The Global Association for Contact Center Best Practices & Networking

July 29, 2010 -- WARRINGAH Council is spending thousands of ratepayer dollars to have a Victorian call centre handle residents’ applications for beach parking stickers. Quantum Multimedia, which council already uses for its out-of-hours calls, has taken over the 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week registration service.

This was deemed necessary after the council put an end to the process that saw the beach parking permits automatically sent out to ratepayers with their rates notices. Now residents must apply and submit their car’s registration details in the process. The council has claimed this change will ensure Warringah ratepayers are not subsidising free parking at our beaches for people who live outside the area.

But the decision to strip residents of one sticker has been met with anger by ratepayers, who have flooded The Manly Daily with phone calls, letters and online comments. When pressed yesterday, the council could not provide an exact figure on what it would cost to use Quantum Multimedia.

General manager Rik Hart said: "Warringah Council already has an arrangement with the call centre to take after-hours calls. The beach parking permit scheme falls under this agreement.

"It is difficult to provide an accurate number because it will depend on the number of calls to the call centre relating to the beach parking permit scheme." What Mr Hart did reveal was how much it was going to cost the council to mail out out the stickers to residents. "Council pays a reduced postage rate at Australia Post," he said.

``It estimates it will cost around $15,000 to mail out the beach parking permits to ratepayers,’’ he said. ``It is important to note that the council has made cost savings under the new scheme as we will no longer print 140,000 parking permits for 2000 spaces. ``Overall Warringah Council expects to receive a net increase in revenue of $200,000 under the new beach parking scheme.’‘

Warringah councillor Vincent De Luca, who voted against changes to the scheme, said councillors were left in the dark about the call centre. ``Nowhere were councillors ever informed that this preposterous proposal would cost us money via a call centre,’’ he said.

``Council management’s handling of the whole matter has been appalling and the removal of the sticker should be overturned immediately.’‘ Cr De Luca said forcing residents to apply was an ``appalling impost’’ on residents. ``This is particularly so for the elderly, the disabled or those who work.’’

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, Asia Pacific correspondent

Source: http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au

About Link:Q:
Link:Q has over 40 years experience in outsourced contact centre services, directory assistance, call answering and messaging in Australia. With a strong customer base comprising in excess of 5,000 corporate, government and SME clients, Link:Q processes more than 1.7 million calls a month, in addition to millions of messages via e-mail, SMS and pagers.