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Customer Care Policy

Introduction

We are committed to ensuring customer service excellence is integral to planning, resourcing and delivery of all council services.

The Customer Care Policy aims to ensure that all sections of the community - including those with special needs - are not excluded from any area of service delivery.

Whenever customers have contact with Bridgnorth District Council, they will receive consistently excellent standards of customer service.

Best Practice

This policy document has been compiled using Best Practice Guidance from Beacon Councils with awards for Customer Service and from other authorities with 'Excellent' Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) scores.

Policy Statement

This Customer Care Policy defines the aims and objectives of Customer First with regard to:

• Technical customer care standards.
• Guidance when dealing with different customer interactions.
• Presentation.

Bridgnorth District Council Statement

We recognise excellent customer service must be an integral part of the delivery of quality public services. There is a high financial cost incurred in delivering poor customer service due to repeat calls from and to customers.

We aim to maintain an environment where:

• Both the public and members of staff feel valued.
• Staff workloads are managed effectively resulting in efficient service delivery.
• Services can be tailored to the needs of customers based on their feedback.

We are committed to continually raising standards of Customer Service by responding to any issues and feedback from colleagues and the public.

We are also looking at ways of providing greater customer choice by using electronic service delivery. This will allow people to access council services at times that suit their lifestyle, while also maintaining existing channels for members of the public who may not have access to technology.

Additionally, we will ensure that the strategy is delivered to a standard that is cost effective, quality driven, user friendly and efficient. This will be done in a way that is inclusive and addresses the needs of all our residents through:

• A council-wide approach to Customer Service.
• Standards that apply to all aspects of the council including internal customers, support staff, partners and contractors.

Our aim is 'To put the Customer First' in everything we do

Assumptions

The majority of standards will not have any financial implications but the following assumptions have been made:

• The Customer Services department has a close working relationship with back office services.
• Customer service underpins all service planning, resourcing and delivery.
• Staff and councillors operate within a continuous improvement environment to improve Customer Care, 'what is the problem and how can we fix it'.
• Continuous training and development is an important aspect of customer service.

Purpose of the standards

The standards have been developed in order to ensure customers receive a consistent level of Customer Care across the council.

Standards and values

The council will aim for the following standards:

• Acknowledge receipt of enquiries within three working days and respond within 10 working days. Acknowledge 100% of enquiry emails within one working day.
• Acknowledge receipt of formal complaints within three working days and respond within 15 working days.
• Answer 90% of telephone calls across the council within 15 seconds.
• Provide information about services in languages other than English, Braille and audio where necessary.
• Show empathy when addressing any special needs.
• Ensure, where necessary that all buildings are accessible for disabled people.
• Involve the community in the process of developing and enhancing our services.
• Maintain and develop a modern and well-managed authority.
• Aim to provide a service that treats people fairly.

The key objectives of the standards are to ensure accuracy, consistency, efficiency and cost effectiveness in our approach to the presentation and delivery of customer service by:

• Providing a standard that is simple and user friendly.
• Providing a documented framework and guidelines.
• Developing performance targets which are reviewed regularly and gather feedback from staff, Councillors, our partners and the public.
• Ensuring the standards are applied across the council and can be adopted by our partners where services are delivered jointly.

Customer interaction

Face-to-face contact

• Customers will be greeted in a polite and courteous manner.
• Staff will always give their full attention to the customer.
• Wherever possible, staff will aim to resolve the customer's enquiry at first contact.
• We will aim to ensure all customers are catered for and appropriate arrangements are in place, e.g. where possible, hearing loops, translation facilities and interview rooms.
• Staff meeting with customers at the first point of contact will ensure adequate information regarding the customer's enquiry is obtained, but at the same time ensuring confidentiality especially when dealing with sensitive enquiries in a busy reception area, e.g. benefits applications, arrears etc.
• Staff at first point of contact will give customers the option of seeing specialist members of staff, either in an interview room, or in the open reception area.
• At first contact, staff will aim to ensure that customers are not left unattended for more than five minutes in reception or an interview room without providing an update on issues or progress, either directly or via a colleague. If staff are unavailable the customer should be made aware of the expected waiting time.

Waiting times

After initial contact, customers will be given an indication of how long they can be expected to wait. If waiting times are to exceed 10 minutes, customer services staff will inform the customer.

Telephone calls

• Staff will aim to answer telephone calls within 15 seconds, either directly or picked up using voicemail.
• Calls should be answered with, Good morning / afternoon, department and name - preferably full name or first name as a minimum. However staff in Customer Services or external offices around the district will answer calls with, Good morning / afternoon, the facility and their name.
• Staff will aim, wherever possible, to resolve the customer's enquiry at first contact.
• Telephones will be attended during published opening hours. If staff are away from their desk, phones should be diverted to another person / section or voicemail.
• In cases where a customer has a hearing impairment, arrangements can be made via the Customer Services department.
• If members of staff need to telephone a customer, they will ask if it is convenient or arrange another time to call and keep the appointment.
• If a call is put on 'hold' the customer will be told why this is happening and kept updated if the waiting time is longer than expected.

