The holiday season is fast approaching, and with it comes the annual rush of closures, reduced hours, and resident questions.
When people know what to expect, who to contact, and when you’ll respond, satisfaction grows.
This edition of the Scoop looks at how Solvers are keeping things running smoothly, even while taking a well-earned break.
In this edition of the Scoop we’ll explore:
○ What Auckland Transport’s audit reveals about timely, effective messages
○ How City of Perth’s “plug-and-play” integration saves time even during busy periods
○ Simple ways to customise alerts before your holiday closure
○ How Queenstown Lakes District Council and Yarra Valley Water keep customers informed over the break
Why timely updates matter
As we prepare for holiday closures, New Zealand’s Auditor-General has shared a helpful reminder about the value of timely communication and how small updates can make a big difference.
In a recent review of Auckland Transport’s disruption processes, the Auditor-General found that customers prefer short, timely messages over complete silence. Even a brief “we’re aware and working on it” update helps customers understand what’s happening and what to expect next.
The report also noted that manual, multi-step workflows often delay updates, particularly outside business hours and during public holidays. Automation and one-step publishing were highlighted as practical ways to keep information flowing when teams are offline.
For councils heading into the holidays, the takeaway is clear:
When services pause or change, share something early, even if it’s brief.
City of Perth stays ahead with smarter automation
When the holiday season hits, many councils face the same challenge: limited staff availability and a surge in customer queries. The City of Perth tackled this head-on by integrating Snap Send Solve directly with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, transforming how requests are captured, routed, and Solved.
Before automation, every report needed a manual check and entry by a dedicated team member. Now, Snap Send Solve requests flow seamlessly into their CRM, automatically creating cases and routing them to the right team.
The result?
○ Automated workflows requiring less staff oversight, perfect when offices are quieter or staff are away
○ Faster first response times, thanks to reduced manual handling
The best part? The team completed the entire setup in just five days, proving that small, well-timed changes can make a big operational impact.
“It was an IKEA-style integration… a nice plug-and-play solution.”- Guy MacLeod, City of Perth
For Perth, automation wasn’t just a tech upgrade, it was a way to keep their customer experience consistent year-round, without adding pressure to staff over peak or holiday periods.
Set up your holiday alerts early
Before your team signs off, take a moment to set up alert screens and review your incident customisations in the Solver Portal.
These simple tools help you communicate clearly during closure periods, and keep residents informed even when your office is offline.
With incident customisation, you can:
○ Add holiday-specific alerts or closure messages
○ Route urgent and non-urgent incident types by staff email automatically
○ Reduce post-break follow-ups with clear expectations up front
It’s a small setup that makes a big difference to community confidence and your January workload.
Need a quick refresher? Our Senior Customer Success Manager, Frank Ottobre, walks you through everything customisable in the Solver Portal, perfect for getting holiday-ready.
Setting the standard for holiday communication
Across Australia and New Zealand, Solvers are showing how clear, early communication can prevent confusion and keep communities informed over the holiday period.
Queenstown Lakes District Council shared their closure details well in advance, outlining who to contact for urgent issues and encouraging residents to use Snap Send Solve for everything non-urgent.
By setting expectations early, they reduce uncertainty and help residents self-serve with confidence.
Yarra Valley Water took a proactive approach too, reaffirming that their 24/7 operations continue through the holidays while guiding customers to Snap Send Solve for all non-urgent issues.
That distinction between urgent and non-urgent channels helps keep frontline capacity focused where it’s needed most.
Together, these examples show that the best holiday messaging isn’t just informative; it’s strategic, clear, and community-focused.
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