Search
Topics
Home  ·  Feedback  ·  Recommend Site  ·  Search  ·  Stories Archive  ·  Surveys  ·  Topics  
UNIVERSITY-STATE TELEPHONE SWITCHBOARD OPERATION A DISGRACE
Posted on Thursday, September 01 @ 03:48:26 CDT by van

Good, Bad, and Ugly For years, the people of Lincoln, Lancaster County and State of Nebraska have endured an incredible number of incorrect connections made daily by University of Nebraska - Lincoln operators. The time is long overdue for corrective action to be taken. Ever since UNL assumed the operation of the telephone switchboard which receives all calls not directly dialed to university faculty and staff, as well as to the offices of Lincoln, Lancaster County and entities of state governmental, the arrangement has been a disgrace! I want those who have their calls misdirected to know where the blame should be placed. Read on for the names and telephone numbers of those to whom you can complain if you choose. These are direct dial numbers and can't be screwed up by a university operator.

Apparently the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County and the State of Nebraska all contract with the university to operate a common telephone switchboard. When a person dials 471-2311 (the state number), 441-7171 (the city/county number) or 472-7211 (the university number) the very same operators answer all of such. For the record, there are a few operators who work during "normal business hours" that are competent and professional. In fact, since I call folks at the three numbers frequently, these ladies now recognize my voice and most usually extend to me a friendly greeting. They are the exceptions rather than the rule!

Most of the "operators" are university students who have little to no knowledge about the governmental offices or the identity of the office holders they serve, even the "constitutional officers." (governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor) I have called for the clerk of the district court (on the city/county line) and have been connected with the clerk of the supreme court. I have asked to be connected to a particular state senator's office from time to time, only to be asked "which department does she work in."? On one occasion I asked to be connected with the county attorney and was connected with the attorney general's office.

Even when, by chance, a caller is connected to the correct extension requested, more often than not, he or she will hear the recorded message "I'm sorry, I'm away from my desk or on the phone - your call is very important to me, so please leave your name, your telephone number and a detailed message and I'll call you back as soon as possible." Telephone answering machines will be the subject of a subsequent article, so we won't go further down that road at this time.

After years of frustration and on the occasion of reaching an operator who spoke only marginal English, I asked to be connected with her supervisor. The "supervisor" turned out to be Coleen Huls who was not at the time "available." I then asked to be connected to the person to which Huls reports and was given the name Paul Marsolek, Telecommunications Manager, who "was in a meeting." I then asked to be connected to the person to which Marsolek reports. That person turned out to be Rick Haugerud, Assistant Director of Information Services, who was out of the office that day. A person in Haugerud's office informed me that Haugerud reported to Michael Ruhrdanz, Director of Information Services who just happened "to be attending a meeting." A woman in Ruhrdanz' office indicated that he reported to Kent Hendrickson, Associate Vice Chancellor of Information Services who was, at the time, "unavailable." I learned that Hendrickson answers to Christine Jackson, Vice Chancellor of Business and Finance who at the time I called her office, was "in a meeting."

One would think the bubblegum-snapping operators who make our state and university look like havens for a bunch of morons to outsiders could do a bit better since they have SIX ECHELONS OF SUPERVISION furnished by the taxpayers of Nebraska.

Finally, Marsolek took time from his "busy schedule" of doing things other than training operators to return my call. He was very upset that I had taken the time to clearly identify his "chain-of- command" and in a manner frequently used by other intellectually challenged deadbeats, attempted to take me to task for my "harassing nature." He later had the unmitigated gall to call the Lincoln Police Department and report me for alleged telephone "misconduct."

I make no apology for being a disgruntled "user" of the "non-service" provided by Marsolek and his underlings. Every caller who has a need to communicate with university, state, county and city offices has an absolute right to be treated in a professional manner and not like someone imposing on the valuable time of those answering the phone.

