My number at work used to be 911

From the Associated Press:

FORT PIERCE, Fla. - Authorities say a Florida woman called 911 three times after McDonald's employees told her they were out of McNuggets. A police report said 27-year-old Fort Pierce resident Latreasa L. Goodman told authorities she paid for a 10-piece last week but was later informed the restaurant had run out.

She says she was refused a refund and told all sales were final. A cashier told police she offered Goodman a larger portion of different food for the same price, but Goodman became irate.

Police say Goodman was cited on a misuse of 911 charge. A current phone listing for Goodman couldn't be found.

A McDonald's spokesman says Goodman should have been given a refund, and she's being sent a gift card for a free meal.

America, I am of two minds on this story. The consumer in me - and I can't say that I spend much time in line under the golden arches purchasing 10-nugget Chicken McPieces (notice how I turned that around?) - but I still will raise my voice in protest over shoddy service, insolent service or total lack of service - shouts "right on!" to Latreasa L. Goodman of Fort Pierce, Fla. You pay for 10 pieces of "chicken," you should receive 10 pieces of "chicken," plus one or two containers of that artificially flavored dipping "sauce."

On the proverbial other hand...the part of me that spent 18.5 years laboring in the vineyard of a real-life 911 Center, where danger, intrigue, derring-do and excitement were on the menu every day (and that was even before the shift began!) wishes to state that there is a lot of misuse of 911. For one thing, people tend not to know the diff between a legal matter (someone hit you all up in the head) and a civil matter (someone built a shed all up in your property line) so they call 911 for either.

Or they should call (maternity: birth imminent, chest pains, subject prying neighbor's door open, sparks flying out of wall socket, ill-informed president engineers illegal and immoral invasion of sovereign foreign nation in order to revarnish his father's tarnished reputation and enrich his friends in various materiel concerns) (ok, maybe not the last one, but you get the point) but they don't. So many times, small fires become huge ones because people "don't want to trouble the firefighters."

Crimes are committed under the watchful eyes of citizens who then decide to do nothing with this information because it's "none of my business."

Or - and we would get this call on many a morning - "My son won't get out of bed and go to school; send the police to make him get up and go."

So, lessons learned tonight: Call 911 when you should. Don't call when you shouldn't. Give people their 10 deep-fried poultry chunks when they pay for them, and don't rip them off.

Tomorrow: How to handle an annoying friend who insists on recreating the vocal style of every American Idol contestant every Wednesday morning. The answers might surprise you!