Customers take a closer look at complaints
We want customers to feel that they can tell us when something has gone wrong, knowing that we will respond respectfully and fairly. Communicating well with customers throughout the process is an important part of that. To make sure we are up-to-scratch, we asked our task and finish group to take a closer look.
Six enthusiastic customers and an independent chairperson met regularly from last November to the end of May 24 to take a close look at our complaints-related communications. Group members Jacqui and Jill explain:
Jill “The first thing we did was think about what a good response might look like from a customer point of view. We checked what the official requirements were, but then also thought about the emotional impact, and how a letter might make a customer feel. We came up with nine elements we thought a good response should have. We then used this checklist to review examples of complaint letters and emails that Saxon Weald had sent.”
Jacqui: “The main thing we found was inconsistency in the quality of the responses. Some were spot on, but some lacked any empathy or weren’t clear enough. We also found that some didn’t give enough detail of how they had reached their decision or what would happen next.”
Jill: “In total, we came up with 27 recommendations which we think would improve things. Some of us presented these to Saxon Weald’s customer experience committee. It was a bit daunting at first, but we felt they really listened and appreciated our work.”
Jacqui: “It’s been a great experience for me personally. You get to meet new people, help improve things for others and have a bit of fun along the way. We all want to carry on and be involved in the next group.”
Here’s a sample of the group’s recommendations:
We have been reviewing the recommendations to see which ones we can put in place. The majority are achievable, with just two or three less likely to be adopted. We’ll invite the task and finish group to come back and check in six months’ time to see the progress we are making. We’re confident they will see the difference their hard work has made.
You can find out more about Task and Finish and getting involved here.
Grounds maintenance
In May 2023, our four new grounds maintenance contractors set to work across their respective areas. It was peak growing season and they had some issues to pick up from the previous contractor, so it was a challenging start. Despite this, we are making progress.
We are keen to engage with customers to help drive continuous improvement. One way we are achieving this is through our Green Team. The team consists of customer volunteers who audit the quality of grounds maintenance in their area every month and let us know what is going well and what needs to be improved.
If you'd like to get involved and become a Green Team volunteer, please register here.
Community days
Following on from our fact finding day in March, we held a community day at St Cuthmans in Steyning on Wednesday 10 July. We provided skips so that customers could get rid of unwanted bulky items, litter picked, did some weeding and completed a few general repairs. We received some lovely thank you messages and it was great to have a chat with residents and identify any further support required.
Policy Review Group
Our policy review group currently consists of 33 customers who review any new policy or a policy that is due for renewal. Since April, they have reviewed the following policies:
You can find out more about the Policy Review Group and how to get involved here.
