Turns out not everyone prefers a personal touch, at least over the phone.
A recent move to have all calls to the Mapleton administration centre answered live by an employee has been abandoned after staff reported many people, particularly frequent callers, found the process frustrating. However, a revamped automated answering system will give callers a chance to opt very quickly to speak to a live voice.
The township implemented a live-answer system in February, after Mayor Neil Driscoll made a pledge during the 2014 election campaign to switch from the automated answering system that had been in place for several years.
“I want a person answering the phone,” Driscoll said at an all candidates meeting in Alma on Oct. 9 last year.
“That answering service is going,” he stated in response to a question about candidates’ top priority for their first six months in office.
However, at the Aug. 23 council meeting, a staff report from public works director and acting CAO Brad McRoberts recommended adding a “back-door” phone numbering system to the current system.
The system would allow staff to provide a back door number and appropriate extension to allow frequent contacts to reach them directly.
“Staff has agreed that the majority of calls for the building department know the extension or person to whom they wish to speak, and/or are calling to book an inspection,” McRoberts stated in a report.
“Many builders and farmers indirectly express their irritation with having to go through a live person, explain their request, and then be subsequently transferred to the building department; their sighs, tone of voice, and impatience is evident to administrative staff.”
The report also notes “at least 50 per cent” of calls directed to public works are from engineering firms and contractors “that have no need to speak with reception and would rather dial directly into the correct extension. This is often apparent when multiple calls from the same person occur during one day, regarding time-sensitive issues or current infrastructure projects.”
Current live answering is “an additional time-consuming duty which affects other assigned duties, decreasing work productivity,” the report continues.
The back-door system would have allowed about half the calls to bypass the live operator, but most council members felt a revamped auto-answering system would be simpler.
“I’m wondering if instead of creating a back-door number, if we could just go back to an automated system that would go very quickly to “Welcome to Mapleton, to speak to a live person click here,’” suggested councillor Michael Martin.
“I think that’s the simplest way to go about it,” agreed councillor Marlene Ottens.
While noting there are obviously “a few people who dislike the system,” Ottens wondered, “was there any feedback from people who like that live operator?”
McRoberts replied that “several people said they like the live person answering the phone, but I think if you went to a quick (automated) system they would like that as well.”
Martin commented, “I think there’s a lot of value to having that personal touch on the phone … but if we’re going to have to end up hiring a person to answer the phone…”
“This was one of our initiatives,” Driscoll pointed out, adding, “we can go to a backdoor system where it’s going to cut the calls coming in down to about 15 calls a day that have to be handled.”
A resolution to switch to a back-door system was defeated. A resolution to go back to an automated system with “a brief and concise initial message directing the caller to a live person if they so wish” was approved, with just Driscoll opposed.
The new system was in place as of Aug. 27.
