What happens when you don’t do your job?

Think your job is insignificant? Filling in time for extra cash? Who cares what you do anyway? Think again. When you do not do your job, ramifications can be detrimental and long lasting.

On Saturday evening, July6 23, a call comes in to the answering service where you work as an operator. Perhaps you are chitchatting on another line. Perhaps you are in a heated discussion with your mate. You stop to answer the incoming call.

A woman reports a waterline break on the Rainbow Municipal Water District number. Water is gushing down the street. You assure her you will report the problem. You take no notes as perhaps you are eager to get back to your personal call. The woman phones back 30 minutes later. You assure her again you will report her call. You don’t. Nor do you take notes. Your shift ends and you head home.

By the time RMWD discovers the 12-inch pipeline break, more than 7 hours and millions of gallons of water have been wasted.

Nextdoor.com (viapuertadelsol) posts from a neighbor and a comment uploaded to the RMW website assist in tracking down the missed emergency calls and operator error.

A full audit is underway. Retraining of answering service operators is underway. What’s done is done. We can mourn the loss of millions of gallons of precious water. We can blame human error. Most of all, we need to rethink the importance of being present and fully aware of the responsibilities of our jobs.

Sali Peterson