what's the rush?

Another busy day, it was ever thus. Everyone says everything is urgent; whether it is or not. This is a problem for an organisation that needs to ruthlessly prioritise in order to deliver timely advice and valuable services to members. If everyone who phones an ambulance says the patient is dying how can services get to the right people at the right time? When did 'urgent' stop being 'urgent'? Is it because we are all able to access other services immediately? After all, union subscriptions are a significant, voluntary, financial commitment and, if we contact a bank, council or utility we expect to get answers and fast. Email, text and voicemail are all instant. What concerns me is not so much the instant culture - although it is debatable whether advances such as mobile phones, emails, crackberrys actually improve our quality of life - however, just as too much information is as useful as too little, if everything is urgent isn't that the same as nothing being urgent?