CHI311 4+

Nice app, but where’s the login?

This is a nice app for interacting quickly with Chicago city services. Not only does it let you enter requests from out on the street, but it also lets you look them up from anywhere in the city. You can also look up things like transit stations and police stations very easily and quickly.

But...

A login is needed in order to get the most of the app. And the login button does not work. It sends you over to Salesforce, of all things, and that’s not very helpful for setting up to enter or check city service requests. All in all, it’s probably better just to log in on the City’s web site to enter requests.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We have since made many updates to the mobile app and many that address your specific issue. We hope you have the chance to update the app and check it out again!

Needs basic tweaking

I’m not sure the developers of this app actually use the app. I almost always use this exclusively to file yard waste pickups (which should be automatic, but that’s a topic for a discussion elsewhere), but I have no way to set “favorites”. I would add yard waste as a home screen fav so it is easy to get to, but can’t. Instead, the app has graffiti removal, rat abatement, potholes, and street light complaints as the default “Top Service Requests.” I’ve maybe only used one of those ever.

Secondly, while filling out the yard waste request, there are 8 questions, several of which are duplicative. For example, the request asks “Where is the yard waste located?” with an empty text box. The very next question is multiple choice of “Is your garbage picked up on the curb or alley?” Garbage collection isn’t relevant for yard waste pickup, and if it is, make the previous question multiple choice with an Other option and a text box to fill in if Alley or Curb aren’t relevant. For the question of “how many bags” the text box defaults to the letter keyboard and the app should default to the number keyboard.

It’s generally a fine app, but improving the user experience with smarter, and less question, would be appreciated.

Lacks fields/boxes that are found in the web version

For example, when filing a “water on street” complaint, the web version has a box to add “additional information”. The app doesn’t have that. That “additional information” box matters because it’s the only box one can write that the “flooding problem” is not a one-time problem, that the street gets flooded even when it’s just light-medium rain, that school children can’t use the two crosswalks because water covers the crosswalks. App developers, please always include a “description” box so users can describe the situation in their own words. Drop-down menus to select problem descriptions are often very lacking.

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8/2/22
Very useless app. The city marks requests as completed on the same day that the request is sent. They mark requests as completed without fixing the problem. What’s the point of this app?

Developer Response ,

Thanks for your feedback! We have added this field in a recent update (along with numerous other improvements). We hope you will give the app another try soon.