Conference kernel::csguk_systems

    
    That's a difficult question.
    
    One could say that as the enginer is already on site and needing
    assistance, that he/she has priority, on the grounds that the 
    original call must have come before the current RSDS customer
    who is only just logging a call.
    
    However, I seem to remember that DRIVE was supposed to get the
    Right engineer with the Right part etc etc. Also Telesupport
    calls tend to consume a lot of time. Also, it may be, that the 
    new call is a 2hr response from a political customer, whereas
    the Telesupport call may be Basic. Who is to know ??
    
    Another point is that engineer skills seem to differ quite
    widely.Sometimes we really have to think for/drive the engineer
    on site, whereas with others, we can make a few suggestions and
    they will get on with things, using common sense, ATS etc.
    
    Lastly, keeping a customer waiting, upsets them and causes bad
    feeling etc, so we must handle them live.Hopefully, engineers 
    do not just sit around on site saying "I have to wait for 
    Telesupport to tell me what to do ". If we had enough engineers,
    there would be less of a problem, and similarly, if the branches
    had enough engineers, they just might get the right engineer to
    site.
    

    If we HAD to make a rule when(if?) we have one call handling system
    it is simple. The call that has been waiting the longest (assuming
    there will be a common queue for customers AND engineers) gets done
    first. This way we get it right most of the time and nobody has
    to make a value judgement on which is the most deserving cause.
    
    Steve.