QUESTION
Why have response times for 311 services increased, and what can be done to improve them?
1:00:57
·
4 min
Council Member Lincoln Restler raises concerns about increased 311 service response times, highlighting significant wait times and seeking solutions.
- Restler notes a dramatic decrease in the percentage of calls answered within 30 seconds and an increase in overall wait times.
- He suggests constituents use the app for faster service due to decreased call volume but increased wait times.
- The council member questions whether long wait times are a strategy to discourage calls and seeks ways to encourage more efficient use of 311 services.
- Dan Steinberg from the Mayor's Office of Operations acknowledges the issue but notes recent improvements and the complexity of calls as a contributing factor.
- Steinberg highlights that 311 services are expanding, with a focus on Spanish language calls and providing a variety of services beyond service requests.
Lincoln Restler
1:00:57
Thank you so much, Council member Gutierrez, and we are also joined by Council member Paladino of Queens.
1:01:02
Thank you for being here.
1:01:04
Just would like to follow-up on some of the topics that a customer member Gutierrez was asking about, you know, I am very concerned about their increased response times from 311.
1:01:15
You know, it's just very frustrating when you call 311, and there's like 77 second intro on parking policies for the next number of days.
1:01:24
And then finally, you get to a real wait time and My understanding is that we're down to 16% of calls being answered in 30 seconds.
1:01:35
That was 89% just last year.
1:01:38
So that's a major reduction overall, but the wait time is 1 and a half times as long during peak hours.
1:01:46
They went from 25 seconds over now it's over a minute during peak hours.
1:01:51
So that's and it's three times as long during non peak hours.
1:01:55
It went from an 8 second pickup now to over 30 seconds before 311 operators getting back to you.
1:02:00
And it just feels like it's a deliberate strategy to maybe, Joe does a great job, but it feels like it's a it has the effect of discouraging New Yorkers from reaching out.
1:02:11
Because if you're gonna have to wait a very long time before you read someone, you're just not gonna call.
1:02:15
And I encourage my constituents how to use the app because it's a lot faster, but the thing that surprises me is call volume is down because I think my constituents are listening to me.
1:02:25
Just me.
1:02:25
Yeah.
1:02:26
I don't know how you know District 33.
1:02:28
We have, you know, we're we're a noisy bunch.
1:02:32
So despite call volume being down, the response time is way up how you
UNKNOWN
1:02:41
ops is
Lincoln Restler
1:02:41
the real one used to be a part of ops.
1:02:43
These are issues that you all are very familiar with.
1:02:45
What's going on, and how can we fix it?
Dan Steinberg
1:02:47
No.
1:02:47
We we do pay very close attention to these issues.
1:02:52
The this is another indicator where if you were to look at more recent data, it is improving.
1:02:57
So November, December, January, that that Pete calls.
Lincoln Restler
1:03:01
Are you calling me out for now?
1:03:02
I'm on top of all the DMMR stats.
1:03:04
No.
1:03:04
That would be my stats,
Dan Steinberg
1:03:05
you know.
Lincoln Restler
1:03:06
I feel like that's the you know?
Dan Steinberg
1:03:07
A little bit.
1:03:08
I mean, we do incur we do want the DMMR to be the the, you know, the the MMR and PMMR are always going to add value because this is where we have narrative explaining what we're seeing.
1:03:18
But the the MMR will always be more up to date.
1:03:20
And and I see my staff's, you know, with starting with laptops because they want you to know that those numbers are improving, and and and it's worth noting.
1:03:30
But but the the issue is I I I don't want a serious issue.
Lincoln Restler
1:03:33
I mean, I'm making a joke, but I but I No.
1:03:34
I appreciate your help.
Dan Steinberg
1:03:35
But I'm also not dismissing it.
1:03:37
Because while it's improving, like, these are real performance issues that you're noting that we escalated.
1:03:42
And and there are explanations.
1:03:44
And and explanations are not excuses.
1:03:47
But but, you know, we do wanna add context today.
1:03:51
You know, you didn't you're completely right that the calls were down.
1:03:55
Generally, 311 are setting, you know, records in terms of total inquiries.
1:04:00
So the system is as the main customer service portals that cities functioning.
1:04:05
Very effectively in that sense, they had, you know, almost 13,000,000 contacts across this call center during the reporting period.
1:04:13
And and they are providing more services more information, I should say, than just responding to service requests and and fielding more Spanish language calls.
1:04:22
Than ever, I think it was close to 200,000 in the reporting period.
1:04:25
And then an additional 30,000 calls and languages other than English and Spanish, But but to your question, you're right that that there were fewer calls and longer wait times.
1:04:36
There there was an increase in in what 311 considers complex calls.
1:04:40
They might have told you this in testimony.
1:04:43
Complex calls are usually when a caller has more than one issue more than one service request.
1:04:48
So that that was definitely a driver.
1:04:51
And and but that's sort of the context that that we have.
1:04:57
You know, I I think as a call center, it's still very popular.
1:05:01
You know, they they they found that the 311 customer service.
1:05:07
There was a recent survey where the 311 representative got a 94, you know, suggesting that not a 10 new workers scored the experience highly in terms of interacting with a customer service agent.
1:05:20
And that's really their their prime responsibility.
1:05:23
The agencies are responsible for responding effectively to the campaign.