In the Field, Not on the Phone

First, in interest of full disclosure, I need Fred Koehle's help acquiring a fresh pair of mosquito fish. Both of mine lived three days in my front yard pond, and then they died. That said, I admit it: I am a Fred Koehle fan. He did what I have tried to do and failed at.

 

Koehle unshackled himself and his staff from the telephone, freeing up endless hours to kill mosquitoes. Starting this year, six operators answer complaint calls for Richmond County Mosquito Control. Koehle, who heads up special operations for the district, didn’t like the department’s answering machine. People weren’t always clear about where they lived or the location of the mosquito problem, he notes. And in a district that covers 324 square miles and runs on $145,000 per year, he needs his people in the field, not taking messages.  

 “This is my 11^th year in mosquito control after 50 years in restaurant training,” says Koehle. “Management is management. It is dealing with people and situations. It is trying to figure the best way to come to a solution and working to find the best people to help you get those answers. I have to find ways to do more. That is part of management—finding ways to get it done.”

Koehle contacted Augusta 311, the nonemergency call-in center for Richmond County, and asked if its operators could take mosquito calls. Augusta 311 agreed. Koehle conducted a half-hour training session on how to get the information needed to handle mosquito complaints from callers.  Then the mosquito district exchanged its answering machine for one concise 5 p.m. summary email sent daily from Augusta 311. Koehle turns the complaints into work orders for the next day.

Bottomline: Complaints get addressed faster and service is improved without any increase in budget, he notes. If only I could get someone, anyone, in St. Louis to take complaint calls for me. The calls wouldn't be about mosquitoes, but they are complaints--just ask my family. They're the ones calling in. And I love them anyway.