6 September

Adelaide City Council will today become the only Australian capital city council to use a real-time web-based chat window to communicate directly with residents, visitors, tourists – in fact anyone who’s looking for information about the City.

Launching today, CityChat works in a similar way to an instant messaging chat window, and offers a new and easy way to get in touch with Adelaide City Council’s Customer Service Centre.

Whether you need to find out how much it costs to hold an event in the Park Lands, where to park for the Royal Adelaide Show, or even to find out more about voting in the upcoming local election, CityChat allows you to type your question to a Customer Service Centre representative who’ll be ready to find the answer.

CityChat is accessed through the Adelaide City Council website, and in just a few clicks you can be directed to a friendly Customer Service Centre representative. No software needs to be downloaded or updated - all that’s needed is a web browser and internet connection.

The service is particularly useful for people who find communicating on the phone or getting to the Customer Service Centre difficult, such as those with hearing difficulties, people who do not use English as a first language, and the elderly and less mobile.

Carly, from Adelaide City Council’s Customer Service Centre, talks to residents and visitors every day, and is looking forward to working with the new technology.

“Sometimes I’ll talk to international students who find it a little more difficult to converse easily in English, or people who have problems hearing me on the phone, and so CityChat will be a great new way for me to communicate clearly,” she explained.

Lord Mayor Michael Harbison welcomed the new messaging system, and said that it would add a modern yet personal touch to contacting Council.
“Anything we can improve to help residents and visitors get information quickly is a great bonus for the City, and I’m especially glad that this service will be valuable to so many members of our community,” he said.

“For some people it can be easier to write rather than talk, and this service adds the irreplaceable feeling of interacting with a real person, which sets it apart from sending an email.”

CityChat launches on the Adelaide City Council website today, and will operate during normal Customer Service Centre opening times, between 8:30am and 5:30pm from Monday to Friday.

To try out CityChat, head to adelaidecitycouncil.com and click on the link on the home page.
 
For further information contact Lord Mayor, Michael Harbison: Ph 0419 804 896
Or Media Relations, Angela Orchard: Ph 8203 7446 or 0427 910 554