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The lines of the citizen hotline were glowing during the peak phases of the corona pandemic. For more than two years, the hotline set up by the city of Offenbach was the first point of contact for questions about Corona.
Since there were almost no more calls with the expiry of almost all Corona regulations, the citizen hotline was switched off last week until further notice. The city of Offenbach, together with the organizers of the hotline, the public relations office and the city service of the Stadtwerke group of companies, can look back on an eventful and challenging time, which took place in five large (call) waves on the telephone as well as in the pandemic itself.
“We set up the citizens’ hotline very early on, at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, so that people had a central and, above all, personal contact point for their questions in addition to the city’s website. The telephone service was part of the city of Offenbach’s wide-ranging communication campaign in the fight against the corona virus and was still being actively used in the fifth wave,” says Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke.
Mayor and Head of Health Sabine Groß also draws a positive balance: “The citizen hotline has proven itself over two years, because the situation and the regulations for containing the virus have changed very often. Science, politics, we all had to learn again and again how the virus behaves, where it is infected and how dangerous an illness can be. The citizens’ hotline was one of the most important and reliable sources of information for Offenbach’s citizens. It also relieved our health department so that it could concentrate on caring for people who are particularly at risk, for example in old people’s and nursing homes.”
City Councilor Paul-Gerhard Weiß adds: “New virus variants, different vaccines, vaccination prioritization and later also the different access regulations have raised numerous questions among people, to which they – almost always – received an answer by calling the citizen hotline. It was often more than just an answer – the employees patiently responded to every request and sometimes acted as pastors.”
The city treasurer and head of social affairs, Martin Wilhelm, emphasizes: “Our goal was to be there for people and to educate them with the citizens’ hotline. In this way, we were able to explain the often complicated regulations in an understandable way in direct discussions. Because the more enlightened people are, the sooner everyone can do their part to protect themselves and get the pandemic under control together. That is still the case today and will possibly gain in importance again in the autumn.”
More than 25,000 calls and catalog with 450 questions and answers
The response to the offer from the citizen hotline was enormous over the two years: “We received more than 25,000 calls and therefore more than 25,000 questions about the corona pandemic,” reports Angelika Samarelli, who has been head of customer service at the city service since 2011 and thus also at the citizen phone. Even during Corona, she and her team answered questions about waste disposal, bulky waste and street cleaning – but from 2020 the Corona topic has overshadowed everything else.
“At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, we had six phones here, including weekends, public holidays and Christmas,” Samarelli recalls. In the beginning, volunteers supported the five employees of the city service. Then the first wave ebbed away. “The second wave in autumn was not long in coming. With that came tightened rules and many questions. The listeners were constantly on the move. Almost 700 calls in one week,” says Samarelli. 2021 was similar to the first Corona year: After the second wave, the number of infections rose again at the beginning of the year, which was also reflected in the number of calls to the citizens’ helpline. At peak times in March 2021, the citizen hotline received almost 400 calls per week. This was also the case during the fourth wave in November. At the beginning of 2022, with the rampage of the highly contagious omicron variant and thus the fifth wave, there were again a large number of questions that came up among the citizens. At the end of January, the citizen hotline received almost 600 calls in one week.
“Our question and answer catalog has grown to 450 questions in two years and has been updated weekly. The support of the Public Relations Office has helped us a lot to stay up to date,” says customer service employee Larissa Miltenberger. “It was important that the team from the citizen hotline could explain the current corona decisions and rules as quickly as possible. That’s why we sent updates to the citizens’ hotline daily at the beginning and later weekly,” reports Fabian El Cheikh, head of the public relations office. “In some cases, we transmitted the information in real time during the ongoing meetings of the administrative staff,” says El Cheikh.
With the availability of the first vaccines, the information needs of the population changed in some cases: “Vaccination recently raised just as many questions as the quarantine rules, contact and access restrictions and the various test options in Offenbach,” says Miltenberger. School and daycare closures as well as childcare were also frequently requested topics. If there was no immediate answer due to the very dynamic situation or very individual questions, an expert, such as from the city health department, was consulted. This was often the case with questions about the hygiene concepts to be created. If questions on the phone initially remained unanswered, the team at the citizens’ hotline submitted them later by phone or e-mail after clarification.
Working as a pastor and with an open ear
In their job, the employees of the citizen hotline had to listen to a lot. Whether masks are mandatory or quarantine, vaccinations or access regulations: “The topics were and are very controversially discussed and some people forget that we are not responsible for the measures, we only publish them,” says Angelika Samarelli. The citizen hotline was often used for pastoral care. Citizens wanted to talk about their fears. Some callers were tormented by existential fears and sometimes panicked if, for example, their own business had to remain closed. Keep calm was the motto then – true to the training courses that the city service regularly offers for its customer support. At the same time, many customers were very grateful: “About every second person said something nice to us,” says Miltenberger happily. No one was turned away, regardless of their concerns or place of residence: “If we could help, we did.”
With up to 170 calls a day, there were also challenges, says Miltenberger – for example, if a family was in a custody dispute, combined with the question of whether the child had to be taken to the father if it was in quarantine. Working on the citizens’ hotline was “exhausting and nerve-wracking,” Samarelli admits. “It was a big challenge for my team and for me. What always motivated us, however, was the good cooperation in all areas of the city group,” says Samarelli.
When asked if there were any anecdotes or something to smile about, Angelika Samarelli replies: “There wasn’t that much funny stuff, but curious things: When the vaccinations started, some citizens thought that they were getting a microchip when they were vaccinated get implanted. Or they wondered why the city didn’t raise the disaster alarm when the pandemic started.”
Since April 2022, however, the number of calls has drastically decreased. Recently there were almost no more calls, so that the citizens’ helpline – also for cost reasons – was switched off until further notice. If necessary, reactivation is possible at any time thanks to the existing structures at ESO customer service. The citizens’ hotline was organized by the public relations office together with the city service of the Stadtwerke group of companies. Its customer service had already provided the city’s citizen hotline during the refugee crisis in 2015 and the defusing of a World War II bomb in 2018.
Further information to the corona virus.
(Text: PM City of Offenbach)
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