The Israeli Consulate in Toronto is renewing itself: A first of its kind pilot program in Israeli embassies around the world has been launched at the Consulate, with the purpose of allowing customers to book an appointment themselves. Simply by visiting the Consulate’s website, a person can choose the time at which he wants to visit the Consulate, and this will guarantee him entry to the building, without wasting time standing outside.
Screen shot: toronto.mfa.gov.il/
The person behind the project is the Consulate’s administrative officer, Consul Gadi Alon. “We treat the public which comes to us as customers in every respect,” he told Shalom Toronto. “Our goal is that the public will benefit from the best service possible. We do not want people wasting their time outside and praying they’ll get inside, as has been the case until now. We want to become more efficient. We want to lower the pressure, which has caused our customers and us a quite a bit of trouble in the past. This will help us to regulate the pressure and eventually provide a better service.”
It should be noted that the arrival time one chooses does not guarantee immediate service, but only entry into the waiting room. “A person who booked an appointment for 9:45 in the morning, for example, will be able to enter the consulate at that time, but will probably still have to wait inside,” explained Alon. “We want to give each person the time they need, and give each person the proper service for his issue, and so it is impossible to predict exactly when anyone will receive service.”
The energetic administrative officer and Consul remembers the days when the line was unbearable, both for customers and for employees of the Consulate.
“There were complaints about the queue and the waiting time, and at the same time there was also a problem of coordinating expectations,” he said. “Today we give people the ability to come whenever it is convenient for them, in order to provide better service. Our internet system is very informative and user friendly, so it is highly recommended to use it.”
A short visit to the Toronto Consulate’s website finds a system that takes the customer through a few screens, with updates and different information about everything he will need prior to his arrival at the Consulate. At the end of the process the client will receive an email confirmation and registration number, which he will present if necessary at the Consulate. In order to shorten the time one spends at the Consulate, Consul Gadi Alon recommends that the customer carefully read the relevant instructions for the service he wishes to receive while booking the appointment, and that he fill out the relevant forms.
“Right now this is only a pilot project,” said Alon. “If it gains momentum and helps us, as we hope will happen, then in the end everything will happen via computer, as is the case with many service providers in the U.S. and elsewhere. It was important for us to get the system implemented at the beginning of New Year, as we had promised, and we hope there will be further improvements in the future.”
As part of the comprehensive renovation process at the Consulate building on Bloor Street, a waiting room with comfortable chairs and a TV on the floor of the Consulate will be built in the coming year. So, instead of waiting and standing on the ground floor, those coming to the Consulate will be able to sit in a nice room with comfortable chairs and a TV.
“Our goal is to reach a situation in which anyone who wants to receive high quality service will be able to receive it,” said Alon. “At the end of the renovation we will increase our personnel accordingly. The headquarters of the Foreign Ministry understands that the Consulate in Toronto receives a relatively large number of people relative and requires more resources. Near the summer season there are peaks and we want to be able to handle them and serve the Israeli public in the best way possible. Today, there are three service windows, but in the future we’ll have five windows which should accelerate our work pace by 60%.”
