Our 2019-20 repairs surveys showed that, although we were performing well, we needed to get better at communicating with customers. We spotted issues around:
- Changes to appointments.
- Letting a customer know when an issue hasn't been fixed and we need to come back (e.g. with parts).
- Customers with visual impairments couldn't read our name badges.
How we got our feedback
Who?
1,200 customers
When?
July 2019-March 2020
How?
Telephone surveys with customers who have had a recent repair
So, what we did...
- We're only booking in same-day appointments for emergencies. Although it was good to fix the repair quickly, we often had to let customers down when emergencies came in.
- As of March 2020, all our operatives now have braille name badges.
- We have given our trade operatives training on things like:
- Alerting colleagues when there is a problem on a job, so we can make sure the customer is aware.
- Letting customers know when any rubbish/debris left outside their home will be collected.
- We are setting up a customer service training session for all our trade operatives.
- We've had a big push to make sure our Customers Services teams are recording every contact they have with a customer. Every time you contact us, even for a quick call, we should log it.
We are also creating a Repairs Charter in consultation with our Customer Community. The Charter will set out our service standards for repairs - more info coming soon.