When a resident reports a pothole, broken streetlight, or drainage issue, the clock starts ticking. Teams are expected to respond quickly, often without residents or leadership distinguishing between reactive and planned work. The challenge? Many of the inefficiencies that slow response times begin long before a crew is dispatched.

They begin at intake.

The Hidden Cost of Fragmented Request Intake

For many departments, resident requests arrive through a mix of phone calls, emails, even social media messages. While each channel may seem manageable on its own, together they create a fragmented intake process that’s difficult to track and even harder to manage consistently.

Often requests are relayed from another intake point, such as the front desk at City Hall or a 311 call center. When information is disseminated this way, critical details can get lost, requiring a further series of relays to track down the missing info – or necessitating that crews move forward, inefficiently, without further details.

Without a structured way to capture requests, it’s easy for issues to be overlooked, duplicated, or delayed. Staff may spend valuable time chasing down details, re-entering information, or trying to determine whether a request was already reported. Over time, this leads to missed service expectations, frustrated residents, and unnecessary strain on already-limited resources.

Why Intake Sets the Tone for the Entire Workflow

How your department manages incoming requests directly impacts everything that follows, from prioritization and work order creation to communication and resolution. A strong intake process creates clarity and consistency for both residents and staff, laying the groundwork for more efficient reactive maintenance overall.

Improving intake doesn’t mean adding complexity. In fact, the goal is the opposite: fewer handoffs, fewer channels, and fewer opportunities for error.

Key Principles for Improving Resident Request Intake

While every community is different, effective intake processes tend to share a few common characteristics:

Simplified intake points

The more ways requests can come in, the more difficult they are to manage. Consolidating intake reduces duplication and helps ensure every request enters the system the same way.

Clear, standardized request channels

When residents know exactly how and where to submit an issue – whether through a phone line, online form, or mobile app – requests are more complete, consistent, and easier to act on.

Digital-first capture of critical information

Modern request management tools allow departments to collect essential details upfront, such as location, photos, and contact information. This minimizes follow-up and ensures staff have what they need from the start.

Together, these principles help municipal services teams move from reactive scrambling to a more controlled, accountable process – without slowing residents down.

Real-Life Success: Converse, Texas

Improving intake for resident requests not only smooths the transfer of information but increases efficiency. When the Public Works department for the City of Converse, Texas implemented a CRM/311, it was with the express design of improving visibility for the department and accountability with the city’s residents. As a bonus, they discovered the system also made their operations more efficient.

By improving intake, the department is now able to gather more complete information upfront, removing unnecessary back-and-forth and speeding up the time to completion.

“If we’re fortunate enough for the resident to include a picture, the crew that ultimately gets assigned already knows what material they need before they leave the shop to go to the location. It saves a lot of time. If you just had a phone call that said a stop sign is down – is it the sign, the whole pole, do I need concrete? What kind of materials do I need when I get out there? Even if only half the people use the picture tool when reporting, think of the time and resources that will save you by knowing which materials to use.”

— Josh Mair, Director of Public Works for Converse, Texas

Intake Is Just the Beginning

Improving intake alone won’t solve every challenge associated with reactive maintenance, but it is the necessary first step. When requests are captured clearly and consistently, it sets the foundation for the rest of the work to follow.

In Comcate’s ebook From Request to Resolution: Improving the Efficiency of Reactive Maintenance Workflows in Public Works, we dive deeper into how better intake connects to downstream efficiencies to improve responsiveness and streamline workflows.

Download the full ebook to learn how municipal services departments can transform reactive maintenance from a daily disruption into a manageable, efficient workflow.

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