A day in Customer Services

One of my greatest pleasures in life is call centres. The opportunity to fill 20 - 30 minutes of my day with snatched bits of songs from The Lighthouse Family/Rod Stewart/The Cheeky Girls whilst being told by a recorded message that my call is "important" is, I find, one of the best ways to relax and unwind after a long day.

All of which is why I jumped at the chance of being part of a Council taskgroup investigating our approach to customer services. We've spent the last few months looking at Westminster's approach to contact with residents, taking evidence from leading consultants, questioning officers and reading reports. One of the things I thought very important, though, was actually to get onto the frontline and see what actually happens.

Last Saturday I spent several hours listening to calls received in several of our call centres - queries ranging from asking about library opening times, finding out how to dispose of bulky rubbish, enquiring about parking in the West End and services for older people. The whole experience really was fascinating - listening to the way in which residents interact with their Council and the level of services they expect. I was particularly heartened by the professional and courtous manner in which Westminster's employees handled each call and, particularly, the minimal waiting times to be connected.

Last night I reported back to the meeting of our Customer Services taskgroup and we had a wide-ranging discussion on the future for Westminster. The organisation - as every other Council and company in the UK - still has some way to go and I know officers are committed to making improvements. Council officers are preparing a Westminster 'standard' of customer service to build upon our strong foundations and make sure that we are dealing properly with every customer who gets in touch.

If you'd like to discuss your experience of Westminster's customer services, please do get in touch.

Lee