Audit Report on the Effectiveness of the Department of Environmental Protection’s Help Center Hotline

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 1968, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) established a 24-hour Help Center Hotline to enable the public and other government agencies to submit complaints and requests for service regarding environmental matters.

To provide adequate service to persons who call City agencies, the Mayor’s Office of Operations established the following Citywide Phone Standards for Customer Service (Citywide Standards):

• All calls to City agencies made by the public to request services or obtain information must be answered within three rings.
• Each agency must use a standard telephone greeting when answering calls from the public. At a minimum, the greeting should state the name of the agency, the person answering, and the service provided or the division.
• If an automated system is used to answer telephone calls, agencies should attempt to meet the Citywide standard, which requires callers not be kept "on hold" for more than two minutes.
• Callers must have an opportunity to speak to a supervisor if they are not satisfied with a response from the person answering the telephone.
• Agencies must respond to all caller inquiries within 10 working days with an acknowledgment, a status report, or a resolution notification regarding the issue.

According to the DEP Annual Call and Queue Statistic reports, during calendar year 2001 the Help Center received 289,754 phone calls, of which 274,365 (95%) were answered. Of those answered, 230,840 (84%) were picked up within three rings.

The objectives of this audit were to:

1. Determine whether the DEP Help Center is in compliance with the Citywide Standards for Customer Service.
2. Determine whether the DEP Help Center is forwarding useful and accurate information to the DEP field divisions so that they can quickly and efficiently resolve customer complaints.

The scope of our audit was Fiscal Years 2001 and 2002. To obtain an understanding of the DEP Help Center’s operations, we interviewed the Director and Deputy Director of the Help Center. We also reviewed the Help Center’s policies and procedures and the Citywide Standards for Customer Service. In addition, we reviewed the Weekly 24-Hour Help Center Call Statistics reports, the daily reports compiled by the shift supervisors, incident reports, and Service Request Inspection Detail Reports (inspection detail reports).

To determine whether the DEP Help Center complies with the Citywide Standards, we made 50 random telephone calls to the DEP Help Center Hotline. We noted the number of rings before each call was answered. If an agent answered the telephone, we determined whether the agent used an appropriate greeting, as specified in the Citywide Standards. If the telephone was answered by the automated answering system, we measured the number of minutes we were placed on hold.

We also verified compliance with the Citywide Standards by observing Help Center Customer Service Agents as they answered customer telephone calls. On March 21, 2002, we observed 11 Customer Service Agents at work. We sat with each agent for an average of three calls each and observed a total of 38 calls. We noted: the number of rings before each call was answered; the agent’s greeting; whether agents referred callers to a supervisor; and whether callers to the Help Center were issued a service number so that they could call the Help Center back to obtain updates on the status of DEP’s response to their complaints.

We reviewed a randomly selected sample of 104 inspection detail reports for the 10,356 telephone calls received by the Help Center during November 2001. We determined whether the Help Center provides accurate and useful information to the field divisions and whether the appropriate field divisions responded to customer inquiries within 10 working days. In addition, we interviewed a randomly chosen sample of 12 of the 27 supervisors of DEP field divisions to which complaints or requests were referred to determine whether the divisions received accurate and useful information from the Help Center.

This audit was conducted in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS) and included tests of the records and other auditing procedures considered necessary. This audit was performed in accordance with the City Comptroller’s audit responsibilities as set forth in Chapter 5, § 93, of the New York City Charter.

The DEP Help Center generally complies with the Citywide Phone Standards for Customer Service set by the Mayor’s Office of Operations. For the majority of telephone calls we observed being answered, or that we made:

• Telephone calls were answered within three rings.
• Telephone calls were answered with a standard greeting.
• Telephone calls that were answered by the automated answering system were not put on hold for longer than two minutes.
• Telephone inquiries were investigated and resolved within 10 working days.
• The Help Center provided useful and accurate information to callers and DEP field divisions.

Furthermore, the agents were courteous and friendly, and handled calls in a professional and efficient manner. However, there was not 100 percent compliance with the Citywide Phone Standards for Customer Service in some cases.

Agents generally answer calls within three rings, as required by the Citywide Standards

For 50 of the calls we tested, 44 (88%) were answered within three rings; and 48 (96%) of the calls were answered within four rings. Thus, DEP is close to meeting the standard. The Help Center itself monitors adherence to the standard by reviewing statistical reports and by observing agents’ performance.

During our observations of Customer Service Agents answering 38 telephone calls, one agent did not identify herself for all three of the telephone calls that she answered while we watched her. However, the agent processed the calls quickly and appeared knowledgeable about where to refer the complaints. Out of the 50 telephone calls we made to the Help Center, agents did not identify themselves when answering eight (16%) of the calls.

Since observing Customer Service Agents’ performance may not detect instances in which telephone calls are not answered with the standard greeting, DEP should periodically test for adherence to this standard by making telephone calls to the Help Center.

For four (36%) of our 11 telephone calls that were answered by the automated answering system, we were placed on hold in excess of the two-minute maximum hold time recommended by the Citywide Standards. The total time spent on hold for these four telephone calls ranged from three minutes and 20 seconds to 13 minutes.

DEP statistical reports do not track caller hold time. DEP should include this performance indicator in its statistical reports or periodically test the automated answering system by making telephone calls to the Help Center to determine if the hold time is more than two minutes.

Customer Service agents generally provide useful and accurate information for the efficient resolution of reported complaints and requests.

Of the 12 field division supervisors we interviewed, 11 were satisfied with information received from the Help Center. However, one of the supervisors was not completely satisfied with information provided by the Help Center. He stated that he had encountered several problems in information provided by the Help Center agents, such as incorrect codes and missing telephone numbers.DEPdoes not currently survey division supervisors to determine whether they are satisfied with the information provided to them by the Help Center.

The Help Center’s responsibility for complaints or requests ends once a call is transferred to a field division. Field divisions are responsible for investigating and resolving problems. However, individuals can call the Help Center to learn the status of their complaint or request.

Although Help Center agents do not call customers to inform them of status or resolution, they do issue service numbers to callers so that they can call back to obtain status updates. Our review of a sample of 104 inspection detail reports found that service numbers were issued for all caller inquiries. In addition, 98 (94%) of the 104 inquiries were investigated and resolved within 10 working days. The remaining six complaints were not investigated within 10 working days.

When we made our telephone calls to the Help Center, there was no instance in which we needed to speak to a supervisor. During our observations of Customer Service Agents, we noted no instances when agents referred callers to a supervisor, although it is possible that callers may not have asked to speak with a supervisor. We did observe several instances when an agent put a caller on hold to ask a supervisor a question regarding the call.

Given the volume of calls it receives, DEP’s Help Center Hotline is doing a good job in answering complaints and requests. However, for the areas in which 100 percent compliance was not achieved, DEP needs to periodically test performance to make sure it does not deteriorate.

This audit makes six recommendations to DEP officials, the most significant of which are:

1. DEP should periodically test whether telephone calls are answered with the standard greeting by making telephone calls to the Help Center.
2. DEP should either track the amount of time callers are kept on hold, or periodically test the automated answering system by making telephone calls to the Help Center to determine whether the hold time is more than two minutes.

3. DEP should periodically survey all division supervisors to determine whether they are satisfied with the information provided to them by the Help Center.

The matters covered in this report were discussed with DEP officials during and at the conclusion of this audit. A preliminary draft report was sent to DEP officials and discussed at an exit conference held on May 2, 2002. On May 8, 2002, we submitted a draft report to DEP officials with a request for comments. We received a written response from DEP officials on May 22, 2002. DEP officials generally agreed with the audit’s findings and recommendations.