Is the 311 service working as efficient as possible? Is there fiduciary process truly in the best interest of its residents? My answer would be a resounding no.
Earlier today, I was sitting at the red light at East Brainerd Road and Bunker Hill/Panorama Drives when I noticed a 311 truck drive onto Bunker Hill Drive and into the Concord Highlands subdivision. There was a pile of brush that was obviously left for pickup. The truck slowed down, looked at it, and drove on. I thought to myself..."Why didn't they pick it up?"
I thought it odd, so I called 311 and just reported what I saw. The young lady who answered the phone advised me that they (311) cannot pick up brush that has not been called in for a pickup appointment and/or work order. You've got to be kidding me?
It appears that 311 is spending the tax dollars in a most inefficient manner. When you drive by brush that needs collecting and, just because it doesn't have an "appointment or work order," you leave it alone? Yes, I do realize that gas prices have fallen recently, but does this give 311 just cause to spend additional monies for gas, time, etc. to go back to that same location at a later time? In addition, they have 311 inspectors driving around looking for brush that has not been given an appointment. Really?
Let's use some common sense. If the 311 service has employees out collecting brush, then collect it. Don't just drive by it and wave.
Although I cannot state with certainty that the resident(s) who placed the brush there was starting a pile for a Halloween bonfire, or as part of their Halloween decorations, I certainly do have my doubts.
Rusty Munger
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Mr. Munger,
Thank you for contacting the city of Chattanooga with your concerns. The driver slowed down to get the address and called in the pickup request to our office. Those trucks belong to the Public Works Department and all of them have the 311 logo to remind people that we have this service. The 311 signs have been on all city trucks for a long time, but they do not work out of the 311 Call Center. They work out of various departments whose calls we handle.
Brush Collection is an on demand service and since we have been doing it that way for the past three years, we have saved on gas and picked up more brush than we ever did when they were just driving up and down every street in Chattanooga every month.
Each driver goes out every day in a specific area with at least 40 orders for pick up. It has proven to be a very successful operation and we get compliments all the time because we are usually there to get the brush within two to three working days, if not the next day after it has been called in to our office.
311 is the gathering point for all non emergency city service issues. We take the requests and forward all the pertinent information to the appropriate department. Our Customer Service Request System keeps a record of each request we enter for each department and it is automatically sent to them as a service request. That request is then routed to the personnel who will be handling the work and every step is recorded. We handle the calls for all city departments, City Court and Sewer Billing and any other questions that a citizen has in regards to service. We take calls from all over the area and even if we don’t handle the services for their area, we help them get to the department or service they need; city, county, state or even federal.
There are 12 of us in the 311 Call Center and our #1 job is customer service. We started taking calls in February of 2003 and our call volume has increased along with our staff for the past 12 years. We handle over 4,000 calls a month for anything you could possibly think of in this city. I have a very dedicated staff that has raised the bar for customer service in Chattanooga.
I am truly sorry that you do not feel that we are working in the best interest of the citizens of Chattanooga. It would be my pleasure to invite you to come visit our call center and observe what we do every day before you judge us as inefficient. I believe you would get a better understanding of the purpose of 311.
Please contact me at your convenience and set up a time to visit 311.
Liz Henley
311 Call Center Coordinator