Lethbridge residents will have more options to have questions answered about the city, with the launch of a 311 live chat. It was officially launched on Oct. 11 and can be found on the city’s website. Along with the launch, Travis Hillier, general manager of customer service and 311 provided an update to council on the plans for the service moving forward.
He says 311 has responded to more than 100,000 calls this year so far, with 89 per cent being answered within 30 seconds and more than 90 per cent being resolved without a transfer. He added 93 per cent of people who used the service and provided feedback were satisfied.
“311 now is especially your one stop shop for all City of Lethbridge inquiries, whether it is simple, complex or administration or council, we are here as you first point of contact to have your issue, your concern, your celebrations, whatever that may be — to have that answered,” says Hilliers.
Residents looking to get in contact with city councillors will have to go through the 311 system, with requests being forwarded from there. Hilliers says this helps to reduce duplication of requests and provides council with information about the inquiries in preparation for the conversation.
A new digital kiosk will also be installed inside city hall, which will feature a touchscreen to help navigate city information. Councillor Ryan Parker questioned whether one of the 311 phone operators could be in city hall to be available to answer questions in person as well as on the phone.
“My feedback and my input on this would be, I understand the idea of a kiosk and all that,” he says. “But humans like to interact and if you did 311, you are doing it because you are phoning someone — otherwise we would just send everyone to the website.”
Hillier noted residents will also have the option to speak with a person at city hall as well as the new kiosk. “We are continually evolving, we are here for customer service, we are here to serve the community. Right now we think that the kiosk is the next natural progression or natural step in that direction,” Hillier says. He adds putting a person in city hall comes down to money because he likes to keep staff focused and would not like to see one person running between phones and in person interactions.
