Philadelphia set a goal to be a national leader in customer service, and recognized that in order to achieve that goal, it would have to do a better job of engaging its citizens. Both Mayor Michael Nutter and Managing Director Camille Barnett, an ICMA member, envisioned a 311 system as an essential component to improving citizen engagement and customer service.

The city launched Philly311 in December 2008, which can be accessed by phone, e-mail, Web, or walk-in. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Customer service representatives are viewed as ambassadors of the city and have a major role in the relationship between the government and its citizens.

Despite its marketing budget being cut two months prior to the launch, Philly311 received 3,576 calls on its first day of operation, according to the new report Philly311: Engaging Citizens, Serving Customers. High-call volume continues with most calls for information (71%), for referrals to a particular department (14%), and service requests (12%). Citizens have been requesting service related to abandoned cars, street light outages, potholes, vacant properties, exterior maintenance, trash pick up, among other issues. Service requests receive a tracking number so that customers can track progress on the 311 Web site.

The city also used Philly311 during the budget decision process for FY2010. Like much of the United States, Philadelphia has been hit hard by the economic downturn. A $2 billion deficit is projected for the upcoming five-year period. Because tough cuts were needed, Mayor Nutter and other elected and appointed officials decided to seek feedback from citizens for direction on where to make cuts. Philadelphia used 311 as the main customer feedback number.

Using 311 and other forms of citizen engagement, the mayor was able to collect volumes of data and information from the public, which provided direction for the final budget decisions. Philadelphia’s officials knew that by involving the public in decisions about service delivery when confronting a major budget deficit, citizens were more likely to understand and support final decisions, even though making the decisions may be difficult. Making sure the needs and wants of citizens were clear was key to the city’s overall vision of providing excellent customer service.

To read the entire report, Philly311: Engaging Citizens, Serving Customers, click here to download a free copy. And if you are interested in establishing a customer service system in your community, plan to attend “Using 311/CRM Technology to Improve Local Government Customer Service” in conjunction with the ICMA Annual Conference in Montreal. To register, or contact Debbi Reid at 202/962-3599 or dreid@icma.org.