Praise for THA’s call centre

Bruce Financial Complex last week held in recognition of the one-millionth customer served.

The call centre is operated under the purview of the THA’s Division of Finance and Enterprise Development (DFED) and administered by Tobago Information Technology Limited (TITL). Established in 2008, the 211 Contact Centre provides members of the public with easy access to real time information on Tobago by calling the toll free telephone number – 211.

Making the one millionth call was regular customer, Catherine Trim, who was given a plaque to commemorate the event. Trim gave her views on the 211 service, “I’m honoured to receive this award, but the true honour should be given to those who make the 211 Call Centre possible.

The agents are always courteous, competent and provide accurate information. As Tobagonians, we should be thankful for this service and I look forward to seeing how they will make it even better in future.” Assemblyman Joel Jack, Secretary of the DFED, spoke at the ceremony and explained that the 211 Call Centre embodies the THA’s commitment to enhance access to quality services to residents of, and visitors to Tobago, with a view to bringing the government closer to the people.

“I would like to begin by giving a hearty round of applause to the management, staff and all stakeholders of the 211 Call Centre for their tireless work that led to this milestone of serving the needs of one million callers. You have used home-grown talent in becoming a beacon for customer service and an example to all of Tobago.

In fact, I have used this service on more than one occasion and I was very pleased with the results,” Assemblyman Jack emphasised.

Since inception, the service has continuously expanded its capacity to answer to the diverse needs of the people of Tobago. Among its many facets, the 211 Call Centre provides 24-7 access to the emergency service providers on the island, electoral information in partnership with the Elections and Boundaries Commission and an Emergency Messaging System (EMS) that informs residents and visitors of any emergency situation via text messaging alerts on their mobile phones. It was noted that this EMS service proved invaluable in mitigating the effects of Hurricane Tomas in 2010.

In 2012, the 211 Call Centre launched the Emergency Medical Alert System, which provides senior citizens, individuals living with disabilities and other atrisk persons with direct contact to the emergency services providers in Tobago.

211 Call Centre agents are trained to provide information on a myriad of topics including health, agriculture, housing, the Tobago Jazz Experience and Tobago Fashion Week just to name a few. They are also certified to receive calls and deal with critical topics such as domestic violence, various diseases, crisis intervention and even sightings of the Lion Fish.