Flagstaff and started in radio at NAU's campus station. "Don't tell anybody, but we used to leave a window in the back of the radio station unlocked, then after it signed off the air at night and the building was locked, we slipped in through the window and fired the station back up. I suppose the reason we never got caught was that no one was listening!" Still, it must have been good training. One Phoenix radio columnist recently wrote, "Goyette is a thorough pro who thinks before he speaks -- which he does very well."
"I'm not here for a good, old-fashioned chat," Goyette says. "I usually have something a little more provocative in mind." Perhaps best known for the role he played in breaking headline news stories in the state’s Alt-Fuels scandal and the Cardinals Stadium story, Charles also battled Qwest over misuse of customer’s private records, and took on “America’s Toughest Sheriff” over the potty-cams in the women’s jails.
Always original in his point of view (“I’m the son of a philosophy professor! What would you expect?”), Charles positively delights in questioning the conventional wisdom. There is no political correctness, no sacred cow or authority that he won't challenge - with plenty of fun along the way!
Charles has been interviewed by newspapers and magazines, as well as television and radio stations around the world. His articles and transcripts of his speeches have been published in The American Conservative Magazine, newspapers, and popular political websites. A contributing columnist for the Scottsdale Arizona Republic, Charles has also recently inaugurated a new column, “Inner Views,” for America West Airlines’ in-flight magazine, with a monthly circulation of more than a million. Charles has shared his views with television audiences locally and nationally on MSNBC and Fox News, including on The O’Reilly Factor. Recently a national television documentary team chose to feature Charles’ radio show for a forthcoming PBS special exploring immigration issues. In December 2004, Charles was featured on the popular PBS program “NOW with Bill Moyers.”
A dynamic and popular public speaker, Charles has addressed conferences, seminar and civic audiences across the country on economic and national policy issues. Charles enjoys skiing, hiking, good company and conversation, as well as writing. In addition to writing about politics and current events, Charles has completed a screenplay on the life of the famous American seer, Edgar Cayce.
Charles is the proud father of two sons, Michael and Steven.
http://1010kxxt.com/charlesbio.php
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