The Dunedin City Council’s handling of an impromptu marketing opportunity on national radio has been lamented as ‘‘a woeful let down’’ for the city.
The council admits it was a missed opportunity but says the role of its customer services staff does not include ‘‘giving impromptu interviews to media’’ which could be daunting.
On Tuesday afternoon, Dunedin isite Visitor Information Centre was the target of a cold call by RNZ’s Jesse Mulligan.
It was part of a weekly segment where the host randomly calls an information centre around New Zealand, with the goal of learning more about the town or city in question.
After being connected with a council customer services staff member, Mr Mulligan said he was ‘‘looking for some help with some local attractions’’ but was told the isite was busy.
The staff member themselves also said they could not talk with him.
Among those who took to social media to voice their concerns about the segment was Southern Heritage Trust chairwoman and council candidate Jo Galer.
‘‘Big listenership, wasted opportunity – damn annoying,’’ Ms Galer commented using a personal account.
‘‘Dunedin deserves better.
‘‘[It] is a woeful let down for our amazing city and everyone here working their butts off in tourist jobs.
‘‘And paying rates for this.’’
Others said it was ‘‘embarrassing’’ and Mr Mulligan had been ‘‘stymied by bureaucracy’’.
‘‘He won’t be the only one who got the run around,’’ one person said.
‘‘If that call didn’t go through I wonder how many more calls the isite miss out on?’’ another said.
Council customer and regulatory acting general manager Paul Henderson said it accepted it was a missed opportunity for a bit of publicity, but because of ‘‘genuine reasons that are not the fault of our staff’’.
Its customer services team handled calls from the public involving a wide range of council facilities and services.
Staff worked hard to respond positively and professionally to every query.
‘‘But the role does not include giving impromptu interviews to media to promote the city’s attractions.
‘‘Staff at the isite would have been better placed to respond to RNZ’s request, but they were busy helping other customers when the call came in, as was explained at the time.
‘‘It’s also important to recognise this sort of approach by a national broadcaster, putting staff ‘live on air’ to a large audience with no warning, can be a daunting prospect for many people – even if it is done with the best of intentions.’’
