Endorsement by Long Beach Block-by-Block - Paulita Elliott - Lead Guide
May 18, 2007
Paulita Elliott, Block-by-Block
IDA Awards Committee
Dear IDA Awards Committee,
For over two years, I have worked as a Downtown Guide employed by Block-by-Block in Downtown Long Beach. Currently, I am a Lead Guide for the program. Over the years, I have seen many changes, but the most dramatic has been using the PDAs.
Before the PDAs, we had to write out our activity reports each day. I had to document all the events of my day on paper-things as simple as making a business contact, recording the addresses of each place I visited, detailing any directions I gave that day and even trying to recapture conversations I had with someone visiting Downtown Long Beach for the first time. This does not even include the many incidents, disturbances, encounters with homeless and the need to document each LBPD visit to the area. At the end of each week, there would be a stack of about 500 pieces of paper. Added to all that was the fact that not all the Guides wrote legibly! Just putting together my weekly reports was a challenge. Once I had them completed, I would tally up the total number of occurrences and file it away in a box.
When we first got the PDAs, most of the Guides were very excited to use them. Some were nervous, but soon everyone began to appreciate the many advantages to the PDAs, especially me. It allows me to type in the first three letters of a business or find a business by a subcategory of its service, such a Retail or Professional Services. It already has all the information, such as the name, address, what type of services they offer and even the phone number. The PDA System has a printer with a Bluetooth connection that allows me to print a simple address or even walking directions for visitors. At the end of the day, our stats are tallied up and get loaded onto a website that puts everything we do into a database for easy access. We can look up any events from a certain day or week or month-and we're even saving trees while we do it! Since using the PDAs, there has been a drastic decrease in the amount of paperwork we have to do, which allows us to spend more time on the street. Our reports are more detailed, accurate, and easy to produce with the PDAs. We are also able to analyze the information we enter into the PDAs, like creating maps of where graffiti was reported.
As a Lead Guide, I am responsible for making sure the other Guides perform their job duties. Since we are not in an office but out on the street, it can be difficult to make sure that everyone is where they are supposed to be. The PDAs allow us to track the business contacts and locations of the Guides very easily so that we can be sure that their time in the community is productive and meeting the needs of the program.
I am so glad we use PDAs. With the touch of a button, we have at our finger tips the latest information about the Downtown. I speak for the all the Guides by saying the PDA program is the best choice and investment ever made. Not only is my job more enjoyable, I know I am more productive. I hope other Downtowns have the opportunity to incorporate PDAs into their Guide programs, as I am confident they too will benefit from it.
Sincerely,
Paulita Elliott
1325 South 4th Street
Louisville, KY 40208
1250 H Street, NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
