No Voice Too Small: Shanghai Hotline Operators Handle Over 12m Calls a Year

Last Saturday, I called the city's public service hotline 12345 to complain about the constant noise of a commercial helicopter, which had been frequently flying over my neighborhood and many others in a suburban town over the past few months.

At first, I was uncertain about the response to my complaint. After all, my voice might not have much impact. My initial research of previous reports showed there were no similar complaints in our region, which meant I was possibly "the lone griper."

But, having been bombarded by the drone for several months in a row, I decided to complain at any rate. The noise was particularly unbearable because a commercial helicopter hovered overhead almost every day around noon. I knew a helicopter like this was for commercial use, such as training a pilot or sightseeing, because I saw a similar one last year, which flew over a vast, vacant village field to the north of our neighborhood.

I didn't wait too long before a young lady received my call on Saturday. She quickly checked the name and location of my neighborhood and asked when the helicopter noise usually came. Then she made a detailed note of what I had said and promised to pass my complaint to local transportation authorities.

The next day, no commercial helicopter appeared over our neighborhood. And this Monday, a commercial helicopter flashed across a road near the northern part of our neighborhood in just a few seconds and never came back.

On Tuesday, I called 12345 again to check how things were going. A young man answered my call and confirmed that his colleague had immediately passed my complaint to the local transportation authorities on that day.

"But we haven't heard back from local transportation authorities yet. Maybe you will need to keep watching for a few more days and see whether the noise returns," he suggested. "Call us again if you hear more noises, and we will ensure the resolution of your complaint."

I kept watching from Wednesday till today. There were no more noises from a hovering helicopter from Wednesday to Thursday.

I also asked my neighbors who stayed at home all day whether they had noticed the "disappearance" of helicopter noises, and they suddenly realized that "overhead quietness" had returned, except for an occasional faint sound from a few planes flying far above the clouds.

Step by step

But as I wrote this article on Friday morning – around 10am – a commercial helicopter whirled over the northern part of my neighborhood. The noise was back, though it didn't last as long as it used to, nor did the helicopter cover all of our neighborhood as it did before.

Without hesitation, I called 12345 again. A woman received my call and patiently reviewed what I had said since last Saturday. In the end, she promised to contact local authorities again and ask them to follow up with stricter management of low-altitude flights.

In May, the Procuratorate Daily reported that noises from commercial helicopters in some cities had surpassed reasonable levels of decibels designed for residential communities and that more efforts should be made to ensure people's "right to a quiet life."

I understand that solving a problem perfectly takes time. What matters is that the public service hotline listens, responds and takes action to help a complainer address a problem step by step.

This reminds me of the embarrassing experience of a handicapped tourist who came from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, to Shanghai in early October.

As she prepared to leave Shanghai she found it impossible to move on wheels from the northern part of a railway station in Songjiang District to the southern part, where she was supposed to check in.

At first, there was an accessible elevator, but eventually, a 30-step steel staircase with no elevator on any side stood in the way.

For someone moving on wheels, it was an insurmountable hurdle. So she returned and, with the help of her son-in-law, had to make a detour outside the railway station before finally reaching the check-in area in the southern part of the station.

After leaving Shanghai, her son-in-law, surnamed Zhang, called 12345 and suggested that the railway station improve its accessible facilities as soon as possible. His suggestion was immediately passed to the relevant railway authorities.

Jiefang Daily, a leading newspaper based in Shanghai, also received Zhang's complaint. A reporter then went to the same railway station on October 29 to check the situation and published an article on November 3, validating Zhang's earlier complaint.

There are many problems in our daily lives. If our complaints, despite being seemingly trivial, receive prompt attention, we can anticipate more effective solutions.

Xinhua news agency reported in May that, from October 9 to December 24 last year, 89.6 percent of public complaints received by 12345 had been solved, with a satisfaction rate of 85.2 percent.

That was about the latest statistics on the effectiveness of Shanghai's public service hotline in addressing people's concerns.

The city's 12345 operators received more than 12 million calls last year, with each operator speaking with more than 100 citizens every day.

With such a heavy workload, there is certainly room for improvement, but I can find comfort in the following: No voice, no matter how minor, has remained unheard and unheeded.