It is a ongoing joke in many offices regarding how often the "state switchboard" operators connects callers with "wrong numbers." Most usually governmental and university employees willingly take their time to look-up the "correct numbers" and transfer the misdirected calls.

Once again yesterday, I called Marsolek to inform him he had several new operators who needed to be better trained. In a condescending, ranting, raving manner (which I should have expected I guess) he responded with a barrage of "bureaucratic bologna." That was before he again reported me, this time to "Campus Security." I returned a call made to me by an Officer Nissen who shared with me the nature of a complaint made by Marsolek about my telephone demeanor. I informed him I had earlier that day reported Marsolek's misconduct to Kent Hendrickson's secretary. I requested that she inform Hendrickson (who always seems to be somewhere else when I call) of the malevolent conduct of Marsolek. I further informed her that I expected a written apology from Marsolek for his inappropriate behavior. Very likely, Marsolek's call to Nissen was therefore retaliatory in nature.

So that the world (PARTICULARLY THE STATE SENATORS WHO VOTE ON THE UNIVERSITY'S USUALLY INFLATED BUDGET) may know the kind of childish behavior Marsolek employs when he is challenged by a "a consumer" for displaying a questionable level of competence and total lack of civility, I want to share with those who read "vansopinions" a verbatim copy of the contents of a letter he wrote to me dated February 27, 2004.

After properly addressing the letter to me, Marsolek stated the following:

"As manager of the Information Services - Communications Department, UNL - Lincoln, one of my roles is to provide my employees with a workplace free of unnecessary distractions or hostilities. Due to the harassing nature of your numerous phone calls on February 6, 2004 to various Information Services personnel, I have been directed to provide you with a specific procedure to use for any future contacts, comments or suggestions about the operations of Information Services."

"Our operator services personnel will continue to direct your phone calls to University, City, County and State numbers, however your are to contact me directly, either by phone or e-mail, for all other matters regarding Information Services. The previous content of your calls, your demands for information, as well as your threatening tones will no longer be tolerated. By contacting me directly, I am providing you the opportunity to voice your opinions regarding the business leadership and practices of Information Services, while acting as the intermediary between your and our organization."

"The intent of this letter is to send you a clear message on how you are to conduct yourself in a more professional manner when addressing University staff, operators or myself. Be advised any future calls to the switchboard or my office may be recorded for the purpose of determining whether your calls are of a harassing nature or that of disturbing the peace. My intention is to contact the University Police in the event any employee in this department is contacted outside the procedure outlined above. Such calls or contacts, no matter what the content, will be reviewed and the University Police will act at their own discretion."

"In the future, it is my sincere desire for us to have an equitable and business-like relationship, Please contact me regarding any questions you have about this letter or the procedure it outlines."

Rather than respond directly to someone who I believe to be so unquestionably impressed with himself and his position and so totally incapable of carrying out his responsibilities to the people of Nebraska, I have elected to post not only his name and university telephone number but also that of each echelon above him so those who wish to by-pass this boondoggling bureaucrat and tender their complaints "upstream" may do so, rather than risking being assailed by Marsolek and his overly aggressive, intimidating, ranting and raving.

The operators report to COLEEN HULS (472-2131) who reports to PAUL MARSOLEK (472-1104) who reports to RICK HAUGERUD (472-2135) who reports to MICHAEL RUHRDANZ (472-5236) who reports to KENT HENDRICKSON (472-2311) who reports to CHRISTINE JACKSON (472-4455).

If anyone should be more lucky than I have been, you might find one of those mentioned "at their desk" and not away therefrom or in a meeting, attending a seminar, on annual leave or otherwise "unavailable."

I sincerely hope each Member of our Legislature, when budget trimming time comes around next years if not before, will carefully consider whether or not we actually need all of the six echelons of supervision of the operators. Maybe the heads of "Code Agencies", constitutional officers, members of the Lincoln City Council and Lancaster County Board, can figure out a better way of handling incoming telephone calls. A good word to remember might be "outsourcing." I'd almost bet Goodwill Industries personnel could do a better job of running the state switchboard. Those folks would be happy to get the work and would definitely be more kind and cordial than Marsolek and crew.

