Contact Solutions Blog

IVR Solutions Can Help Cities Streamline Collections Without Straining the Budget

With local government payrolls dwindling, cities, counties and schools have had to cut their budgets three times faster than states, according to a recent article in USA Today.  In the past year, state and local governments have chosen not to fill open positions, lowering employment by 1.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fewer employees can mean a strain on city services, but there are ways that some have found to keep service levels high and ensure that revenue streams aren’t interrupted. In many municipalities, they do this by using IVR solutions to make paying for parking tickets easier. Here’s how it works:

You’ve found a parking ticket on your windshield, and you don’t have time to go into City Hall to pay it and want to save the 50 or so cents it would cost to mail in the payment. More importantly, you don’t want to forget to pay it and want an easy and convenient way to take care of it. That’s where the IVR solution comes in.

In many cities, you can call a designated number, enter information to identify yourself, such as your driver’s license number or ticket number and choose to pay the ticket by credit card.  You may even have the option to create an installment plan if necessary.

With a contact solutions provider that can ensure that your IVR offering is integrated and secure, there is no risk to your citizens. And, to make it even more convenient, calls take only about three minutes. Some cities transact as many as 35,000 ticket payments a month through their IVR payment system, which helps them keep their revenue stream flowing so other services don’t get the axe due to budget cuts.

How does your city, agency or company save money with IVR solutions?

Tags: Cloud Computing, Contact Automation, Continuous Improvement, Cost Savings, customer satisfaction, IVR, Self-service