Shire introduces live chat service

SURF Coast Shire Council has launched a live chat service allowing the community to chat with staff online in real time.

The live chat system is available on the shire’s website and allows residents to gain information by typing in their question regarding shire-related services such as rates, waste collection or events.

Surf Coast Shire councillor Rose Hodge said the live chat complemented the council’s existing services and would continue to improve accessibility.

“It’s not a robot you’re chatting to, it’s one of our customer service officers who can direct you to whatever information you’re after straight away,” Cr Hodge said.

“Our goal is to make it as quick and easy as possible for our customers to get the information they need about our services and projects.

“It’s only early days, but so far about 50 people a week have been using our live chat, and we hope to see this continue to increase from here.

“So far, waste has been a hot chat topic, with 70 per cent of messages relating to waste services and collections, which is not surprising given the new kerbside bin services rolling out in February.”