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GREENSBORO — This used to be known as an “oxymoron,” a $5 crossword clue denoting a contradiction in terms:

“I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

But since June 2004 at City Hall, a corps of patient switchboard operators has tried to disprove the cliche.

At the all-purpose 373-CITY,  operators answer 1,000 questions a day about every level of government and issue work orders on potholes that need fixing, neighbors’ grass that needs cutting, and mostly, water bills that need deciphering.

On Monday at about 1:12 p.m., the center hit the seven-figure mark when city services rep Amanda Calvin took a call regarding a water bill: It was the center’s 1 millionth caller.

“This is it,” center director Mary Jutte announced, as she waited for Calvin to explain to the caller that, no, the bill hadn’t doubled, it had simply crossed in the mail with the payment.

The operators were then ordered to unplug their headsets and a proclamation was read, as the aroma of pizza hung in the air.  For the 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekday service, it was the first moment of silence in five years: The 11-operator Contact Center has increasingly become a nerve center, especially during emergencies such as tornadoes and power outages.

Each operator has dual computer screens, and can bring  up a GIS image of a caller’s  street. If someone is complaining about a vacant lot, for example, or referring to a specific intersection, the operator zooms in on the address before generating a computerized work order for one of the city departments such as public works or parks and recreation.

Given the Byzantine nature of the blue pages — and the nebulous nature of government jargon such as “environmental services” or “field operations” — Jutte said municipal information centers have become more in demand.

“A lot of our calls begin with: 'I don’t know if I’m calling the right place,’” Jutte said. “If you’re moving in, I can get the water turned on, get your garbage cans delivered, tell you who your council person is, give you numbers for all the other utilities.”

Unlike Jutte’s previous life  in retail, there is little that city reps can offer dissatisfied customers, except understanding.

“You can’t give them a discount or a coupon on their property taxes,” she mused. “But I’m working on that.”
 

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lorraine.ahearn@news-record.com