About 311
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311 is the largest, most exciting customer service improvement undertaken by the City of Toronto since amalgamation. 311 improves accessibility to non-emergency City services and information and increases the City's effectiveness in responding to public inquiries.
Not sure how to report a pothole? Need to order or exchange a Garbage/Recycling Bin? Looking for a program at your local community centre? Simply call 311. Our customer service representatives are available to assist you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
More than just a phone number, 311 Toronto provides access to a wide range of online services, including self-service requests and tracking. You can also contact 311 by e-mail or fax.
- How 311 works
- Customer service standards
- 311 vs. 911 and 211
- Status tracking
- Facts and stats
- 311 Toronto complaints, compliments and suggestions
How 311 works
Toronto's 311 system is the largest in North America to launch with end-to-end service integration. What this means is that many of the City's different work order systems effectively work together to bring improved service delivery to residents, visitors and businesses in Toronto. Another key component of the 311 system is the City's knowledge base. As of launch day, the knowledge base contained more than 15,000 answers to 13,800 questions.
Customer service standards
The City of Toronto and the Toronto Public Service deliver hundreds of services (routine or complex) to the citizens of Toronto. Many routine service requests can be made through 311 either online or over the phone. 311 assigns a reference number and a service standard for each request created. Over 300 routine service requests have a formal service standard. Service standards for 311's online service requests are available here:
For complex services, such as program eligibility assessment, where service standards exist they may be found on the program's or division's web pages (see list of City divisions). In other instances, service standards are still under development.
More information is available on the City's Customer Service Standards web page.
311 vs. 911 and 211
311 is for non-emergency City services, programs and information.
Always call 911 in case of an emergency. 911 connects you to EMS, Police and/or Fire in an emergency situation and service is provided in all languages. Learn more about Toronto emergency services.
211 is for social service and counselling referrals. You can also visit www.211toronto.ca.
Status tracking
311 Toronto uses state-of-the-art technology to track requests for service. When applicable, you will receive a reference number after making a service request (by phone, e-mail or online). The reference number allows you to track the progress of your request through to completion.
You can call 311 to follow up on a service request or track its status online from the 311 homepage. The list of trackable services will continue to grow as the 311 operation expands.
Facts and stats
- 311 Toronto is the largest end-to-end service integration system in North America.
- The 311 Knowledge Base holds 15,000 answers to a possible 13,800 questions.
- The Contact Centre is expecting to receive 48,000 inquiries per week when fully operational.
- Prior to the launch of 311, there were 251 inquiry lines in place to access City services at nine call centre operations at 26 locations.
- More than 100 highly trained customer service representatives work from the 311 Contact Centre.
- There are 100 workstations in the Contact Centre.
- IP Telephony or Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology is used in the Contact Centre.
- In its first year, 311 staff resolved 75 per cent of all calls at the first point of contact, reducing the number of calls transferred.
- Service can be provided in more than 180 languages using a telephone interpretation service; TTY service for hearing impaired is also available.
311 Toronto complaints, compliments and suggestions
If you have a comment or concern regarding 311 Toronto staff or service, we encourage you to contact us. 311 Toronto ensures that any complaints we receive will be documented and addressed within 5 days. Complaints that require immediate action will be escalated to a senior manager.
Where necessary, 311 Toronto will guarantee that complaints are promptly referred to the appropriate City of Toronto staff person for acknowledgment and resolution.
Submitting a complaint, compliment or suggestion
Complaints:
Anonymous complaints are not accepted. Complainants must identify themselves when submitting a complaint so that we may conduct a fair and transparent investigation. Complaints are confidential and a complainant's privacy will be protected.
Compliments or suggestions:
You may submit a compliment or suggestion and remain anonymous; however, we will not be able to contact you regarding the possible outcome.
You may contact us either by phone, e-mail, online or in writing.
Contacting 311
(can be used within Toronto if you can't reach 311)
City of Toronto
311 Contact Centre
Metro Hall, 2nd floor
55 John Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 3C6
