RATEPAYERS are taking the Ipoh City Council to task over the ineffectiveness of its e-Aduan and complaints hotline on WhatsApp, saying that there is no point in creating such channels of communication if the council does not look into the complaints.
Lecturer Mark Chow said he and his wife have over the past six months lodged three complaints via e-Aduan about two stray dogs, which the say are posing a danger to those living along Lapangan Kinara 3 in Panorama Lapangan Kinara.
The answers or updates given by the council, Chow revealed, were not only copied and pasted but were also misleading.
“First they answered that they had forwarded our complaints to the Veterinary Services Department as the council is apparently no longer allowed to tranquillise stray dogs. A check with the department showed that the council had not forwarded any of our complaints to them.
“Then in a later update, the council claimed that two dogs had been captured. As far as I can see, the two strays, which have been terrorising my children and visitors, are still outside my house,” he said.
According to Chow, another complaint that he lodged via the council’s e-Aduan system on its website regarding the indiscriminate dumping of construction waste behind his house on July 7 and subsequently on Aug 18 has not been resolved to this day.
“The e-Aduan feature on the council’s portal is clearly for show only,” he added.
A businessman, who only wanted to be known as Puru, concurred that it takes forever for the council to look into complaints lodged by ratepayers via e-Aduan.
“They’re very slow to take action. You need to follow up personally with the relevant departments within the council after lodging a complaint but more often than not, you’ll be given the run around.
“First of, the telephone operator is unsure what comes under which department.
“When you finally reach the right department, you’ll be told to leave a message or to call back because the officers are not at their desks.
“Even if you manage to get them, all they do is promise they will go to check the issue, which of course does not happen, although there are one or two good ones,” he said, adding that as civil servants, the officers should give out their phone numbers to ratepayers for ease of communication.
In a similar vein, he said officers who work on the ground should be provided with official contact numbers.
Puru also suggested that council officers call complainants for verification and further details about their grouses.
“They should be calling us instead of us calling them.
“Worst of all, I’ve been scolded by one of their staff via messaging for always complaining. The person’s excuse for not responding is that there are a lot of complaints but not enough manpower.
“Well, that’s in internal issue and has nothing to do with the public. Ratepayers pay the council to get the job done.
“They complain not for fun, but because the job is not done,” he said.
Puru said ratepayers would be better off if they voiced their grievances at the complaints counter at the council building itself, adding that the personnel stationed there are courteous and helpful.
“I’m sure the mayor and council will say in their own defence that they are receiving fewer complaints now compared to with the past.
“The truth is, people have given up on complaining. It’s not because there are less complaints.
“They’re fed up and don’t see a point in doing so anymore because nothing gets done,” he claimed.
Puru went on to suggest that the council privatise the functions of some of its departments.
“Those dealing with drainage and roadworks clearly have no idea what they are doing. Thousands, even millions of ringgit are being spent on drains that don’t flow and our roads are terrible.
“The Health Department is also not doing its job with so many dirty and unhygienic food stalls still operating without action being taken against them,” he added.
Ipoh City Watch President Dr Richard Ng also has his share of bad experiences with the council’s WhatsApp hotline.
“I was made aware it is the council’s Information Technology Department that manages the hotline as well as the e-Aduan service, which should not be the case.
“All complaints, whether through email, mobile phone or WhatsApp, should be handled by the complaints counter and not IT people. They need to centralise all feedback to the front desk,” said Ng, who sang praises of the staff at the front counter.
Noting that only courteous staff should be placed in charge of handling complaints and feedback, Ng said the council’s IT staff, whom he had come across, were most unfriendly.
“Today, I received a standard reply to a complaint I lodged via the hotline. Again, it was a standard reply asking for full address and complete details of my complaint. Eventually, I was redirected to another phone line.
“So, what’s the point of having a hotline then?
“The person I encountered was downright curt and appeared to have not bothered to even read my messages.
“I’ve already provided photographs and the location of my complaint, which I feel is sufficient information for the council to act upon. They can’t possibly expect me to give them a full address,” he said.
Ng added that it was time that the mayor and the council’s top management were made aware of the problem.
“The mayor and the council must take corrective measures and improve if they want to keep the Ipoh City Council’s position as best local council in the country.
“A key performance index, in terms of number of complaints received, number of cases where action has been taken, and number of unresolved cases, has to be set for staff handling complaints.
“There should also be more options for the public to channel their complaints and feedback. Right now, ratepayers are not allowed to lodge complaints through email.
“In fact, the council should reward those providing feedback, especially non-governmental organisations and concerned members of the public,” Ng suggested.
When interviewed at a press conference on Aug 25, Ipoh Datuk Bandar Datuk Zamri Man said there were some “technical issues” with its online and hotline system.
“We are aware of the complaints from the public about the systems. We are in the midst of resolving them,” he said.
“We will also ensure that all the complaints made through our systems will be looked into and acted on,” he added.
Zamri said the city council received an average of between 1,000 and 1,300 complaints per month.
“And as of August, we have now received about 13,000 complaints through our online and hotline systems.
“We have also resolved about 85% of the complaints,” he said, adding that among the complaints included issues pertaining to illegal dumpsites, clogged drains and stray dogs.
“Issues that we can resolve immediately have been attended to. There are still some issues that require more time,” he added.
http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2017/09/02/hello-is-anybody-there-complaints-about-complaints-hotline-and-online-system-emerge/
No comments:
Post a Comment