by Jessica Del Curto
Daily Lobo
Mayor Martin Ch†vez said he pledged to bring Albuquerque into the technological world when he ran for mayor three-and-a-half years ago.
That was why he pushed for the implementation of 311, a call center open 24 hours a day for non-emergency questions people might have, he said.
People calling the Citizen Contact Center can find out about anything from animal care to recreation, said general manager Michael Padilla.
A live person answers all calls. No calls are directed to voice mail, Ch†vez said.
"Our goal is to answer all calls within seven seconds and we are far exceeding that," he said.
July 1 was the first day people could call 311. Padilla said within the first four days the center answered more than 5,800 calls.
Ch†vez said the center has cost taxpayers a little under $5 million for operation costs.
Eighty-two people are employed at the center who respond to calls, e-mails, and answer questions through a live chat online.
"We are projecting 1.3 million calls annually," he said. "That is what we are prepared to handle."
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If employees cannot answer caller's questions firsthand, they will be transferred to another number.
He said the number is free, and people are already dialing 311 rather than the information line 411, which costs money for every call.
Ch†vez said the phone number is a way for people to cut through the bureaucracy maze by dialing only one number.
Padilla agreed.
"There is nothing like trying to reach the government and not being able to," he said.
Employees at the center make anywhere from $11.15 to $15.93 an hour, and go through a two-week to three-week training period. Padilla said he doesn't expect any of his employees to know all the answers immediately.
"We figured it will take three to 229 years for them to become city historians if you can imagine," he said.
"It's a very unique call-center job," he said, because at other call centers, employees are asked similar questions 80 percent of the time.
But at the Citizen Contact Center, you never know what the next call will be, he said.
There have been some odd calls - Padilla has a top ten list.
"Is Diet Dr. Pepper really made of prunes?" and "Can I send my tax return to you to review it before I send it to the IRS?" are just a few questions the staff has been asked.
He said when people call and ask if aliens really did land in Roswell, they are transferred to the International Alien Space and Research Center in Roswell.
People frequently call in and ask when their marriage license expires.
"We tell them that marriage licenses do not expire - we don't transfer them anywhere," he said.
The all-encompassing number is not without glitches. Some cell phone services, like T-Mobile and Sprint cannot dial 311.
Padilla said that should change soon, and Alltel, Cricket and Verizon work fine.
Ch†vez said although the system needs some fine-tuning, people's questions are finally being answered.
"This is the most significant advancement in how we provide service in decades at City Hall," he said. "It's just a major step forward."
Ch†vez said he calls the center about every three days. He said he has used it to report graffiti or find out hours at the Kimo Theatre.
