What’s the 411 on the One One?
What ev
ery nationwide call center representative needs to know about the telephone area code numbers that end in 11.
Everyone (except for those individuals that call 311 to report a car accident or an assault) knows that 911 is an emergency service line. Did you also know…?
211 is a health service line.
311 is a municipal service line in Anaheim, Baltimore, Buffalo, Berkeley, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Danbury, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Newark, and of course, New York City, and the 311s keep growing nationwide.
411 is what you call for telephone directory assistance and address information.
511 is the number used by transportation, and as a traffic & weather information line, in New York City, you get the MTA when you call 511.
611 is used to report a problem with wireless telephone service or pay phone.
711 is a Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) line. It is used by persons with disabilities. Voice and TRS users can make a call from any telephone in the United States, without having to remember and dial a seven or ten-digit access number.
811 is reserved for special applications. It has been mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the national “call before you dig” number, which is used to request an underground location search before any excavation activity.
911 . . . we all know it’s an emergency service line.
Here’s a fun fact: Just a month after AT&T’s announcement in 1964 of 911, the first-ever 911 call was placed in Haleyville, Alabama by speaker of the House Rankin Fite to U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill at the city’s police station.
-James
The Fabulous Short Life of a Christmas Tree
The holidays are here – it’s time for tinsel, togetherness and of course – trees! On December 26th, the clock starts ticking on the lifetime of your Christmas tree, and by January 2, it’s time is up. So what do you do with your holiday tree once the New Year starts?
As in the past, the NYC Department of Sanitation will be conducting special collections for mulching and recycling of Christmas trees from Tuesday January 3rd through Saturday January 14th, 2012; and New York City residents are encouraged to put their discarded trees curbside as early as possible during the collection period. Sanitation asks residents to remove all tree stands, tinsel, lights, and ornaments from trees before placing them out for collection, and to not place trees in plastic bags. The trees collected by DSNY will be chipped into mulch that will be used to nourish trees and plants on streets and gardens citywide.
If you want, you can also dispose of your tree by joining the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation for MulchFest to recycle your Christmas trees into wood chips. Or you can take home your very own bag of mulch to use in your backyard, or to make a winter bed for a street tree. Rec
ycling trees we can’t plant helps the City’s MillionTreesNYC, an initiative to plant and care for one million trees by 2017. Mulch will keep the City’s newly planted trees, parks and green spaces healthy and beautiful.
Last year, close to 17,000 Christmas trees citywide were recycled. This year, MulchFest will take place on January 7 and 8, 2012. Parks will host over 35 chipping sites and 35 additional drop-off locations: over 70 sites in all! Biodegradable bags will be provided if you wish to take some free mulch home. Unless noted, all sites will be operating January 7 and 8 from 10 a.m.to 2 p.m. And this year, you can bring your tree to a drop-off site from January 2 through January 8.
Please remember to remove all lights and ornaments before bringing the tree to a MulchFest site or placing curbside for special collection, and remember, no artificial trees allowed! For more information and a complete list of recycling sites and times, please visit the MulchFest page. To learn more about disposing of Christmas Tree recycling, or MulchFest visit 311 Online.
-Addae
Here’s to Your Health!
Although sharing is caring, one thing you don’t want to accept or be accused of giving is the flu.
Do you have an achy body, a dry cough, a temperature over 100°F, or what seems like a cold? If these symptoms are persistent, you probably have Influenza or what’s commonly known as the flu, and you’re not alone. Influenza is a contagious lung infection that causes fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches. Every year, more than 1,000 New Yorkers die from flu-related complications. Even more are hospitalized or suffer through the misery that the flu can bring. This year the flu season has gotten off to an early start, and getting vaccinated is the most important thing you can do to protect yourself and your family from getting it and spreading it to others. The City’s Health Department recommends that every New Yorker 6 months and older get vaccinated. Those who are pregnant, younger than 5 years old, age 50 and older, have certain long-term health conditions such as diabetes, lung heart and kidney disease, sickle cell anemia, have a weakened immune system (such as from HIV or cancer treatment) and the morbidly obese are more likely than others to have serious complications from the flu.
Take advantage of the City’s flu clinics and pharmacies all over the city that offer the vaccination either by a shot or a nasal spray. If you’re over 18 you can go to your local pharmacy for a flu vaccine (flu shot costs range from $25 to $35 at most pharmacies for walk-in customers). Besides safeguarding people from days or weeks of sickness, the vaccine can prevent unnecessary absences from school or work, doctor visits and hospitalizations. Health Department’s immunization clinics are also offering the vaccine. Anyone can find one of the City’s nearby vaccine outlet by going to NYC Influenza Information website and using the interactive vaccine locator.
If you think you have the flu, help prevent transmitting to others by taking these steps:
- Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Use a tissue or the inside of your elbow, not your hand to cover your face.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, and use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
If you get sick and have a fever, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever ends and avoid close contact with other people.
For more information about the flu vaccine shot or spray, visit 311online.
-Denise
Is it a Pothole?
