Success Story
Pasco County Schools Reduces Customer Service Costs by 41% with Let’s Talk
See how Pasco County Schools cut customer service costs by 41% with Let’s Talk, improving efficiency, transparency, and 24/7 support with AI.
October 24, 2023SUCCESS STORY SUMMARY
Challenge: Pasco County Schools needed to modernize districtwide service delivery and reduce the operational costs of customer support.
Solution: By implementing Let’s Talk, the district streamlined service delivery automated workflows, introduced AI-powered support, and gained real-time service insights.
Results: PCS reduced customer service costs by 41%, improved response times, and empowered staff to deliver fast, consistent service across departments.
Challenge
As one of Florida’s largest school districts, Pasco County Schools (PCS) faced the complex challenge of managing high volumes of stakeholder inquiries across dozens of entry points, with hundreds of staff responsible for providing answers. This led to inconsistent response times, duplicated efforts, and rising customer service costs.
“Before Let’s Talk, we didn’t have customer service data to rely on for spotting inefficiencies or providing support to overwhelmed teams,” said Melissa Musselwhite, Director of Student Support Programs and Services at PCS. “Now, if we notice duplicate efforts or trending topics, we’re able to address them immediately and empower our teams to deliver superior service.”
Solution
PCS implemented Let’s Talk in 2020 — just before the COVID-19 pandemic — to help families navigate school closures, virtual learning, and critical services like food distribution and Wi-Fi access. What began as a tool for emergency communications quickly became the district’s go-to platform for customer service delivery.
Today, Let’s Talk powers support across departments — from transportation, enrollment, and school choice to finance, early childhood programs, and internal operations. Departments manage inbound dialogues using keyword-based routing, automated workflows, and AI-powered tools like the Let’s Talk Assistant chatbot and an integrated Call Center system.
“When people leave one department and go to another, they take Let’s Talk with them,” Musselwhite said. “The platform has grown organically across our district through positive word-of-mouth and personal experience. Our mindset has become: if there’s a service need, we ask — how can we leverage Let’s Talk?”
The district also uses Let’s Talk to:
- Manage high-volume seasonal inquiries through Let’s Talk’s centralized Call Center — eliminating the need for 100+ temporary phone lines.
- Power internal ticketing systems for bookkeepers and finance teams.
- Monitor sentiment and response times across campuses for use in strategic planning and principal evaluations.
- Launch parent surveys, board comment submissions, and compliance forms — replacing expensive or disconnected third-party tools.
- Support community crisis communications and reunification protocols through pre-built forms and workflows.
Results
In 2024, a district-led cost-benefit analysis using the ROI Institute’s methodology showed a 41% reduction in customer service costs for PCS — with $1.68 in value returned for every $1 invested in Let’s Talk.
“We’ve reduced costs, saved time, eliminated duplicate efforts, and prevented issues before they escalate,” Musselwhite said. “Let’s Talk has transformed how we deliver service across our district and has become part of the fabric of how we work.”
Additional results include:
- Reduced call volume and better coverage: Prior to Let’s Talk, resolving a single issue could take six phone calls. Now, inquiries are resolved in one interaction.
- Streamlined transportation support: Let’s Talk Call Center replaced outdated systems like paper logs and Excel sheets, enabling live dashboards and workload distribution — and allowing teams to work from their usual locations.
- 24/7 support through AI: Let’s Talk Assistant handles hundreds of repetitive questions, saving hours of staff time and providing real-time insights into family needs.
- Stronger internal accountability: PCS uses Cx Scores and response time data in school leader evaluations, strategic planning, and school board reporting.
- Increased trust through transparency: Quarterly Success Scorecards include key metrics like average dialogue age and customer satisfaction — benchmarked against similar districts.
PCS also credits Let’s Talk for helping identify trends and respond to community needs more proactively. From capturing stakeholder feedback during emergencies to launching a pay-to-participate program to bring families back from private and homeschool settings, the platform’s flexibility continues to drive innovation.
“The use cases are endless,” said Musselwhite. “If you think you need a form, a workflow, or a way to track and improve communication — Let’s Talk is probably the right platform for you.”
Let’s Talk has helped PCS tackle customer service challenges, improve transparency, and automate workflows — all while delivering measurable savings and efficiency gains.
Connect with our team to learn how Let’s Talk can make a powerful difference in your district’s service delivery.
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