The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’ represented by the Public Relations and Communications Department celebrated 10 years since the launch of the Customer Service and Contact Center, as it creates a link between Ashghal and the public. Since May 2013, the center received approximately 1,275,887 transactions, 700,453 phone calls, 200,000 visits, and 375,434 service requests.
The center offers 9 communication channels, through the contact center on “188”, via E-mail, customer service centers, the mobile application “Ashghal 24\7”, E-Services portal, social media, Ashghal official website, media monitoring team, in addition to the presence of some public relations officials on sites.
On this occasion, Mr. Abdulla Saad Al-Saad, Manager of the Public Relations, and Communications Department expressed his gratitude for the staff working in the Customer Service Center due to their continuous efforts made throughout these 10 years, filled with dedication and attention to the public, their requests, and inquiries; eventually leading us to earn international awards.
He added: “Ashghal received many awards due to its distinguished customer service, where the Public Relations and Communications Department bagged the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden Award for the Customer Service Excellence Program of Ashghal in existing services.”, making the state of Qatar the only Arab country to win in 2021. Ashghal also received the Golden Award in “Customer Care” for the year 2023 from Harvard Business Council (HBC), USA, in honor of being one of the world's prestigious institutions and in recognition of their excellence and application of the best practices in many areas.”
Mr. Al Saad explained that during the previous 10 years, Ashghal was amid the construction phase of the implementation of most of the State’s infrastructure projects, making these years challenging. Therefore, it was crucial to establish a mechanism that ensures full and continuous operation of communication channels between Ashghal and the public, which is what led to closing approximately 90% of the requests.
He clarified that the Customer Service and Contact Center was launched in May of 2013 providing services in both English and Arabic, and it maintained an outstanding level of services, where throughout these 10 years and since May 2013, the center received almost 1,175,887 transactions. These include 700,453 phone calls, 200,000 visits, in addition to 375,434 service requests noting that more than 73,000 phone calls of which 80% were answered in a duration not exceeding 20 seconds.
He added: “Ashghal places customers and the public at the forefront of its priorities and makes great and continuous efforts to enhance its services and to facilitate not only people’s access to these services but also their direct communication with Ashghal. The Authority is also prepared to communicate with the public at any time, enabling them to contact us using by dialing the customer service number “188” 24\7 or visit the customer service center in the Authority’s headquarters in West Bay and Salwa Road office, in addition to the ability to contact the Authority and keep up with its news through its official social media accounts.
Ashghal also monitors the public comments and observations that are received through the radio and local newspapers and responds to them by conducting weekly interviews in ‘Watani Al Habib’ program, through which engineers from the Authority respond to them, in addition to the responses sent to newspapers.
Mr. Abdulla Saad Al Saad, Manager of the Public Relations, and Communications Department noted that Ashghal is keen to appoint public relations officials in work sites who are experienced in work implementation and in the culture of the country, as these appointed officials are Qataris or those who were born in the state of Qatar, in addition to whom are qualified to coordinate and communicate on an ongoing basis with the residents to inform them of all the information regarding the stages of the projects, the scope of work, and services provided to them, in addition to responding to their inquiries and doing everything necessary to mitigate the effects of the project.
He explained that there is direct communication with the public also in their areas by distributing posters to all homes in the project area, which include information and numbers to directly contact them for any inquiries or requests, pointing out that Ashghal considers all the observations of the residents to improve work implementation and to mitigate the effects of the project. Internally, a person has been appointed in each department of the Authority concerned with projects to handle public inquiries related to the projects of each department, according to their specialization.
Mobile Application “Ashghal 24\7”
Regarding Ashghal 24\7 mobile application, Mr. Abdulaziz Mohammed Al-Kaabi, Customer Service Supervisor at the Public Relations and Communications Department confirmed that 9 channels are provided through which we can communicate with the public. This includes the “Ashghal 24\7” mobile application which is one of the most important communication channels as it provides diverse easy and fast E-services for customers regardless of time and place and keeps them up to date with Ashghal’s latest news and project progresses.
He added: through this application, it is possible to upload texts, geolocation, photos, and documents at the same time and directly attach them with the notification and service requests to complete the process electronically without visiting the customer service centers.
He continued: “We also provided our customers with the customer zone portal that includes many services for individuals and companies such as roads, drainage networks, and infrastructure services through (customerzone.ashghal.gov.qa), and custmers can sign up to receive SMSs on whatever road closures, diversions, or openings.
He added: “The observations that are received through these above-mentioned channels are dealt with promptly as there is communication with the person who submitted this request, then, requests will be created and sent to the concerned departments, where the subject will then be verified, conduct the necessary examination and reporting to take the appropriate decision for each request to close it. These channels are based on a modern integrated CRM system that was implemented in cooperation with Microsoft and is constantly being developed.
Ashghal Customer Service Centers
From his side, Mr. Mubarak Dhafir Al-Qahtani, Customer Service Specialist confirmed that Ashghal welcomes its customer in the customer service centers in both of its branches; in Ashghal tower in West Bay and the Asset Affairs Building in the Wholesale Market Street daily to provide them with assistance, respond to their requests and observations and assisted by qualified staff, noting that a special team was created to follow up proactively on all requests submitted, to ensure that the necessary work is done on time to save customer’s time, so that they do not need to multiple visits to make sure their requests are completed.
Contact Center (188) and E-mail
Ashghal's Contact Center was launched in May 2013, providing services in Arabic and English, and operating around the clock 24/7. Over the past years, the Contact Center has maintained outstanding level of service.
Ashghal also provides services through its official customer service E-mail customerservice@ashghal.gov.qa to handle various inquiries. Ashghal’s customers can also follow up on the status of any submitted requests or know the road condition in the geographical area selected by the customer by simply registering on the Authority’s website and choosing the preferred method of communication, either SMS or the customer’s E-mail.