This evening I had a nice chat with Sergeant Betts of the University Police and asked that he inform Paul Marsolek of the fact that giving false information to a law enforcement officer is a criminal offense. I suggested he also look into the matter of Marsolek RECORDING TELEPHONE CALLS MADE TO GOVERNMENTAL OFFICIALS! The sergeant suggested that I contact Christine Jackson about the matter, however, even though I may not have time to do, I'd make an "even odds bet" she will hear about this article. I hope she becomes sufficiently concerned to require Marsolek to send me a written apology. If not, I'll take an appropriate amount of time to help some of my friends in the legislature to carefully review the university's budget in 2006.

VansOpinion
· Home
· Feedback
· Recommend Site
· Search
· Stories Archive
· Surveys
· Topics
· About Van
· Van's Links
· Downloads

Search



Old Articles
Thursday, June 18
· PASTORS GET LITTLE SUPPORT FROM THE LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD
Friday, November 28
· PROCLAMATIONS OF THANKSGIVING BY PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Sunday, May 11
· IT'S A GOOD TIME TO SAY, "I LOVE YOU MOM"
Saturday, January 26
· ONE NATION UNDER GOD - LAUS DEO
Saturday, December 29
· KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's AND 70's
Saturday, December 15
· A MIDDLE EAST IMPERATIVE
Friday, December 14
· A DAY WITHOUT AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT
Wednesday, December 12
· THE SECRET SERVICE VIEWS OF PAST PRESIDENTS
Friday, November 23
· NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD
Sunday, September 09
· GOD DOES INDEED ANSWERS PRAYER
Monday, July 16
· CONSCIENCE AND THE CRAFT
· JESUS NEVER SAID "STOP AT THE LODGE ROOM DOOR"
Monday, April 23
· NEVER BRING PLANTS INTO THE HOUSE
Saturday, March 31
· WILL LINCOLN AREA LUTHERANS BECOME APRIL FOOLED
Thursday, June 01
· REV. RUSSELL SOMMERFELD SHOULD STEP DOWN
Thursday, March 30
· KATHY TAYLOR WILL BE THE NEXT MAYOR OF TULSA
Wednesday, March 29
· MORAL POVERTY COST BLACKS IN NEW ORLEANS
Friday, December 23
· HAVE A SAFE AND MERRY CHRISTMAS
Sunday, November 20
· IT'S A GOOD TIME FOR ME TO BE THANKFUL
Tuesday, November 01
· OUR POLITICAL PARTIES NEED A FEW WITH MARTIN LUTHER'S SPIRIT
Thursday, October 27
· SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
Thursday, October 13
· HELP WANTED - MAYOR OF TULSA, OKLAHOMA
Thursday, October 06
· CONGRESS SHOULD VOTE NO ON A MEGA-REFINERY AT CUSHING, OKLAHOMA
Wednesday, October 05
· WHY I CONTINUE TO WORK TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Monday, September 26
· LINCOLN LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL OFFICIALS COVER-UP SCANDAL
Sunday, September 25
· IT'S NOW TIME TO DO A BIT OF FINGER POINTING
· A LETTER FROM A VERY UPSET MISSISSIPPI DOCTOR
Tuesday, September 20
· RELIGIOUS HUMOR THAT'S NON-DENOMINATIONAL
· COUNCIL SHOULD SAY NO TO ANOTHER MULTI-PLEX
Monday, September 19
· STOP BEATING AROUND THE BUSH

Older Articles



Content copyright © 2018 Van Valkenburg & Associates, Inc.
Admin - Stats

PHP-Nuke Copyright © 2005 by Francisco Burzi. This is free software, and you may redistribute it under the GPL. PHP-Nuke comes with absolutely no warranty, for details, see the license.