Customer care charter

Our commitment to you:

1. Introduction

Why do we need standards?

We have standards in place to tell you what level of service you can expect from us.

It also tells you what we expect from you and what do do if things go wrong.

We want to give you the best service possible and these standards help us to deliver a consistently high level of service across the whole of the council.

2. What you can expect from us

Principles that are important to us

If you need to contact your council then please be reassured that we are committed to the following principles:

Being open and responsive to the communities we serve
Providing a choice of access to the services that people want and need
Consultation with our customers, learn from their views and feedback when consultation has taken place
Investing in our technology to provide better on-line services for those customers that prefer this method
Retaining more traditional methods of access as well as introducing on line services
Investing in our staff so they are equipped to serve you better
Our equal opportunities policy and why it is so important.

Contributing to our corporate ambitions

Everything we do to improve services will be done to achieve a specific aim or ambition identified in the corporate plan.

3. How will we know we are achieving better services?

Do we monitor our standards?

We take monitoring against the standards seriously.

Over and above performance indicators we also use a variety of other methods to check the quality of service being provided. These methods include:

Telephone monitoring
Complaint monitoring
Mystery shopping
Quality checks on correspondence
General observations
Feedback from customers
Focus groups with staff and customers.

These methods enable us to identify areas of good practice, areas for improvement and where we are in our journey to improve services to you, the customer.

4. Our standards

We aim to provide a first class service for our customers by achieving those ambitions identified in the corporate plan.

We take this commitment very seriously and we have a number of principles that we strive to achieve to ensure you receive the best service possible from your council.

We will provide:

A range of ways for you to access the services you need, in a way that is most convenient for you. This will include electronic methods, as well as telephone, in writing and face to face
An excellent service and will always strive to deliver regardless of how you contact us
The best services with value for money.

Our commitment to you, we will:

Be welcoming, polite and helpful
Do our best to help you
Communicate in plain language, not jargon
Listen to your feedback and use this to improve quality of our services
Respect your right to privacy and confidentiality.

For us to help you, you should:

Be polite and treat our staff with respect
Let us know if you have any special requirements so that we can provide the right help
Feedback to us if you feel we are not performing accordingly.

When contacting us by telephone

We aim to answer your call within 25 seconds or 5 rings
If we are unavailable we will divert our phone to voicemail or a colleague
Tell you the department and give you our name when we answer
Return your phone calls on the same day or when you ask us to
Provide a telephone interpreting service if you are hard of hearing or speak a different language.

When contacting us in writing (either letter, e-mail or web form)

We aim to acknowledge your correspondence with in two working days and respond fully within 10 working days
If we are unable to respond in full, we will update you on progress and advise you when we can respond
Provide well structured responses, using plain language responding to all the points raised.

When visiting us

We will welcome you and offer assistance to help
Ensure all of our staff are wearing a name badge and can be easily identified
Provide a pleasant, clean, tidy and safe reception area
Direct you to the appropriate person or team
Keep waiting times as short as possible for those with out an appointment
If you have an appointment with us we will see you within 15 minutes of your appointment time
Ensure everyone can gain easy access to our services

Our commitment to equality

Our staff will deal with your needs accordingly and treat you with the respect and understanding that you deserve and make the necessary arrangements to do so.

5. Comments, compliments or complaints

Our approach

It is your right to make comments, compliments or complaints
Your views matter
All formal complaints or comments will be thoroughly and fairly investigated
If we are at fault we will attempt to put things right
No one will be treated less favourably because they make a comment or complaint.
If you wish to feedback to us, there is an online form you can complete to make a complaint, comment or feedback on Council services or consultations.

Printable version: customer service standards (revised, January 2008) (PDF: 160KB)

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