We have reached a significant milestone with our new telephone system for motor registration. Since July, we have had over 100,000 phone calls for motor registration services. Specifically we received the 100,000th call on April 28.

The teleservice has been a huge success story for my department and the government overall. The overwhelming feedback from our customers is that this has made a significant improvement to customer service.

The concept behind the teleservice is simple � it brings customer service back to basics by providing a real person on the other end of the phone to answer questions and direct inquiries.

On average, we receive between 600 and 650 calls a day and provide service in an average time of two minutes per caller � all this with only four to five agents.  In April, we broke a record of the most telephone calls received in one day, at 859 calls. 

The teleservice agents have been able to answer almost 70 per cent of customers� questions without having to transfer the call to a specific program area or a regional office. This is significant, as it provides quicker, more efficient service for our customers and allows our other front-line service staff to concentrate on the clients they have in front of them. There are some areas where calls must be transferred, such as to the medical section at headquarters, because these calls generally require more detailed service or access to private files.

On average, the motor registration division processes nearly 1.5 million transactions a year, including serving approximately 300,000 customers directly over the counter at offices throughout the province. A number of people will call first before coming to one of our offices, so the teleservice is of great benefit in determining how we can provide the right service to best meet their needs.

I have given out the number before but, again, the toll-free number for citizens is: 1-877-636-6867.

In conclusion, I would also encourage our customers to have their driver�s licence number and/or licence plate number at hand as this will assist in having a teleservice agent being able to address their needs more quickly.