Kimberly Reese-Glover — Customer Service Agent at the 3–1–1 Call Center

Unlike many of the other employees I’ve interviewed, Kim is not a home-grown Akron native. She grew up in upstate New York, has lived in Connecticut and even France for 3 years, which is where her daughter was born. Once she landed in Akron though, she knew this was home, and she plans to be here for the foreseeable future. Lucky for Akron if you ask me. I assumed that it would take a special kind of person to work at the Mayor’s 3–1–1 Call Center and after meeting Kim, I now know I was correct. Kim may not have grown up in Akron but she fell in love with it and works day in and day out to help out other Akron residents.

She started working with the Recreation Bureau in 2013 as a seasonal employee teaching fitness classes. In 2015 she began working at Balch Street Center in the administration office. By 2017, she had started at the Call Center and immediately became an example of excellent communication and service. She has a heart for service which is so apparent when you hear her speak about her love for her job. She genuinely wants to help others which is evidenced by the fact that she is regularly the #1 call taker at the Center.

1. What does your job entail?

Basically, I take calls from citizens. I find out what the issue is that they are experiencing and then from there I either create a service request, transfer them to the correct department, or if they have the wrong number, I try to get them the correct number. Sometimes people outside of Akron call us so I’ll look up the correct number for them.

2. What’s your favorite part about your job?

I really like working with the community. I started in recreation and that was a lot more one on one work with citizens but this is similar, just over the phone. I’m still interacting with people every day and helping citizens. The best part is really any call that ends with, “Thank you so much for being there and for helping me.” I want people to know that it’s not a bother for them to call me. Sometimes people will apologize for calling in and I just say, “No need to apologize. That’s what I’m here for!” I enjoy being there for people who didn’t think anyone would be there to help them or didn’t know who else to call.

3. What are some of your hobbies or what do you enjoy doing in your free time?

Well for the last 4 months I haven’t had any free time at all. I’ve been doing an unpaid internship at the battered women’s shelter as part of my degree. I’m graduating this month with my Bachelor’s in Human Services. I’ve been doing online classes through Post University. When I do have free time though, I like to enjoy Akron. There is so much to do in Akron especially when it’s nicer out with the trails and the parks. I like to go to Lock 3 for concerts or even here at the Mustard Seed they always have live music. For live shows I love jazz but really I enjoy all kinds of music.

4. Do you have a favorite Akron restaurant/brewery/coffee shop, etc.?

I don’t like picking favorites. One of the things I really like about Akron is that no matter what you are in the mood for, you can find it here. I like Mustard Seed, Cilantro, Crave, and plenty of others. Really just depends on what I’m feeling!

5. What is your proudest accomplishment while working for the city?

I’m really proud of my call numbers. Last year I was the #1 call taker with 25,236 calls. I usually answer over 100 calls a day. I remember there was one day that I took 295 calls in one single day. I woke up in the middle of the night saying, “Akron 3–1–1 Call Center, how can I help you?” (laughing). I really do take pride in being able to help residents and just having the work ethic that I do.

6. What is one thing that you wish residents knew about what you do?

I think a lot of people don’t really understand what my role actually is. Sometimes I’ll get calls where someone says, “I’ve called you multiple times and you still haven’t fixed the problem.” They don’t understand that I’m not physically the one that is going out to cut the high grass for example. We act as the middle man where I take the calls and put in the service requests but then I have to go to the next call. We don’t personally go out and fix things. Also, I think sometimes people are afraid to call because they aren’t sure if it’s something that we deal with or not. I would encourage you to just give us a call if there is an issue because even if it ends up being something that we don’t directly handle, we will always try to get you to the correct department/office/person/etc.

7. When you get an angry caller who is yelling at you, how do you handle that?

I just try my best to put myself in their shoes. I never know their story or how long they might have been dealing with an issue before getting to me. Often times, people need to just vent first and get out some of their frustrations so I try to let them do that. I just try to be empathetic and then ultimately I do what I can to help resolve whatever their issue is.

***

Opened in 2004, the City of Akron’s 311 Call Center serves as the initial point of contact for non-emergency issues and citizen concerns. If you have a burning building, dial 911! If you have a burning question, just dial 311. Some common reasons people call 311 include sanitation issues i.e. need a replacement trash cart, need to schedule a bulk pick-up, etc., high grass/weeds need cut, and snow/ice removal. They are open Mon. through Fri.: 7:00 a.m. — 6:00 p.m. You can submit a request online at https://www.akronohio.gov/311 or you can call 3–1–1 or 330–375–2311.