User-Friendly Appointment System Transforms Applications at Document-Issuing Government Office into a Positive Experience
Overview
Pilipinas Teleserv offered its services to a document-issuing government office in the Philippines in view of addressing the many operational problems that the agency faced. The partnership came to fruition with the launch of a powerful, user-friendly appointment system that enabled the agency to control the human traffic at their field offices and their applicants to properly plan their visits to the office.
The Challenge
With the number of document applicants having increased exponentially since the office’s existing systems were instituted, it became very difficult for the client to keep abreast with the general public’s demand for swift, efficient service. This amassed a considerable amount of ill will, disappointment, and frustration among its applicants. The client faced the following operational problems:
- Many applicants would come to the client’s office with incomplete documentary requirements, citing that they did not know any better
- “First-come, First-served” policy introduced very long, chaotic queues at the office, applicants would camp outside the before office hours in hopes of being served promptly
- There were far more applicants than what the office could process in one day, which meant that there could be no guarantee that an applicant would be processed on the same day as their visit
- The tedious and dreadful process encouraged Filipinos to turn to illegal fixers to secure their documents
The Solution
Pilipinas Teleserv helped the government office overcome its operational problems by providing them with a powerful, user-friendly appointment system. Having observed the work processes of the agency and having carefully listened to the complaints from document applicants, Pilipinas Teleserv understood that the chaos at the office could be mitigated by (1) allowing the agency to control the number of applicants to be processed daily and (2) allowing applicants to properly plan their visits to the office.
Pilipinas Teleserv solved the agency’s problems point by point through the appointment system:
- Applicants are given the complete list of documentary requirements needed by the agency upon setting an appointment. For added convenience, applicants are given the option to secure the required documents thru the National Statistics Office’s delivery helpline, itself a successful Pilipinas Teleserv project
- Long, chaotic queues are now a thing of the past as applicants are provided channels to choose their preferred time and date to visit their nearest field office. A confirmed appointment with the agency is a guarantee that the agency will process an applicant on the agreed date
- Should the applicant be willing to pay a minimal fee, there is no longer any need to return to the office to pick up the documents as Pilipinas Teleserv offers a delivery service
- The agency is now able to more adequately manage its resources with the appointment system, allowing them to estimate how much manpower and materials they would need ahead of time
- Because the process is easy and hassle-free, applicants no longer turn to illegal fixers to obtain their documents
The Teleserv Way
Pilipinas Teleserv handles an average of 150, 000 interactions monthly on behalf of the said government agency. Though initially most requests came in via the hotline number to the contact center, Pilipinas Teleserv was determined to make the process more efficient and continued to innovate and add contact channels, as a result as of 2014 up to 98% of these interactions are now made through the web self service feature.This helped drive more efficiency while reducing the costs without sacrificing the customer experience. Now that standard transactions — such as requirement inquiries, appointment setting, and status inquiries—are handled by Pilipinas Teleserv’s customer service representatives, the contact center has significantly reduced the load carried by the agency’s human resources, allowing them to make even better use of their employees’ skills and time.
Pilipinas Teleserv has transformed the way Filipino citizens perceive the document-issuing government office.Whereas they were once criticized as inefficient and ineffective, they are now praised as one of the most organized, streamlined, and productive government offices in the country.