Last Chance To See 600 sq mi: Hidden
Missed Connections: Gefilte Fish...and "Chain Connections"
H-Town Rock
Rock Talk, Vol. IX
Mayor White recently approved the hiring of five new call-takers for the city's 311 help line. The Houston Service Center's help line has seen an increase in calls lately, and the wait time was up to an average of two minutes. The new call-takers should bring that number down to about 30 seconds, according to director Gloria Bingham. We know we were getting tired of waiting so long just to report out-of-order stoplights.
The city launched the 311 help line in 2001, and the number of calls it handles has increased steadily ever since. 311 went online in mid-2005 in another attempt to increase efficiency. Operators are trained to do everything from answering questions about the city and it services to processing service requests for pothole repair. The goal of the help line is to increase responsiveness from the city government and to create a single access point for citizens, business, and tourists to have their various questions and concerns dealt with. Over its five years in existence, 311 has been a huge success, answering roughly 2.5 million calls per year.
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The biggest problem I have with 311 is all the stupid info they take down at the end. I've only called to say "a man hole cover has blown off at the corner of x and y" and I end up having to give them all sorts of personal information. I don't care about the info -- they probably know more about me than I do, but it just take so darn long, and by definition, I'm usually driving.