March 13, 2008
Give City the ‘4-1-1’ on Richmond’s 3-1-1
From the Office of the Press Secretary:
Mayor L. Douglas Wilder announced today the beginning of a month-long “Give Us the 4-1-1” campaign to help the City improve its new 311 Call Center to handle citizen requests for municipal services.
The campaign, which will run from March 11 through mid-April, is an invitation for City residents who have used the phone system and encountered problems to let the City know what those problems were so they can be corrected and the system improved.
The campaign is also an invitation for residents who have not used the system to try it and let the City know what needs to be addressed in their neighborhoods. Residents can dial 311 to report potholes, downed trees, utility issues, request social services, and other City matters.
“Now is the perfect time for a campaign of citizen feedback,” the Mayor said. “The 311 Call Center has been up and running for just over 60 days. It was officially launched January 2 and we intend to step back and see where it works and where it does not.”
“There are bugs to be worked out in the system and feedback from residents will help us improve the system and make it more efficient.”
Residents can use a special email address (311comments@RichmondGov.com) or call 311 and let the operator know they have feedback about the system.
The City plans to analyze the feedback and integrate it into the system by this summer.
So after calling the city for the last 4 years trying to get a dying city tree removed from my curb, I finally tried the 311 number. Admittedly, it took me a couple of calls but I finally got someone who scheduled the Department of Urban Forestry to send the city arborist out to take a look at the tree. He’s going to remove it and replant over the upcoming year.
So, hey, 311 works, sorta. Sure, it took me about 4 calls to get an appointment, but like I said, I’ve been calling 3-4 times a year, so heck. That’s not so bad.
The #1 problem with the system is that if they transfer you to a department and that department is on the phone or not answering their phone, you get dumped back to the main 311 line, to start over. And the operator who gets you the second time isn’t the same operator from the first time, so you go into this mobius strip of customer service where you can’t get help, but you can’t leave a message for anybody either. As far as I can tell, that’s the biggest flaw in the system.
If only I had this number last weekend after the giant pothole left from the work someone did on that long abandoned house at Jahnke and Forest Hill bent my wheel.
Oh my gawd that was an AWFUL hole. It was about eight inches deep. Fortunately for me, the car in front of me stopped to go around it, or I’d've missed seeing it too. Did they fill it yet?