News Room

News Release

	Contact:
July 20, 2005	Mark S. Cox, APR Director of Public Communications 382-6241 (WK)
	-- or --
For immediate release	Lizz Gunnufsen Public Communications Coordinator 382-6241 (WK)

The City Launches Customer Contact Center

CHESAPEAKE, VA - The City of Chesapeake has launched a new Customer Contact Center to provide citizens a single point of contact for information and services. Citizens can call 382-CITY (2489) from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Service requests can also be placed online at the City's web site, CityofChesapeake.net. The Customer Contact Center is part of "The City That Cares" campaign.

The Customer Contact Center allows the City to better manage service delivery by providing a central repository for citizens' requests. Previously, departments managed their own requests for service. Staff in the Customer Contact Center will answer questions, route requests to the responsible department, and follow up to ensure that the work is completed and the citizen is notified. The Center will also provide updates on the progress of service requests.

"Improving access to government is an important goal for City staff," said Dr. Clarence V. Cuffee, City Manager. "'The City That Cares' is more than just a slogan. It's something we put to work every day.

Our citizens don't always know how the City government is organized, and as a result, don't always know who to call when service is needed. A single point of contact for City services and information will simplify the process greatly for our citizens."

Staff in each City department can also use the system to answer questions and place requests for citizens, even if the request is handled by another department. This will minimize the number of call transfers.

Chesapeake's Customer Contact Center system was developed by Motorola, Inc. Other cities currently using this system include Baltimore, MD; Birmingham, AL, Chicago, IL; Dallas, Austin and Houston, TX; Destin, FL.; Akron, OH; Chattanooga, TN; Winston-Salem, NC; Minneapolis, MN; Miami and Miami-Dade County, FL; City of Windsor, Canada; and Rochester, NY.