SPRINGFIELD’S 3-1-1 CITIZEN SERVICE CENTER COMPLETES FIRST YEAR IN OPERATION
October 5, 2009 - Mayor Domenic J. Sarno announced today that during the month of September, the City of Springfield’s 3-1-1 Citizen Service Center took its 150,000th call since beginning operations in September of 2008. During the first year of operation, the Service Center has averaged about 600 calls per day. Additionally, since the public launch in March of this year, there have been over 15,000 customer calls from residents dialing the 3-1-1 telephone number.
The Citizen Service Center’s performance, since reaching its current level of staffing in July 2009, has met or exceeded all targets, including the following:
- 89.5 percent of phone calls are answered within 45 seconds (goal is to reach callers in less than a minute);
- 36 second average wait to speak with a representative (goal is 45 seconds or less);
- Average length of each customer interaction is 2 minutes and 10 seconds (because quality service is valued over quantity, there is no goal for this measure);
- 21.4 percent of calls to the Service Center are made by dialing 3-1-1 (goal was 20 percent by October 1, 2009); and,
- 86 percent of phone calls to the Center are handled without ever transferring the caller to another department (goal is 85 percent or above).
The professional customer service representatives taking calls at 3-1-1, because most transferred from other City departments, boast more than 100 years of experience and knowledge in working for the residents of the City of Springfield.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno stated that he is very pleased with the services being provided to city residents by the 3-1-1 call center. “I have been receiving extremely positive feedback from residents who state that they only had to make one-call to city hall and their issue was resolved,” stated Sarno. “The 3-1-1 call center also utilizes a tracking system which allows for greater accountability and efficiency in city government,” added Sarno.
3-1-1 Call Center Director Donna Carney stated that she has received calls from many residents who say they are impressed with the responsiveness of the call center. “Residents like the option of having solutions to their issues simply from placing one call and having all questions answered by one person when contacting city government by dialing 311,” stated Carney.
Springfield, Massachusetts is the second and largest City in Massachusetts to employ the 3-1-1 phone number for citizens needing non-emergency municipal services.
