How the number works during third-shift:
During third-shift between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., the general number is used for people on campus who need help, say with getting a door unlocked. Here is a scenario of how the communication is working with the outsource.
Scenario: A hall director is alerted to an emergency plumbing situation in their residence hall and needs a plumber right away.
- Hall director calls 285-141.
- B Virtual answers the phone and determines that facilities needs to be contacted.
- B Virtual contacts temporary worker in the Operator room on campus.
- Temporary worker relays the information through the campus radio system to facilities or whoever needs to know for the correct situation.
Visitors or anyone who calls the Ball State general number for help on the weekends will speak to someone who knows nothing about Ball State—and who is answering the phone from either Atlanta or Canada.
That number is used heavily during the day for general inquiries, visitors asking for directions, where to park or where to get sporting event tickets, Director of Enterprise Computing Operations Todd Phelps said.
Now, Ball State is trial testing outsourcing the operators for that number to a company called B Virtual during third shift, which is 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and on the weekends. Calls during the day Monday through Friday are still handled by Ball State operators, Phelps said.
“We have to look at how we can cost save," Phil Repp, vice president of information technology, said. “The calls during nighttime hours are very few. [We are deciding if] we can outsource to a call center. It’s a lot cheaper than hiring a person, and third shift is not a very popular shift.”
The Daily News called the general number on Saturday afternoon to test the service with a basic question—Where is DeHority?
“Sorority?” the B Virtual operator said. “Is it in a building? Could you please spell it?”
The operator then asked if LaFollette Complex and Housing and Residence Life sounded helpful. In the end, the operator provided the general university address, 2000 W. University, instead of any indicators to DeHority Complex.
But then it got worse.
Asking a follow-up question about parking caused confusion. The operator did know that parking is free on the weekends, and directed the Daily News to purchase a parking permit online through parking services, or leave a message on Parking Services' voicemail.
The Daily News tried the same question to the regular operator on Monday, when on-campus operators answer the phones. The operator quickly provided DeHority’s address and directional information, along with assistance on where to find parking in a garage or with a meter.
Phelps said Ball State made similar calls to B Virtual over the weekend to check on the service with similar results.
B Virtual took over the calls the weekend of Jan. 24, and there was improvement in wait time from that weekend to this past weekend, Phelps said.
“This weekend went much smoother than the previous weekend,” he said. “They are not here on campus, and being familiar with the area is going to be a challenge for them. Hopefully, they will get better.”
Phil Repp, vice president of information technology, stressed this weekend is part of the test of service and there is still a lot of institutional knowledge to share with B Virtual.
“When you outsource, there is a learning curve around the partnership,” Repp said. “It will take 30 or so days to figure [out the learning curve]. We are in the process of discovery here.”
The general number is also used during third shift for another purpose that is causing trouble for the outsourcing.
During third shift, people on campus who need help with something—like a residence hall director who needs to call a plumber or who needs a building unlocked—call the general number, and the third-shift operator gets on the internal radio communication and lets the correct person know that someone needs help.
Facilities uses the internal radio communication has a radio system with analog technology, which is not compatible with B Virtual because the signal does not reach Atlanta or Canada.
Facilities is upgrading to a digital radio system.
Randy Schmidt, a maintenance supervisor from Facilities, said the current technology is close to 10 years old, and he hopes the upgrade will be done by this summer.
“We tested a digital system, and it came in clearer than what we have with the analog radio,” Schmidt said.
Until the switchover, a temporary worker is working on third shift just to work the radio, so two people are doing what one person did before, Phelps said.
Repp said they are trying out this system to see if they can save costs appropriately.
“It is our due diligence to look at things' efficiency to save taxpayers dollars," he said. “If we can do it well, we can do it. If it does not meet our expectations, then we will not do it."
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