Web site is answer to 1-million missed calls

What do you do if you run a state agency that gets 3-million phone calls a year but has only enough clerks to answer 2-million?

For years the answer at the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation was to just let 'em ring. The department failed to answer a stunning 1-million calls a year before the caller hung up.

To fix its abysmal performance, the department persuaded the Legislature to automate. Now it's wrapping up a $16-million project to overhaul the phone system and also make records of 890,000 licensed businesses and professionals accessible online.

That means people and businesses needing a business license -- one of every 18 people who live in Florida -- can now renew with a credit card 24 hours a day. Prospective callers can get quick answers to frequently asked questions. People checking the history of a business they're about to patronize can get an history of disciplinary actions meted out by an array of state licensing boards. The site is accessible at www.myflorida.com.

With all that information online, visits to the department's Web site soared 70 percent, to 33,800 a week. About 20 percent of license renewals are done self-service. Call volume dropped by more than half, to 21,700 calls a week.

"We've been answering 98 percent of our calls," said Lonnie Parizek, spokeswoman for the department that licenses everything from architects to veterinarians.

Officials caution rough edges linger. Records of most regulated business are posted. The rest, including hotels, restaurants, condos and time-sharing complexes, will come by February.

It's not one-stop shopping. Lawyers and doctors are regulated by other agencies. Consumer fraud cases prosecuted by other state agencies are not listed. To find out what a listed disciplinary action really involved requires calling a clerk to read a summary. There is no toll-free number yet.

The most frequent complaint?

"Businesses trying to get their disciplinary records removed," said Kim Binkley-Seyer, secretary of business and professional regulation. "I don't have the power to do that."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright