Blue Mountains City Council received almost 16,000 requests for help in the past year – and a small percentage came in lightning speed thanks to an app used by 500,000 people nationally.
A council spokeswoman said by last week they had lodged 15,910 customer service requests in the calender year. The top complaint was kerbside garbage not being picked up, but other queries included concerns about rubbish dumping and dog barking and requests for help from customers. There were 16,342 the previous year.
But reporting via a free app is growing.
Snap Send Solve (SSS) was started in 2011 by Melbourne-based IT expert Danny Gorog and lets users upload photos of potholes, graffiti, fallen trees, barking dogs and illegally parked cars or broken play equipment in minutes. SSS sent 158 reports this year to Blue Mountains Council – up from 101 in 2017.
Mr Gorog said his company has access to more than 600 Australian and New Zealand authorities (including councils, water authorities, Telstra, supermarkets and electricity providers). He created the app because he wanted to post a picture of a broken swing at a childrens’ playground while on holidays and was not able to.
“I’m 42 and have four children ...I’m not going to ring a council while I’m on holiday. I didn’t even know the street.
“I care, but I don’t care that much to wait ten minutes. This way I can do it in 15 seconds.”
One Mt Riverview resident, Michelle Golds, used the app on October 14 to report ‘a pair of pipes on road, now removed to verge’ at 193 Rusden Rd. She said the app made it easier for busy people to help look after the community. It has since been resolved.
“I do a lot of walking and see things that need attention and am glad to be able report something when it occurs ... rather than waiting for an incident,” Ms Golds said.
“The app also allows you to raise issues wherever you are, not just where your rates/taxes are paid.”
The Blue Mountains council spokeswoman said they recorded 120 customer requests this year via SSS –just 0.007% of all requests (and some requests were for the same issue).
“The SSS reports started in 2013 with council receiving a handful in 2013 and 2014, increasing in 2015 and again in 2016, remaining stable in 2016 / 2017 / 2018.”
The spokeswoman said they did not actively promote the app and all requests were “treated in the same way”.
“It’s a convenient way for the public to submit notifications to council … (we) welcome the continued use of it for those who prefer it, however there is not necessarily any advantage to council to receive and respond to notifications via SSS.”
Snap, send and solve “geomapped the country” adding in all the councils so users can send reports via their smartphones using their phone’s GPS coordinates.
Mr Gorog said usage among inner city councils had reached 15 per cent of customer service requests and was growing. He said they were working on recording the data for the “solve” part of the app.