"What a year," says Carsten Bauerochse, who has been the contact person for the Ideas and Complaints Service Center for over five years, succinctly at the outset.

The year 2021 - characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic - was a special and challenging year for everyone. This also applies to the "Ideas and Complaints" service point: "We received more than 2,200 messages from customers," continues Carsten Bauerochse. "Up to and including 2019, the number of submissions from citizens was stable at around 1,000 per year. In 2020, we recorded an increase of 50 percent compared to the previous year, which was exceeded again last year." At the same time, the access channels used have also changed. With the introduction of the municipal defects app, processes have been optimized and adapted to the requirements of making the service point as "uncomplicated" as possible to reach. The team currently receives almost two thirds of all reports via the app."

According to Carsten Klotz, who as head of the Council and Municipal Affairs department is also responsible for the "Ideas and Complaints" service point, the increase in the number of cases by almost 100 percent was largely due to the pandemic: initially - until the introduction of online appointments in the Citizens' Service area - there were uncertainties regarding the opening hours of the city administration, especially as telephone availability could not always be guaranteed satisfactorily due to a large number of incoming calls at the same time. The administration is still working hard on the issue of customer service, as there are still waiting times in some areas due to coronavirus-related backlogs, higher case numbers and staff vacancies. "This is leading to resentment and frustration among some customers - understandably," says Carsten Bauerochse.

But there are also other reasons for the increase in people seeking advice at the Ideas and Complaints Service Center.

Many citizens have changed their leisure habits during the pandemic, have been out and about and reported illegally disposed waste, defective street lamps or missing town entrance signs.

Whether it's a report via the defects app, an email or a phone call, all communication channels have one thing in common: the team takes every tip. It works in a solution-oriented manner for citizens and has a direct line to the specialist services and in-house operations of the town hall. "The growing number of reports about illegal waste disposal, for example, go directly to the municipal management company (SRB)," explains Carsten Klotz. This negative trend has also become increasingly apparent there in recent years: Bulky waste is disposed of outside the landfill, even though an administrative offense procedure is initiated if the polluters can be identified. Booking an appointment online at the Diebesstieg disposal center is easier and free of penalties: appointments can be chosen individually, for example to dispose of bulky and hazardous waste legally, without waiting and without complications.

The team at the "Ideas and Complaints" service point has also been able to help so easily and in so many cases: Replacing defective lighting fixtures or implementing a registration using the LUCA app in the municipal mourning halls were just as much a part of this as putting a family in need in touch with the municipal social workers following a tip-off from an attentive fellow citizen. "But often it's not the big problems that move us. Having an open ear for everyone and taking every question seriously is what is important and what makes the work so appealing," says Carsten Bauerochse, summing up his daily work.

The gratitude of customers for the efforts to bring more transparency to administrative decisions, but also the successful development of citizen-oriented solutions in cases of conflict, motivate the team in the service center every day anew. "We want to find out where the shoe pinches," Carsten Klotz sums up, "because this is the only way we can improve our services and adapt them to changing customer needs - within the legal framework, of course."

Carsten Bauerochse still has one wish for the new year: "A little more normality after this time marked by the pandemic, so that we can make more appointments with customers on site again. They often do more good than writing two letters and three emails," he adds with a wink.