How the help desk counts a request
Every number in the monthly report starts from one rule: a request is counted in the month it was opened, once, no matter how many times it changes hands.
When a request is opened
A request exists from the moment a caller, a walk-in, or the web form gives the desk an address and a problem. The desk gives it a number at that moment, even when the problem turns out to belong to another agency.
Duplicates are the one exception. When two callers report the same broken streetlight within a day, the second call is attached to the first request and is not counted again.
Moving between teams
A request that moves from Streets to Water billing keeps its number and its opening date. The receiving team inherits the age of the request, which is why a team can show a request older than its own involvement.
Closing and reopening
A request closes when the team records what it did. If the caller reports the same problem again within 30 days, the old request reopens; it is not counted as new. After 30 days a new request is opened.
Count the problem once, in the month it reached us. Everything else is a status change.
What the report shows
The monthly report lists requests opened that month, requests closed that month, and requests still open at month end. A request opened in September and closed in October appears in September's opened count and October's closed count.
- Opened
- New request numbers issued that month, minus attached duplicates
- Closed
- Requests with a closing note dated that month
- Open at month end
- Every request without a closing note on the last day