E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated Employee Reviews for Call Taker

I have been at ecomm for about a couple of years and it has been a rollercoaster. 2 years full of constant put downs over the smallest mistakes, condescending supervisors, belittling dispatchers. I applaud the call takers who have been at ecomm for 5+ years- you are a hero, thank you for what you do. But also- so sorry this has been your life. The calls can be challenging, but it’s the environment at ecomm that truly breaks you.

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Common sense for right and wrong blended with empathy as well as patience will take you far

Civilian call taker (Former Employee) - Vancouver, BC - 3 June 2023

I became my authentic self thanks to my experience as a police call taker.The courses and mentoring offered were not easy. I saw people taking to it easily. I witnessed some from my training group excel. I experienced the intrusive thoughts one gets from comparing my journey with those who seemed to just "get it". I passed mentoring once and doubted myself the second time around. I lacked the confidence to stick to it and vocalize my true opinions when provided feedback. That's not on my 2nd mentor or my 2nd supervisor. That was on me. I began the journey of being a later in life diagnosed neurodivergent. If I had not gone through the experience of becoming a PCT, I would most likely still be undiagnosed.The career entails dynamic learning through calls that are never the same. Scenarios that are so untraditional, it often causes your heart rate to elevate. When those emergency calls happen, the one thing I want to remind everyone reading this is: Your entire OPS floor is there to guide you and you are not alone. I felt a sense of both bewilderment and a deep sense of gratitude after every shift. The callers never knew who I was and for that call, I always hoped I had made a difference during what was most likely one of the worst moments of their lives. I appreciated how my colleagues would support me, the kindness with constructive feedback from management as well as other PCTs.

Pros

Hour long lunch break and two fifteen minute breaks that can be divided for early off or late starts

Cons

Entitled callers

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Insights into E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated

Based on 13 survey responses

What people like

Clear sense of purpose

Areas for improvement

Energizing work tasks
Support from manager
Sense of belonging

Supportive Employer

Call Taker (Former Employee) - Vancouver, BC - 13 March 2023

Employee care is exceptional. The type of work is challenging mentally / emotionally. Great benefits and pay. Long hours and expectations of mandatory overtime.

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70 percent of people quit in first 6 months for a reason

Call Taker (Former Employee) - Vancouver, BC - 21 August 2022

Basically the title. Everybody complains clear diversity between CT and dispatch. Snitch culture and lack of new employees due to inability to retain staff

Pros

You're helping people

Cons

Everything else

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Toxic environment

Call Taker (Former Employee) - Saanich, BC - 28 March 2021

I was really proud and excited to work as a 911 call taker for e-comm. That all changed once I entered the building as an employee and began working with e-comm. The workplace culture is ego-centered and the communication is fragmented, derogatory and full of behind your back gossip. It is an accepted practice at e-com to "talk about you but never to you" and only provide negative feedback and daily criticism about how you could have done better with processing a call despite taking into consideration the complexity of the call which can destroy someone's self esteem and doesn't make it enjoyable to be working their. Due to e-com being a call center for 14 police jurisdictions in Victoria, there has been no attempt to streamline the call processing for each jurisdiction into one set of guidelines to follow which leaves room for mistakes which you will be reamed out by a watch commander as well as the supervisor and e-com has no interest in improving that system. The most difficult part of the job was the attitude of dispatchers and constantly walking on eggshells as they have not problem yelling at you across the floor in front of all your colleagues if you weren't able to get some information from a caller. Apologies and esteem building do not exist in e-com so if you aren't able to not let that bother you, then you might fare well in that environment. There are no guaranteed hours and it is recommended that you have a second job, the benefits are poor, there is no overtime pay and the days are long. The coffee is free and abundant and that is probably the only positive -

Pros

Free coffee and parking

Cons

Constant criticism

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Amazing job terrible people

POLICE CALL TAKER (Former Employee) - Victoria, BC - 12 March 2021

I hope I never have to call the police. The first 6 weeks are great in class the theory portion is wonderful. The people who are in charge of on the job training are not trained first. They brought various police detachments together into one call centre then started training classes the way Ecomm wanted it to be but didn’t bother to get their on the floor trainers on board, so you were tested and rated on the Ecomm method but trained by either RCMP or municipal police. The groups did not work collaboratively and they talked badly about the other, listening to your trainer talk about others in your class and gossiping sure didn’t make anyone feel. When testing time came around we did not have the skills needed to pass and were set up to fail. I didn’t mind failing but they emotionally scarred me to the point that I wasn’t sure I could assist a person when they called in. These people are bullies and would not trust them with me life.

