The General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai has introduced a new call center service catering specifically to children, aiming to provide them with information related to immigration procedures.
Lieutenant General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, the Director-General of GDRFA, revealed the launch of this service during a recent media interaction at the Innovation Center, where the 24/7 Amer call center is located.
The initiative is an extension of the existing children's passport control counters at Dubai's airport terminals, designed to enhance the travel experience for young passengers and raise awareness about GDRFA's services. The dedicated call center line for children is accessible through the toll-free Amer call center numbers, 8005111 (within the UAE) and +97143139999 (outside the UAE). Children can press 3 for English and 4 for Arabic to connect to the special line.
The call center staff has undergone specialized training to handle children's inquiries, emphasizing a child-friendly approach. The service has been available on a trial basis since November 2023, and positive feedback from users has been received. Lt. Gen. Al Marri highlighted the importance of engaging with the younger generation and welcoming their ideas and suggestions.
Young callers have utilized the service to inquire about various topics, including visa status, details about visiting Dubai, and procedures for traveling alone. Lt Col Salem Mohammed Ali Sultan Bin Ali, the director of the Customer Happiness Department, emphasized that the service is exclusively for children to interact with, not for parents to inquire about their children's visa status.
Additionally, the GDRFA has introduced the "Call Back Assist" feature in its call center to address situations when customer care agents are busy. The system allows users to leave a request for a callback from a GDRFA agent, enhancing customer service efficiency.
The overall increase in customer engagement, with over 1.6 million interactions in 2023 compared to over 1.3 million in 2022, reflects the growing awareness and popularity of GDRFA's services. The rise in calls has been attributed to factors such as population growth in Dubai and increased awareness of Amer call center services.
Video call services are offered from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the call center is open all day. Arabic and English are the supported languages for the video call service, while Arabic, English, Urdu/Hindi, Tagalog, Farsi, Russian, and Malayalam are among the languages handled by the call center. Users have a pleasant experience overall when they engage with GDRFA services, thanks to the rapid response time and attempts to decrease call waiting time.
