Customer service standards
Our customers are important to us, and we want to make sure that we provide the highest standards of customer service possible. We want you to know that, whatever the service, and whether you contact us by letter, telephone, email or in person, we will deal with your enquiry as quickly and as fairly as possible.
To help us do that, we have introduced customer service standards that set out our commitment to you:
Telephone
- wherever possible we will ensure that your call is answered by a member of staff; we will only transfer calls to voicemail in exceptional circumstances
- we aim to answer calls within six rings
- if the person you need to speak to is not available, we will arrange for them to call you back
- we will respond to telephone messages within one working day, unless otherwise agreed with you.
- we will acknowledge all emails that require acknowledgment within one working day
- where it will take longer than one working day to provide a full response, we will provide a full response within ten working days or as agreed with you
Visitors
- we will see all visitors to the council offices with an appointment, promptly
- we will see all visitors to the council offices, who do not have an appointment, within 15 minutes
- we will always try to answer your queries on the day you visit, but if this is not possible, we will arrange an appointment for you to discuss it in person, or arrange for someone to telephone you
Letters
- we will respond to all letters within ten working days
- where it will take longer than ten working days to provide a full response we will write to tell you when we will be able to provide a full response
Generally
- we will always be welcoming and deal with customers politely and professionally in accordance with our promises above
- we will treat all our customers equally, and do all we can to ensure that you are able to access our services
- we will deal openly and honestly with our customers, we will explain why we are taking a particular course of action and what the timescales are likely to be.
And if things go wrong – we will take all complaints seriously, and will respond promptly in accordance with our agreed complaints procedure
Freedom of Information Act 2000/ Environmental Information Regulations 2004 – we deal with these requests in accordance with the relevant legislation and will normally respond within 20 working days. For more information please visit the FOI and EIR page
Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR – we deal with your requests to exercise your rights over your personal data in accordance with the relevant legislation and will normally provide information within one calendar month of your request being finalised. For more information please refer to the Data Protection Act
Contact us
If you have any questions about our customer service standards please contact the Customer Service Manager or make an online enquiry.
Help us to help you
Customers can help the council to deliver the best possible service by:
- being aware of any relevant service standards (for example, turnaround times on applications)
- keeping us informed of any relevant changes in your circumstances
- responding to letters and any requests for further information or documentation in the timescales requested
Our staff are committed to providing the best possible service for customers, and we believe that in return our staff have a right to be treated courteously and with respect.
The council will not tolerate instances of verbal, written or physical harassment or abuse of its staff. The council will record such incidents and may report them to the police. We retain the right, where we consider customer actions to be unacceptable, to change, restrict or refuse access to our services.
