There’s a stray cow walking down my street, bugs are coming in from my neighbor’s place, and no one is using gloves at the tattoo shop. These are just a sampling of the near one hundred thousand calls the County’s new 311 Connect call center has taken since last October’s launch.
“We knew the service would be popular, and we’re happy that residents and businesses are finding the one number connection to County services fast and convenient,” said Bradley J. Hudson, County Executive.
Customer Service representatives answer calls 24 / 7 and they never know what kinds of calls will come in that day. “We know we will get calls about animals and potholes, but every day we get a new question and a few surprises,” said Luyen Le who manages the 311 Call Center. “The new questions keep the job interesting as we help our callers with the diverse range of services the County provides.”
Before any outreach began, the system pulled in a few hundred calls a day when it launched. The volume has steadily increased, now averaging more than 4,000 a week. “As we continue to add services to the 311 system, we will see our call volume go up,” said Rami Zakaria, Chief Information Officer. “For example, we just added Transportation services, such as reporting potholes, trees in the roads that need trimming and traffic signal issues, and calls immediately took another tick upward.”
The 311 Connect system allows you to report an issue three ways, by phone, online, or with the free 311 Connect phone app. “Phone calls are the most popular way of reaching us, but online and the app are convenient as you can report a problem or submit a question 24/7,” Zakaria added. “It’s handy to keep the shortcut to the website on your computers so that it’s easily accessible when you have a question.”
311 Connect is ideal for getting answers and submitting service requests for non-emergency issues including:
Abandoned vehicles
Animal issues - stray, deceased
Occupied out building
Illegal dumping - garbage, trash
Abandoned shopping carts
Curb, gutter or sidewalk repair
Culvert/pipe repair or cleaning
Drainage problem
Ditch cleaning
Missed garbage collection service
Emergency housing conditions - no water, utilities, unstable building, surfacing sewage
Graffiti
Potholes
Tobacco - selling to minors
Street light out
Street sign down
Traffic signal timing
Tree trimming