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More info on tap

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- “Thank you for calling Newport Beach service info

line, a service brought to you by the city of Newport Beach. Info line

provides easy access to prerecorded messages about city programs and

services, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

That’s a phone message the city’s residents will soon be able to hear

when they call in to Newport Beach’s automated information line.

At the moment, city officials are still figuring out what kind of

messages should go on the system and all departments are collecting

answers to questions that are asked most frequently.

It will take about two months until the system is up and running, said

Dan Auger, the city’s telecommunications and network coordinator.

An interactive phone system, which enables residents to make

appointments for building checks and other city services without actually

talking to a real person, will probably lag behind by another two months,

he said.

The $105,595 system, approved by City Council members in February, is

designed to improve Newport Beach’s customer service, said Gail McElroy,

the city’s spokeswoman.

“This is a way to ‘staff’ City Hall to answer questions at all hours

of the day on hundreds of topics,” she said. “The most frequently asked

questions, from barking dogs to getting weather information to obtaining

a permit, can be answered quickly, concisely and consistently.”

And because the system, which comes from Virginia-based Tele-Works

Inc., never sleeps, residents won’t have to check their watches to ensure

they’re calling during business hours. Other California cities that

already use the system include Huntington Beach, Fullerton, Diamond Bar

and San Diego.

In San Clemente, where city officials launched a similar information

line in May, the bulk of calls to the new phone system are made “mainly

on weekends, when we’re not here,” said Laura Reinsimar, who administers

San Clemente’s information line. She added that about 2,000 people had

called the new number so far.

Residents in that city can now listen to about 250 messages with

information on everything ranging from adopting animals to water-quality

complaints. Many messages also allow residents to request faxes with

additional information.

Tele-Works employees recorded most of the messages after city

officials sent the desired messages to the company. A small number of

messages, which are changed frequently, are recorded by city officials

themselves, Reinsimar said.

With about 190 employees -- as opposed to almost 750 in Newport Beach

-- the system also helps San Clemente city officials to manage their

workload better.

“We all wear a lot of hats here,” said Reinsimar, who also works as

the city’s spokesman and assistant to the city manager.

But just as in Newport Beach, Reinsimar said the system’s main point

is to improve service. Besides, people can still talk to real folks if

they want.

“The system is not meant to replace live contact,” she said. “All the

regular [phone] numbers still exist.”

It’s not yet clear whether Newport Beach’s system will only allow

residents to listen to four messages before they have to hang up and call

again, as the one in San Clemente.

But in either case, the last thing they’ll hear will sound somewhat

like this: “Thank you for calling our system. Please call again.”

FYI

Anyone who wants to get a sneak preview of what Newport Beach’s

information line will sound like can call the San Clemente system at

(949) 361-3366.

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