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what would you like to see in an improved 311 system?

As mentioned in another thread, Mayor-elect Emanuel has said he'd like to see our 311 system improved.

I'd like to see more complete map info provided to 311 operators.  Those of us who ride the Major Taylor Trail and Burnham Greenway on the far south side have to go through a laborious process to give accurate locations when reporting graffiti or other issues via 311 because these trails are NOT in the 311 system.  There are other potential trails in the works that would likely have the same problem under the current system.

If someone was making a 911 call from a trail, they might have a problem with delayed response, although GPS-enabled phones might alleviate this somewhat.

What changes would you like to see?

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on April 8, 2011 at 5:31pm
The ability to track what happens to your complaint.  As in a run down of who/what department the complaint is passed on to and what they did with it.  When I call my ISP, cell provider or any other customer service line they assign me a trouble ticket number and track the response to my complaint; is it to much to ask that the city give me the same level of service as Verizon?
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 8, 2011 at 6:41pm

That's a good suggestion.  The city actually had a tracking # system until last year, when they quietly eliminated it among a flurry of budget cuts.  Under the old system, you had to request the # if you made your 311 report by phone.  If you made a report through the city's web site, the confirmation e-mail sent to you would automatically contain the tracking #.  That's how I discovered that they'd eliminated it.  The confirmation messages no longer had tracking #s.

 

It would be great to see these re-introduced.


notoriousDUG said:

The ability to track what happens to your complaint.  As in a run down of who/what department the complaint is passed on to and what they did with it.  When I call my ISP, cell provider or any other customer service line they assign me a trouble ticket number and track the response to my complaint; is it to much to ask that the city give me the same level of service as Verizon?
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on April 10, 2011 at 5:28pm

People are reporting incident tracking numbers on Everyblock-- as recently as yesterday.

I am still offered them but prefer to look things up by address.

I guess I don't know if there are maybe different kinds of tracking numbers but this does not seem to be true.

 

If I am consistent about which address I give for a complaint I can have the 911 operator track it back weeks or months, depending on how much of their time I want to waste.

 

Anne Alt said:

That's a good suggestion.  The city actually had a tracking # system until last year, when they quietly eliminated it among a flurry of budget cuts.  Under the old system, you had to request the # if you made your 311 report by phone.  If you made a report through the city's web site, the confirmation e-mail sent to you would automatically contain the tracking #.  That's how I discovered that they'd eliminated it.  The confirmation messages no longer had tracking #s.

 

It would be great to see these re-introduced.


notoriousDUG said:

The ability to track what happens to your complaint.  As in a run down of who/what department the complaint is passed on to and what they did with it.  When I call my ISP, cell provider or any other customer service line they assign me a trouble ticket number and track the response to my complaint; is it to much to ask that the city give me the same level of service as Verizon?
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on April 10, 2011 at 5:29pm
As noted above they already have all this.

notoriousDUG said:
The ability to track what happens to your complaint.  As in a run down of who/what department the complaint is passed on to and what they did with it.  When I call my ISP, cell provider or any other customer service line they assign me a trouble ticket number and track the response to my complaint; is it to much to ask that the city give me the same level of service as Verizon?
Permalink Reply by Steven Vance on April 11, 2011 at 3:32am

I have doubts about the tracking number being eliminated. 

 

It's called the SR number, for Service Request. 

Even if the emails no longer include the SR number, a unique number identifying the record of your request still exists (it has to, it's a database). 

 

I can see many other reasons for not automatically providing people with the SR number over email. The first being that if you don't know it, you won't follow-up, reducing pressure to complete the task (yes, I realize this sounds awful and what a bad government might do).

 

What I would like to see

  • Ability to see timeline of request online based on your tracking number or other identifying information (address, phone number)
  • See other people's requests (but in a way that protects privacy). A good design would ensure that one could not identify the person based on the category and content of their request. 
  • Ability to submit via mobile phone in a mobile phone-friendly manner. This would include automatically grabbing the location from the phone and allowing the user to upload a photo or two. 
  • Allow users to submit requests online for ALL category types in a much more user-friendly way that remembers users' information (if they so choose to have that saved) but also asks fewer questions.
  • An online knowledge base that "reads" the user's request and attempts to provide answers or other resources, but not in an obtrusive way that tries to prevent the user from eventually submitting their request if they still want to. 
  • Use an open-source database and GUI (not the Motorola-designed garbage from the 1990s). This would help make it easier for the City to upgrade the system and keep it modern and improve data entry times for the 311 operators. (You should see how this thing works - it's the most counter-productive piece of software I've ever used.)
  • Offer an open-to-everyone API so developers (like EveryBlock and myself) can build cool apps. 
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 11, 2011 at 7:41am

I can see many other reasons for not automatically providing people with the SR number over email. The first being that if you don't know it, you won't follow-up, reducing pressure to complete the task (yes, I realize this sounds awful and what a bad government might do).

 

That is *exactly* why I think they eliminated it.  Around the same time, I started noticing that voice menu systems for some city departments were changed to make it nearly impossible to reach a person unless the caller already knows the extension. 

 

I like your suggestions, especially the idea about allowing submissions for ALL category types in a more user friendly way.

Permalink Reply by Mark on April 11, 2011 at 8:53am
SR numbers are still used.  You just need to ask for it at the end of your 311 call.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 11, 2011 at 10:19am

If I'm reporting potholes (and I often have a bunch to report after a spring bike ride), I tend to report them in bunches.  This makes it more efficient to report online, but at the cost of no longer getting a tracking #. 

 

If I do a bunch of them in a row, I can make several reports in 5 minutes or less using the online form.  If I call in, it sometimes takes me that long just to be directed to the appropriate person.

Permalink Reply by Liz on April 11, 2011 at 3:06pm

After being put on hold for 20 minutes last time I called 311 I pretty much wont call anymore. 

 

The online system as it is needs to allows for locations without exact or known addresses (ie undeveloped areas, trails, etc).  A smartphone app that allows me to upload GPS location, problem and a photo or a user friendly mobile website would the best way to get me reporting more. 

 

Anne Alt said:

If I'm reporting potholes (and I often have a bunch to report after a spring bike ride), I tend to report them in bunches.  This makes it more efficient to report online, but at the cost of no longer getting a tracking #. 

 

If I do a bunch of them in a row, I can make several reports in 5 minutes or less using the online form.  If I call in, it sometimes takes me that long just to be directed to the appropriate person.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on April 11, 2011 at 9:45pm

That's why I don't call except for items that I can't report online.

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