What looks like a pothole, acts like a pothole, but isn’t a pothole? The answer: A variety of defects caused by different factors – defects that require different fixes, implemented by different City agencies.
A Pothole
A Cave-In
When a defect is lying inside a repaired patch of the street, it’s usually due to damage to the street from utility work and is not a pothole. Missing, damaged, raised or sunken street hardware is also the cause of dismay for many drivers. You can report these problems by calling 311 or going online.
In an effort to improve service for street defects, 311 has tried to expedite these requests by enabling drivers and residents to report a pothole, cave-in, failed street repair, or a street that needs re-surfacing online.
-Ellis
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Everyone’s seen it before. It always brings a grin to your face. The commercial where Dad cheerfully parades up and down the aisles, looking for the school supplies, while his kids unenthusiastically follow in the utter disbelief that summer is over and the new school year is here. Dad, so overwhelmed with happiness that he cannot contain himself – The house is free again.
As we bid a fond farewell to the sweltering hot days of summer, we have approached that time of the year when parents wait on endless lines to get those required school supplies, just in time for Johnny’s first day back. The new school year is here, for 1.1 million New York City students who will fill nearly 1,700 public schools on the official first day of school –Thursday, September 8th.
As we brace for another year of school fairs, regents exams, and snow days, the 311 Team is hard at work making sure you have the answers to your questions.
When is the first day of school?
We are new to the city, where do we go to register our kids?
Before the opening of school, we try our best to help you get your back to school questions answered. With the help of our Interactive Voice Response or IVR, we are able to message enrollment information for parents. This includes the first day of school, registration center locations throughout the city, school transportation assistance, and special education. During the first week of school in 2010 and when wait times are at a season high, 68% of all customers who selected the IVR prompt were successfully self-served and did not have to wait to speak to a Call Center Representative. Our Back to School season starts in mid August, and the busiest days are the first day of school and the day before. Seems like everyone’s in a scramble – Johnny’s either not registered for school or his parents don’t remember where his school is located. But rest assured, if they land at 311—or even better, 311 Online—we’ll get them started in the right direction.
- Stacey
311 Texting: Getting to Know Our Teenage Customers
Since launching 311NYC texting on May 4th, we’ve been reviewing the questions people have texted us. We’re working to figure out the best way to serve our customers in this new format. To do that, it helps to get a sense of who our text customers are. Are they the same people who call 311? The same people who use 311 Online? A whole new audience? We don’t have all the answers yet, but we’re noticing an interesting trend. While the 311 Call Center is busiest Monday mornings 311NYC texting is busiest right around 3:00 PM, when school is getting out. And we’re getting a lot of questions like these:
Is there school today?
Is there school tomorrow?
When does school end?
What is the minimum of school days a student must attend?
When is the trigonometry regent? It’s important, please find out.
Why is this state the only state that takes regents?
Chang goes to find a single magpie feather. Where does the comma go in this sentence?
Compare the high temperatures from this graph with those from the table for the previous week. Which week was warmer? Give reasons to support your answer.
What businesses in New York City offer summer jobs for teens?
I am a fifteen year old boy interested in starting a non-alcoholic drink stand in Manhattan. What kind of permit do I need?
How can I get student working papers during the summer?
How old do you have to be to have your permit?
How much does it cost for your learners permit?
Can a 17 year old with a permit drive with a licensed driver over 21 in the city?
How do I get a guy to notice me in a good way?
Why do all the girls love Justin Bieber?
Text us at 311692. We can’t help you get a date but we can help you get your learner’s permit.
-Catherine
“Hello and Thank You for Calling 311…”
Not every call to 311 ends up with a customer representative. During the last big snow storm on January 27, the 311 Call Center received an all time high call volume of 276,827 in a single day! To put this in perspective, it would have taken 384 days for one customer representative to serve all those customers at our average call length of about 2 minutes.
Thankfully, 81% of those storm calls were resolved by listening to 311’s specially prepared recorded messages for that day. At the peak of our call volume, 5 AM to 10 AM, where we received 50% of all calls made that day, customers wanted to know if they had to move their car for street cleaning, if parking meters had to be paid, if NYC public schools were closed, if regent exams were cancelled, if they had to report for jury duty, and if garbage was going to be collected. By noon, the message was updated to say that public schools would re-open the following day. Kind of silly to have customers wait to hear “school will be open tomorrow” from a representative, don’t you think?
I use this extreme example to illustrate a simple point – customers want, and 311 provides – timely and event specific information up front, so they can have a quick check-in with us before planning their day. So the next time you call and hear a recorded message, know that it is up because it is the topic du jour for most New Yorkers.
And for you income tax filing procrastinators – in case you need to know which post office will be open until midnight on April 18 – give us a call.
-Bill
Get Happy with Apartment: 311′s Online Adventures
We recently launched our 311 Service Request map, which marks a big step for us. It’s the first time we’ve released 311 Service Request data at the individual level, and on a map to boot! We’re eager to hear feedback, so let us know what you think.
