It is the morning of August 29th: a waitress, leaving the Florio, a bar overlooking Via San Domenico, risks being hit by a car crossing the pedestrian area. Yet another episode: since the bollards broke down a few years ago, that stretch of road has been used by cars whose drivers pretend not to understand that this is a pedestrian area. Already in the previous days, a child risked being run over.
All that remains is to report the incident to 3290582872, the WhatsApp number of the Municipality's URP (Public Relations Office). Along with the story of the episode, a photo of one of the many cars that traveled that stretch of road is also attached. The automatic replies arrive: «The WhatsApp service is active from Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 13:00. Thank you for contacting the Public Relations Office of the Municipality of Cagliari. An operator will respond to you shortly." Followed by a «Good morning», by the notice that «we have sent the report to the service» and by a pimp «Thank you for contacting the Municipality of Cagliari».
It would be reasonable to expect a response on the merits. But it doesn't arrive. And, a few days later, a new message is sent. «Perhaps, after a week from the report, the "service" could give me some sort of answer. After all, I reported a problem that was particularly felt by residents and commercial operators in the neighborhood." The usual three automatic responses start automatically. To which another is added: "We have sent the reminder to the service."
But the reminder has no effect. Thus, on September 13th, another message was sent: «Dear Municipality of Cagliari, I find it embarrassing, fifteen days after my report, not to have received even a shred of response. What should a citizen do to ask for a solution to a problem which, moreover, concerns a community and not just him?". This time, only the three automatic responses arrive. For the rest, total silence.
The last attempt was made on 20 September: «Dear Municipality of Cagliari, is it possible that, three weeks later, no one can tell me the reason why the bollards in Via San Domenico have been broken for years?». Usual three automatic responses and nothing more.
Thus we arrive at the last episode, the message sent exactly one month after the first report. «Dear Municipality of Cagliari, one month after my report and after three messages left unanswered, the time has come for me to introduce myself: my name is Marcello Cocco and I am a journalist from L'Unione Sarda. It is precisely in the newspaper for which I work that I will talk about this "adventure" of mine: it does not seem normal to me that a public relations office interacts with the public through messages with predefined responses. Best regards".
The message is sent at 9.35am. At 9.49 the smartphone rings. «Good morning, it's the Public Relations Office», you hear from the other end of the phone. The operator explains that the call is due to the fact that, given that the feedback from citizens is almost always positive, they usually contact those who are not satisfied. "It has nothing to do with the fact that you are a journalist," he specifies. And the operator also explains the reasons for the lack of response. The fact that hundreds of reports arrive every day which are not easy to dispose of, since there is also a shortage of staff. And, above all, the fact that, if the competent service does not provide information, it becomes impossible for the Public Relations Office to respond. «In any case, as soon as they let us know something, we will contact you immediately», they assure.
In fact, at 11.51am, another call arrives. «I know», says the same operator, «it doesn't seem credible but the competent service has let us know that an intervention is scheduled for next week to resolve that problem. An expected intervention that has nothing to do with his report." Strange, really strange. But that's okay: the important thing is to solve the problem.
The news spreads quickly throughout the area. Commercial operators, residents and those who frequent the square rejoice. And they await the arrival of the technicians. We don't see anyone on Monday. And not even in the following days: the technicians come by to replace the street lamps, even, on Friday, the municipal workers show up repairing, so to speak, the (unlikely) fences around the flowerbeds in the square. But not even a shadow of technicians, workers, maintenance workers and municipal engineers who have to fix the bollards.
All finished? Apparently yes. Although, the following week, there is an (apparent) twist: on Wednesday morning, a "Chinese" is placed right above one of the broken bollards. A flash in the pan because no intervention has been carried out for the moment.
All that remains is to wait for the next episode. Hoping it's the final one...