Telephone Answering Services

The Vendor is required to provide for telephone answering services at various locations throughout the city.
- Approximately 15,000 calls are received in a six (6) month period for nine (9) divisions as follows:
o    Starttran: 9,509 calls
o    Wastewater: 146 calls
o    City water: 3,289
o    Health department: 465
o    County engineer: 139
o    Parks and recreation: 8
o    City street maintenance: 386
o    Public building commission: 85
o    Solid waste: 17
- Provide friendly, courteous customer service and provide a greeting that includes department/division.
- Accept calls transferred from the Owners which utilize VIOP phone systems.
- must provide quarterly reports to each department and to City/County Purchasing which indicate the number of calls received, date, times and action taken for each call.
- All calls into the Contractor from the public or the departments/divisions are confidential and will not be shared with anyone without Owner permission.
- Answering services will be available during starttran hours of operation 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Friday and 5:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Saturdays.
- No Sundays or holidays in which starttran operations are closed. 
- These holidays are New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
- Will answer during hours of operation 7:30-8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
- Must be able to answer the phone line with little to no notice in the event that the starttran receptionist is ill, on vacation, at a meeting, etc.
- Calls that cannot be answered by Answering Service staff should have a message taken. 
- Only identified situations/emergencies should be sent through to starttran dispatch office.
- Number of calls per month to the current service provider averages 2,000.
- Peak calling periods are during the month of August when school resumes and in the winter months when it snows.
- The calls coming into this number are usually emergency calls and require immediate attention to avoid significant damage to homes and businesses.
- Provide information and reports to Divisions upon request 24/7.
- Ability to assign one or more operators on a specific event so that information is consistent and accurate.
- Reports shall identify date/time/caller name/phone number/details of call/message/how call was resolved.
- Occasional transferring of calls during normal business hours. This is infrequent but has been used for phone coverage.
- Water utilizes an Answering Service for emergency calls and after-hours calls to a designated number.
- The calls coming into this number are usually emergency calls and require immediate attention to avoid significant damage to homes and businesses.
- Provide daily email report delivered by 6:30 am, 7 days per week with continued updates until calls are transferred back to utility.
- Provide case by case instructions to callers when instructed by utility staff.
- Based on information gathered from called, determine if after-hours personnel need to be contacted.
- Awarded Vendor will have calls answered Monday through Friday 4:30pm to 8:00am and 24 hours per day on weekends and all City designated holidays.

- Contract Period/Term: 4 years
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: October 31, 2025