Calls to city 311 center, reporting missed trash pickups, are taxing the system

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - Missed trash pickups by Red River Waste Solutions are a familiar source of frustration for city garbage customers. Now they have a new reason to get irritated. There are so many calls to the 311 center that at times those complaints are overwhelming the system. Mayor Tom Henry’s administration is offering advice on how to work around the crush of reports.

During daytime hours on weekdays, callers right now might encounter trouble getting someone to answer and take their information. John Perlich with the mayor’s office urges people to go to the city’s website and click on “Contact 311″ to make a report. You can also go through the mobile app. Perlich says a small number of residents have reached out to the city, indicating when they try to enter their address to report a missed pickup online, they are erroneously told they live outside city limits.

Perlich says a website vendor is working to correct the error. He also says there are other ways around the flaw.

“What we’re finding is residents may be using an outdated web browser or also they may want to consider hitting ‘enter’ twice. Once they enter their address, hit enter, then if it says they’re outside of city limits, hit ‘enter’ again and it should let them continue through the process,” Perlich said.

If you are intent on reporting a problem by phone, you might be wise to call after hours which allows you to leave a voicemail message. You might be prevented from doing so when calling during business hours, due to high call volumes.

The city says during the week of January 3 there were 4,900 calls to 311 reporting missed trash pickups. The number of reports dipped somewhat the week of January 10, totaling 3,900 calls for that week.

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