Pros

Nice facility

Cons

Terrible people

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Official response from E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated

19 March 2021

Thank you for taking time to write a review about E-Comm. As we are a consolidated Emergency Communications Centre, we provide services to multiple police and fire agencies—policies and procedures are often similar, however, there are differences and nuances based on the agencies we service. From what you’ve shared, we understand your experience was negative and we’d appreciate speaking with you further. Please email talktoecomm@ecomm911.ca to get in touch with us.

Everything they tell you is a lie!!

Police call taker (Former Employee) - Vancouver, BC - 1 February 2021

They tell you what you want to hear, they say things to support you and they encourage you. However, it's all a lie!! Majority of the people are slithering Snakes in the Grass and management is the ultimate wolves in sheep's clothing. It's incredible how archaic the technology is, considering this is our 911 hub for the entire province. The amount of money they pay you will never compensate what you have to go through working here, or trying to survive here.

Pros

4 days off

Cons

Management, stress, judgement, shift work, work environment

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Official response from E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated

19 March 2021

We value hearing feedback from all employees including those that are no longer with us. Our advanced technology systems and talented teams proudly support mission critical services across BC and first responder communities including police, fire and ambulance. Some of your comments regarding employees and managers are difficult to read and we’d like the opportunity to learn more about your experience. Please reach out to talktoecomm@ecomm911.ca to get in touch with us.

Great career, horrible work atmosphere

911 Call Taker (Current Employee) - Vancouver, BC - 25 June 2020

Your typical day consists of 12 hours with 90-minute breaks which can be broken up as the employee wishes. It is hard on your body, as most shiftwork is. The 12-hour desk work can be hard on the eyes and the back. Management is very quick to point out what you're doing wrong but never praising what you've done right. Team leads are not engaged and frequently talk to other employees about your mistakes behind your back. Some dispatchers are keen to power trip on call-takers and brand new 911 queue agents. There is quite a lot of talk of psychological support, but very little is done. Overall the pros of the job were the supportive coworkers and having the opportunity to use Ecomm 911 as a stepping stone to policing or other administrative work.

Pros

Shiftwork with a swing shift in between, free coffee, great pay and benefits

Cons

Toxic work environment, unsupportive management, broken training system

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Apply at your own risk

Call-taker (Former Employee) - Saanich, BC - 12 March 2020

I was very excited to join ECOMM, but was disappointed from day one. Training is basic and insufficient, and management create an extremely toxic work environment characterized by secrecy and bullying. I entered the company with a class of six new hires. Just a few months later only one remains. If this job excites you, go apply at a municipal police department and avoid ECOMM at all costs

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Honourable job, but terribly managed and with a culture of bullying

Calltaker (Former Employee) - Vancouver, BC - 9 March 2020

Was very excited to successfully make it through the arduous application process -- this job is not for everyone and they make that clear -- but once through, now you have to deal with management and a culture of passive-aggressive bullying. If you question the status quo or are anything but a "yes" person, you will not fit in. If you don't feed management's ego, you will not fit in. But if you just go with the flow, do as you're told, and are okay with just being a number and not a person, you will be fine. Police and fire agencies need competent calltakers and dispatchers, and those jobs are honourable. It takes a special person to flourish in this industry... but E-Comm is no longer the place. They are taking on too much, there are too many agencies, and the training is inadequate. They are literally bursting at the seams. One would be better off with an independent municipal department or detachment. The rumours about E-Comm are actually true, and I don't recommend this employer.

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Jobs at E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated

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Great co workers, great job but their training program lacking in positive instruction

call taker (Former Employee) - Vancouver, BC - 17 September 2019

A lot of time and money spent on training potential employees but not very well administered. Their method of training and instructing needs to be reviewed as there is a very high failure rate. No second chance,no remedial training offered so they are losing a number of very good employees.

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Poor management

Police Call Taker (Former Employee) - Vancouver, BC - 2 September 2019

'Management' does not equal 'leadership' at this place but your colleagues will make work enjoyable. Sadly, mental health is not a high enough priority for management which leads to high turnover.

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Call Taker at E-Comm 9-1-1 | Emergency Communications for British Columbia Incorporated

Estimated salary

$32.66 per hour

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