Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the 311 Customer Service topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tulsa 311 and utilities customer-care update: calls fall as self-service and chat plans expand
Summary
City staff reported a sizable drop in call volume from 2022 levels, explained the causes, and described steps — including online forms, an imminent chat launch and a knowledge‑base tool — intended to reduce call demand and improve case tracking.
City customer-care managers told the board that telephone demand has declined significantly from peak 2022 levels and outlined ongoing work to expand online self-service, add a chat feature in 2025 and improve staff knowledge and case tracking.
Monica Hamel presented the 3‑1‑1 and utilities customer-care report. She said the large reduction from 2022 call volumes reflected the aftermath of a ransomware event and a failing phone system in 2022 that produced repeated, long calls and retries. "It's more like normal," Hamel said of the more recent volumes.
Hamel, joined by Leticia Davidson (311 manager) and Vicky Williams (utilities manager), described several steps intended to shift routine requests away from telephone lines: online forms launched in December to start, stop or transfer utility service; added email options; and a planned chat launch in 2025. They said the city is also building more self-service options for frequently requested items such as bulky-waste pickup and cart replacement.
The presenters highlighted a persistent operational issue: when users attempt to report missed refuse pickups, a substantial share of submissions do not complete. On one report, they showed about 1,200 attempts and 539 completed requests and said staff will study reasons for partial completion to reduce the burden on call centers.
Hamel said abandoned-call rates have improved substantially from 2022. "I think we're about 56% on the abandoned rate" in 2022, she said; more recent figures are now in the single digits. The managers also explained that when residents submit a request through the Tulsa311 app or site they can track a case and receive automatic closeout emails; email-only reports currently generate a confirmation but may require callers to follow up by phone to get status updates.
The group said the city plans to deploy ProcedureFlow, a process and knowledge-management tool, to centralize guidance for agents and shorten training and ramp-up time. Hamel said the current training timeline is long — "it takes 6–8 weeks right now to train" and up to a year to see full exposure to scenarios — and the tool could cut that time.
Managers said they are charting email, chat and phone contacts together going forward to understand the traffic mix and that limited weekend monitoring has been discussed as a staffing tradeoff.
Ending: The city will continue to expand self-service channels, test chat and knowledge-base tools in 2025, and monitor case-completion rates for specific service requests.
