The City of Cape Town proudly highlights its ongoing commitment to service excellence with a notable increase in the number of requests received from its residents.
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According to IOL, between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, a remarkable 1 377 748 service requests were recorded, covering an extensive range of services and issues.
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This translates to nearly 115,000 service requests each month, managed by a committed team that operates around the clock to route these inquiries to the appropriate City departments for resolution.
The City’s call centre is staffed by approximately 192 dedicated agents, including 55 specialists focused on account-related queries and general information calls.
These agents work eight-hour shifts from 7 am to 9 pm, ensuring continuous support and efficient handling of requests.
Up to 15 agents are dedicated to managing account-related queries and general inquiries via email, processing between 800 and 1,000 emails daily.
Supporting the City’s round-the-clock operations, another 72 agents work rotational shifts to handle service requests across various platforms, including water and electricity services.
These agents manage communications through calls, WhatsApp messages, emails, and SMS, ensuring comprehensive and responsive support.
On average, they handle approximately 2,000 WhatsApp messages, 450 SMSs, and 700 emails each day.
Mayco member for corporate services Theresa Uys said: ‘It is important for us to highlight the significant work that the City’s customer service staff are doing on a day-to-day basis. Looking at the volumes, I have to say it is near-miraculous.’
‘The teams are well trained, dedicated, and efficient, and do all they can to get the service requests channelled to the relevant City departments so that residents can be assisted, and challenges resolved.’
‘I want to commend the team for their excellence, and at the same time, encourage the Customer Relations Centre to keep on exploring ways of improving our service offering. Our residents surely appreciate the unit’s dedication and commitment.’
The top 20 service requests from residents for this period are as follows:
- Electricity related, such as power outages and defective street lights: 41%
- Water and Sanitation related, among which blocked sewers and water disruptions: 39%
- Solid Waste, including illegal dumping: 11%
- Roads and Stormwater, including blocked stormwater infrastructure and potholes: 3%
- Housing related: 3%
- Revenue: 2%.
Average turnaround times are as follows:
- Multimedia in the 24/7 Environment: The City aims to respond within two hours.
- Calls: The goal is to answer 80% of calls within three minutes and all calls within five minutes.
- Multimedia in Accounts and General: Responses are typically provided within seven working days.
When a complaint is logged, a service request is created with a reference number, and customers are notified via SMS or email.
Updates on the request’s status, including progress and completion, are also sent.
If a request is closed without resolution or sufficient explanation, customers can dispute it through the City’s website or app.
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Picture: City of Cape Town / X
