Generic Central Station Horror Tales

["Just Looking" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Due to some recent events, I have pondered central station operations a
little more than usual. Therefore I am asking myself some questions others
here may have asked and answered for him or her self already. How many
generic central station horror tales does it take to begin to discredit a
central station operation? If a central station pays money to a dealer for a
central station screw up, should that be viewed as a positive or a negative
for that central station in a dealer's eyes? How much money has to change
hands before the event is to be considered a big deal? Are damages in the
hundreds of dollars significant or are the thousands of dollars the real
starting point where one should start taking notice? Does a one off failure
event count more than a policy screw up that results in a loss? Does a
mechanical failure mean more or less than human error in rating a problem?
Over time, how many screw ups should a dealer expect from a central station
on an annual basis, monthly basis, etc? Is account volume more of a factor
in expecting issues to arise, or is it all more a function of time? Given
the costs involved in switching central stations, how many events should a
dealer be willing to tolerate versus reasonably expect? When a central
station screw up occurs, is it a good idea for the entire central station
staff be made aware of it; and the incident used as a training opportunity?
Conversely, should all screw ups of any kind be kept under wraps on a need
to know basis? Which is the better policy? What role should dealer input
play on these decision processes? If a central station employee doesn't know
of a screw up, is that lack of knowledge merely reflecting on his lowly
status within that organization, or is it indicative of a care less type
employee attitude showing poor morale is becoming problematic, or is it
pointing to an overly secretive operation with some really big problems to
hide?