New York City’s 311 could become a model of customer service innovation
Innovative customer service is probably the last thing you would expect from a city government. And yet, New York Mayor Bloomberg came up with just that when he introduced ‘311’: THE number for New Yorkers to call when they have *any* question relating to their city, neighborhood or the city government. In 1996, across the US, the 311 number was set aside as a non-emergency alternative for the well known ‘911’. Ever since, a growing number of American cities have introduced it to their citizens, including Chicago, which actually won a ‘Innovations in American Government’ award for it in 2002. However, Bloomberg’s initiative is the boldest so far to date: 8 million people in the most demanding and fast-paced place on earth certainly have a lot to ask and gripe about. 311 and the accompanying 24/7 ‘Citizen Service’ call center allows New Yorkers to immediately report everything from potholes and defect street lights to loud noise and parking violations, information on trash collection schedules or community center resources, or leaving a (frank) opinion for the Mayor. All this with live operators, who amongst them speak 170 languages, and who will give callers a tracking number so that they can follow up on the status of their requests. (more…)
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