A salon refusing to change nail polish does not qualify as a police, fire or medical emergency, says E-Comm, B.C.’s largest emergency communications centre. Credit: CBC
It may be OK to get upset about receiving the wrong shade of nail polish, but you definitely don’t need to call 911 to complain about it.
E-Comm, B.C.’s largest emergency communications centre that receives about 1.36 million calls every year, has released this year’s list of its top 10 nuisance calls.
Coming in at number one is someone calling in to complain a salon wouldn’t change a nail polish colour followed by someone calling because a car refused to move forward at a gas station pump.
Jody Robertson, executive director of corporate communications at E-Comm, said in a release that some people think 911 can be used for customer complaints or general information.
“While these calls are absurd, they’re more common than you might think. The fact is – every time a 911 call taker handles one of these calls, we waste valuable resources. We’re asking the public to help us help,” Robertson said.
She is reminding the public that 911 is for police, fire or medical emergencies and added that calling non-emergency lines for general complaints or information is also not appropriate.
“Non-emergency lines are for important police matters. None of the items on our list is a police matter,” Robertson said.
E-Comm call-taker Christie Duncan fielded the call about the nail polish and said in a release spending time on a call like that takes her away from being available to help someone who is dealing with an emergency.
“And believe it or not, this isn’t the first time I’ve received a call about the colour of nail polish,” Duncan said.
Here is the full list of the 10 worst 911 calls of 2017:
1. Complaining a salon wouldn’t change nail polish colour
2. Car refusing to move forward at a gas station pump
3. To report food was inedible and restaurant refusing to provide refund
4. Complaining tenant moved without returning keys
5. Calling because someone parked in their parking spot
6. Wondering if a washroom closed sign at a popular beach was legitimate
7. Complaining a gas station wouldn’t accept coins for payment
8. Calling to ask if raccoons are dangerous animals
9. Asking if there’s a law preventing washing clothes at 6 a.m.
10. Calling to check the time following the fall time change
Alexa Huffman
