October / November 2008

Enhanced legal aid phone services — five months later

Further to our July 2008 article about telephone triage, LSS is happy to report that the project has resulted in dramatic improvements in wait times and reductions in abandoned calls for the LSS Call Centre and LawLINE since October. Call centre average wait times are currently at eight minutes. During peak hours (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.), wait times now average about 35 minutes. The rate of abandoned calls has decreased from 30% in October to 22% in November.

Telephone triage began July 2 and faced some initial challenges, including system instability, staff supply, and training. Now the call centre is fully staffed with six intake legal assistants who answer 130 to 200 calls per day. To help with call volume during peak hours, the centre has additional staff and remote support through the Port Coquitlam satellite office.

In December, LSS will introduce simplified telephone scripts that will be shorter and more interactive, and ensure clients talk to a person sooner. Although the current telephone scripts are an improvement over pre-triage scripts, we recognized that further changes were still needed.

To reach the LSS Call Centre/LawLINE, call 604-408-2172 (in the Lower Mainland) or 1-866-577-2525 (outside the Lower Mainland, no charge).