The 311 Service Request map is just one of a host of online tools and features we’ve launched in the past four years. Our first foray into the online world was in 2007, when we launched a tool that allows customers to look up their Service Requests online. In 2009 we launched 311 Online and shortly thereafter the ability to submit Service Requests online. We’ve also built a few little tools within 311 Online, our most recent being the Taxi Garage look up, which allows customers (and our 311 call center reps) to look up a Taxi garage by medallion number (why is that important? See below, How to Avoid a Hack of A Headache). And we hope you noticed our re-designed homepage, and particularly the “big three” at the top of the page (ASP, school and garbage and recycling collection status). Note that we provide the ability to scroll forward to future dates, so you can plan your parking accordingly.
Like many “bricks and mortar” operations, we draw heavily from our operational experience with the call center to develop our online capacities. As you can see, we prominently feature topics that get high call volumes at the call center. Should we try to think of online customers as different animals? Are they different customers or the same customers behaving differently?
These are big questions, and not ones I know the answers to. What I do know is that I looked at some unsuccessful searches submitted in 311 Online, and thought these were worth sharing:
BEAURE OF SECRATERY SCHOOLS
WHAT IS THE LEGAL TIME TO HAVE A PARTY
REPORT NAKED MAN
HOW MANY SNOW WILL IT SNOW TOMORROW?
WHERE THEY BUY IRON
CHICKENS PERMITTED HAVE IN STATEN ISLAND
WHAT WILL OCCUR ON FEBRUARY 2 , 2011
24 HOUR TOY STORE
BROKEN FOOT IS THERE SERVICE TO DRIVE ME TO SCHOOL?
GET HAPPY WITH APARTMENT
IS IT ILLEGAL TO LEAVE AN ADULT SITTING IN A PARKED CAR?
When you’re through pondering the above, let us know how we’re doing with our online efforts, and what you’d like to see next!
- Chenda
The 311 Blizzard
Calling 311 has become pretty much intuitive, thanks to wide-ranging and frequent media coverage. The blizzard of December is a testament to that – over a four day period our call center received a staggering 678,883 calls. The widespread concern voiced by the public has to do with alternate side parking (ASP) rules, parking meter rules, and sanitation collections. Because the weather changes frequently, so do the answers. But it’s ok, we like the attention. Our department, Content and Agency Relations, has been particularly busy this winter season.
The agency analysts for the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) are constantly in contact with the liaisons of their respective agencies. In the event of a weather emergency, we know what kind of information the public will want, and a certain chain of events takes place in expectation of this. For example, if you called us in the morning, we might have ASP information for just that day. But, if a snow alert has just been issued by the Department of Sanitation, more often than not, trash and recycling collections may be put on hold while sanitation trucks are fitted with plows and salt spreaders are sent out, and DOT will extend ASP and parking meter suspensions to include the next day in anticipation of heavy snow. As soon as that happens, we update our system to include this information. It really takes a matter of minutes; from the time it is officially announced to when we have it, ready for our customers.
If you follow our ASP Twitter account NYCASP, you’ll notice that we typically send out two tweets a day – at 7:30 AM and 4:00 PM. With the help of CoTweet, we normally schedule our tweets for the whole month, without the unexpected changes. In which case, we (or our friends at DOT) make the necessary edits on our scheduled tweets and out they go!
Have you checked out our 311 homepage recently? We have a new field that includes ASP, parking meter, and garbage collection status (there seems to be a common ring to all the things that fall under the “current status” umbrella, no?). The content on 311 Online is managed by our Web Content team, and the updates are done in conjunction with all the other updates going on in our department.
All in all, it calls for an exciting day of fast-paced information exchanges, constant updates, and the occasional coffee break.
-Umbreen
(Not) Too Much Information
It is a universally acknowledged concept that New York City is one of the most interesting places in the world, but it’s probably even more interesting than you think. If you are an admirer of the arcane, a fan of fascinating facts, or simply interested in the quirky side of the law, you will most likely enjoy perusing through 311 Online. It goes without saying that it is a useful tool for accessing City information and services, but it can also provide a fascinating snapshot of City rules and services. Here is a brief list of random fun facts I found on the site:
- Amongst others mammalian giants, it is illegal to keep a hippopotamus, dingo, or elephant. I’ve never seen a dingo, and I can only wish my apartment could comfortably house an elephant, or that I had a backyard with a lake in which a hippo could unwind after a long day.
- 311 can help you get licensed to inspect hay, straw, rice, or grain. There’s still some farmland left in Staten Island, I hear.
- The Fire Department has a mascot and his name is Hot Dog. He, and his official vehicle, are Dalmatians.
- The City’s toilets are smarter than my toilet at home. There are four City installed automatic public toilets throughout the City that can clean and dry themselves, and count (to 90 seconds. That’s how long 25 cents will get you in one of those).
This information comes mainly from customer inquiries, so as long as you want to know, we’ll try to get you the answers. Keep checking and don’t feel bad about not getting to keep a pet rhino. They’d probably be happier somewhere a little more sub-Saharan anyway.
-Tricia