Answer phones and voicemail

Answer phones and voicemail may be used to ensure that telephone calls are answered. We will aim to provide the following:

• Recorded messages from answer phones will provide customers with an alternative contact number or details.
• Answer phone / voicemail will give the caller an option to leave a message.
• All Bridgnorth District Council messages will be responded to as soon as possible - ideally within 24 hours or the next working day if the message is left over a weekend or bank holiday.
• Staff / sections should update voicemail each day detailing whether available, on holiday or giving alternative contact details / numbers or forward calls to another number.

Written correspondence

Written correspondence including fax, will be acknowledged within three days and responded to in 10 working days. Receipt of an email will be acknowledged in one working day.

The presentation and content of any written correspondence will be clear, easy to understand and jargon free, accurate and include a contact name and the switchboard 100 number.

All issues raised by the customer will be acknowledged and responded to within the correspondence.

Enquiry handling

• We have a complaints procedure and staff understand how it operates.
• Staff will aim to resolve all concerns raised by the customer immediately and informally.
• Staff will inform the customer that if the informal resolution is not to their satisfaction, they may make a formal complaint and explain how to do this and what to expect. Customers should have an acknowledgement of their complaint within three days and a full written reply within 15 days.
• Heads of Service will analyse any complaints about the service and demonstrate that when complaints identify service failures, remedial action is taken so that problems do not recur.

Remedy for failure

If you feel we have failed in our service delivery, Bridgnorth District Council will investigate and if a service failure is identified, we will ensure it is remedied.

These service failures may involve:

• Unjustified delays.
• Failure to follow council policies, rules or procedures.
• Failure to provide a service to a published standard.
• Failure to tell people of their rights or entitlements.
• Providing inaccurate or misleading advice.

Publications

The following information will be available in council publications:

• Standards of service against targets.
• Results of focus groups, mystery shopping and customer satisfaction surveys.
• Changes made to services as a result of feedback, complaints or consultation.

Customer consultation

We have mechanisms in place to enable proactive consultation across most services. Evidence of public consultation will be provided via the website, council publications and to customer focus groups, with feedback about changes made to services as a result.

Suggestions

We will encourage customers, partners and staff to make suggestions to improve our services and provide access to suggestion boxes. Additionally, the council will inform customers of any changes made to services as a result of their suggestions.

Customer satisfaction

Bridgnorth District Council will ensure mechanisms are in place to survey customers regarding satisfaction levels through mystery shopping and focus groups, to gain a deeper understanding into actual levels of service. This information will be used to improve service delivery.

Customer safety

• All customers visiting council buildings will be provided with a safe environment.
• Where possible, buildings which receive members of the public will have a designated member of staff for (1) Health and Safety (2) First Aid and the details displayed.
• The council complies with Health and Safety guidelines.

Staff training and development

We will ensure that staff receive continuous training to enable them to satisfy customer expectations and keep their skills up-to-date.

Help and information

We will provide help and information about our services that are clear and easy to use. More information is available via our website at www.bridgnorth-dc.gov.uk

Presentation

Staff name badges

• Where appropriate, staff will be neatly dressed to meet members of the public.
• Where appropriate, staff will wear printed name badges that specify their name and designation, e.g. staff based at Westgate, Community Information Points and Leisure Centres.

Buildings and signage

• Buildings will be clearly signed internally and externally.
• Reception points will be attended during opening hours.
• Reception points will be welcoming, clean and tidy.
• Reception points will display clear and accurate opening times.
• Details of services and personnel available will be displayed clearly in all reception areas.

Information / communication

Information for the public will be clear and reviewed regularly. Published information will be accessible to customers with specific needs and in line with the Freedom of Information policy.

Availability and access

We will ensure customers have easy access to information about:

• Opening times.
• Offices and addresses.
• Names of managers.
• Facilities / services available.
• Access details.
• Means by which contact can be made.
• Out of hours contact details.

Staff conduct, awareness and safety

• Staff will be courteous and polite and expect to be treated in the same way by customers.
• In any case of extended dispute, frontline staff must seek assistance from their manager.
• We will ensure that procedures are in place to safeguard staff from both verbal and physical attack. We will take action - legal or otherwise - where verbal or physical attacks are made to staff in accordance with the Lone Working and Violence Policy.

Customer information provision

Bridgnorth District Council-stored information will be made available in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998, Freedom of Information Act, 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations, 2004.

Any communication will be clearly identified as Bridgnorth District Council with author, current date and any reference numbers.

We will also promote the use of electronic service delivery to provide customers with information.

Continuous improvement

We will use the principles of external awards of Chartermark, Investors in People and a quality management approach in order to improve levels of service delivery.

Performance / data requirement

We will have systems and processes in place that allow us to monitor and evaluate our performance and publicise our performance against standards including:

Complaints data

• Systems to log, acknowledge, process and respond to complaints.
• Record complaints including; nature, date received, date responded, outcome, remedy and any action taken to prevent recurrence.
• These records will be collated.
• We will ensure that all records, papers, correspondence, notes of telephone conversations and face-to-face meetings regarding individual complaints are readily available and easily accessible.

Performance monitoring

• Bridgnorth District Council will ensure that systems are in place to monitor service performance against individual Audit Commission performance indicators and create local indicators where gaps exist, these are listed in our Corporate Plan.
• These PIs may be subject to internal and external audit therefore it is important that management information is transparent and robust.
• Management information will be collected and monitored from various systems including the Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) and via telephone logs.