Customer care standards
We want to deliver excellent customer services and continue to improve and so the Customer Service team have published a Customer Charter which details the service you can expect from our team. Residents and community views help to shape our priorities. We listen and respond to what you tell us.
Telephone calls
Please note: The Customer Service team are currently reviewing the telephone service. As part of this review we are revising the standard of service that you can expected from the team. We will share this with you as soon as the new standards are agreed.
Written communication
When you write to us:
- We will send you an acknowledgement within five working days if a full response is not possible within ten workings days.
- Letters which require a response from a service area directly will be sent on to the relevant team within 5 working days.
- We will send you an acknowledgement within five working days if a full response to a complaint within fifteen working days is not possible, under Stage 1 of the procedure.
- The council has a statutory obligation to respond within twenty working days to requests dealt with under the Freedom of information Act 2000 process.
Face to face communications
Visitors will be greeted by a receptionist within five minutes of arriving at reception. If we need to ask a colleague to deal with your enquiry, unless the person you wish to speak to is not available, you will wait no more than fifteen minutes. You will:
- Be greeted in a courteous and helpful manner.
- By a member of staff wearing an identity badge.
- Be given any information requested during the visit or given an explanation of why information of the person you wish to speak to is not available at the time of the visit, and when they will be available.
Other procedures
There is also a statutory procedure for handling complaints made by, or on behalf of people who use:
- Social care and health service.
- Child protection service.
Leaflets which explain how your compliments, comments and complaints will be dealt with under these regulations are available. These procedures have different time scales and are not covered by the timescales given in these standards.
There is also a statutory process for complaints about decisions on the assessment of pupils with special educational needs. This falls outside the county council's complaint procedures.
For further information on these procedures please contact us.
When you email us
- We will send you an acknowledgement within two working days if a full response is not immediately possible.
- We will send a full response to email complaints within fifteen working days.
- Emails that require a response directly from a service area will be sent to the relevant service within 5 working days.
When we reply to you
We will tell you:
- Who is dealing with the issue.
- The name and contact number for queries.
- What is being done.
- What will happen and by when.
- If we are unable to provide a full reply within these timescales, we will let you know why and when you can expect a full response.