Customer Experience statistics for 2022 reveals an increase in digital requests

The City of Ballarat Customer Experience team has responded to a significant increase in digital requests throughout 2022, statistics for the year have demonstrated. The statistics also demonstrated a decrease in calls compared to recent pandemic years, as well as a slight increase in face-to-face interactions and payments.  

There are a number of ways Ballarat residents can contact the City of Ballarat, including digital requests, calls and face-to-face meetings. Statistics for 2022 showed that digital requests remained the Customer Experience team’s fastest growing area.  

The increase in digital requests can partly be attributed to the City of Ballarat’s recent partnership with Snap Send Solve — an independent, third-party app that offers residents a quick and simple way to report issues to the City of Ballarat. Snap Send Solve offers residents another way to contact the City of Ballarat. It is both more efficient and more accessible than a phone call — residents can make a report in less than 30 seconds — and it offers residents a simple way of keeping track of their reports. 
 
The following is an overview of the City of Ballarat Customer Experience statistics for 2022:  
 

Digital requests up by more than 10,000 

The City of Ballarat Customer Experience team has responded to over 37,000 digital requests so far in 2022. It is forecasted to receive more than 40,000 by the end of the year. This represents an increase of more than 10,000 — from 28,000 in 2021 and 24,000 in 2020. 
 

Snap Send Solve reports increase following partnership  

Throughout 2022, the Customer Experience team is projected to receive up to 2,500 Snap Send Solve reports, which is up from 1,258 last year and 640 in 2020. In the three months since the launch of the partnership, the Customer Experience team received more than 1,000 Snap Send Solve reports.  

September – 241 reports 

October – 296 reports 

November – 483 reports 

Prior to this partnership, Ballarat residents could still report issues via the app — the partnership has now enabled a range of new features. 

Calls down following pandemic years  

The Customer Experience team is also on track to respond to 85,000 calls by the end of 2022. These numbers are down from 89,000 in 2021 and 98,000 in 2020, which were both higher than average due to COVID-19 closures which prevented face-to-face options for customers. 

Face-to-face enquires, payments and administrative requests 

The Customer Experience team is on track to reach 10,000 face-to-face enquiries, 7,500 payments and about 7,500 back-office and administrative requests by the end of 2022.  

Face-to-face interactions and payments are up slightly following the last two years of COVID-19 lockdowns.  

Resolving issues  

Throughout 2022, the City of Ballarat Customer Experience team resolved about 60 per cent of enquiries during the first call. About 34 per cent of jobs required either physical work in the community — such as road maintenance or bin collection — or technical specialist knowledge, such as advice on a planning application. The remaining six per cent relate to existing issues.  
 
The Customer Experience team answered 70 per cent of calls within 30 seconds, which follows the rollout of a new, state-of-the-art call centre system during the year. The most common calls related to rates and rates notices, waste enquiries, parking, pets and statutory planning.  

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Des Hudson, said it was great to see face-to-face customer service available to Ballarat residents in 2022, after two years of disruption by COVID-19.  
 
“The Customer Experience team consists of 14 hardworking part-time and full-time staff who handle a colossal number of calls, emails, digital requests, face-to-face encounters and payments every day,” he said.  
 
“Ballarat is a growing city, which means the Customer Experience team are servicing an expanding population — the increased number of digital requests, particularly, is evidence of this.”  
 
To get in contact with the City of Ballarat Customer Experience team, call 5320 5500 or email info@ballarat.vic.gov.au. To raise a request digitally, download the Snap Send Solve smartphone app — available via the App Store or on Google Play — or fill out the form on the website.  
 

Key highlights 

• The City of Ballarat Customer Experience team is projected to receive more than 40,000 digital requests by the end of the year – an increase of more than 10,000. 
• The Customer Experience team is projected to receive up to 2,500 Snap Send Solve reports by the end of the year — up from 1258 last year and 640 in 2020. 
• The Customer Experience team is on track to respond to 85,000 calls by the end of 2022 — down from 89,000 in 2021 and 98,000 in 2020. 
• The Customer Experience team is on track to reach 10,000 face-to-face enquiries, 7,500 payments and about 7,500 back-office and administrative requests by the end of 2022. 
• The City of Ballarat Customer Experience team is projected to resolve about 60 per cent of enquiries during the first call in 2022.