AGENDA ITEM NO. 3
Briefing
Meeting/Decision Maker(s):
Corporate Scrutiny Sub Committee
Directorate: Strategic Services Date: 15/09/05 Report by: Neil Ranadé
Contact: 200 6611 Title of Report: Briefing on Customer
Services following CSC closures and new payment arrangements.
Ward(s): All
Portfolio: Regulatory and Council Support Services
Cabinet Member: Cllr E.Darke
1. Introduction.
1.2 In December 2004 the Corporate Scrutiny Sub-Committee considered progress reports on changes to Customer Services and the payment arrangements for residents to pay their Rent and Council Tax.
1.3 The two main drivers behind the project were to increase the range of access channels available to the public to make a payment, while also managing the service with reduced resources following a cut of £91,000 from the Customer Service Budget in 03/04, and a reorganisation that moved some support staff to other parts of Finance.
1.4 The main purpose of the study was to consider quality assurance issues
following implementation of the new service arrangements and how monitoring, to ensure the provision of the most effective and efficient service, would be undertaken.
1.5 Members were concerned by the effect on customers losing their local office for payments and to enquire about Council Services.
1.6 The Sub-Committee was also interested in the number of enquiries and the impact the new system had on bad debts.
1.7 Obtaining feedback from a random sample of customers was suggested. Benchmarking club members could also be requested to complete a
questionnaire. It could be useful for Customer Service Centre staff to carry out exit surveys.
2. Background.
2.1 Alternative payment arrangements were introduced in December 2004 which offered residents and Council tenants the opportunity to make a payment using a new account card that could be used at one of over 100 Paypoint or Post Office locations across the Borough. These locations also provided customers with longer opening hours and more days in which to make a payment.
2.2 Following the introduction of the new payment arrangements the cash offices at Seaton Burn, Burradon and Dudley and the Customer Service Centres at Avon Avenue, Longbenton, Battlehill, Shiremoor and Howdon were closed.
2.3 In December 2004 the Council also added payment facilities to its website, providing another payment channel, adding to telephone payments that were already in place. The Contact Centre also extended its opening hours to provide better access. The new opening hours mean customers can call between 07:30 and 20:00, Monday to Friday.
2.4 To ensure that those people who might find it difficult to travel to one of the remaining centres could access the service, surgeries were organised at locations across the borough. Surgeries were held weekly at Avon Avenue, Longbenton and Howdon, and fortnightly at Shiremoor, Battlehill, Dudley Peoples Centre and the Morpeth Ave Recreation Room in Seaton Burn.
2.5 The Council took a strategic decision on its accommodation and sought to create four centres across the Borough. These centres would provide a range of
services, with Customer Services as the main point of access within these centres.
3. What has been the effect?
3.1 The effect of the change has been dramatic with anywhere between 9000 and 11500 people per week opting to use the new arrangements. As a percentage of transactions, there has been almost 65% take-up of the new facilities.
3.2 Between April 05 and Aug 05 payments for Council Rent have increased by 8,000 transactions compared with the same period in 2004. Of the184,800 over 134,000 have used PP or the Post Office to make a payment or just over 63%. 3.3 Appendix A highlights where the greatest take-up of Paypoint and Post Office transactions has taken place. On analysis it would seem that the North West is the most dispersed, with residents choosing the nearest PP or Post Office, while in Whitley Bay, Wallsend and North Shields the volumes are concentrated in the Town Centres.
3.4 Post Offices appear more popular than PP to make a payment, with the busiest PP being Barbaras in North Shields recording 390 transactions in the sample week, and the busiest Post Office being The Boulevard in Longbenton with 450 transactions in the sample week.
3.5 Telephone payments have not increased significantly and Appendix B shows the average volume of calls per week made to make a payment and the number of transactions in a sample week over the Internet. The figures for telephone payments are shown pre Paypoint, post Paypoint but pre Customer Service Centre closure, and post Customer Service Centre closure.
3.6 One of the main issues for Customer Services was the lack of management data on the type of enquiries and standard of service provided by Customer Services. To ensure that the service could improve a management information a queue management software package was purchased. This allowed Customer services to make a detailed study of the reasons why customers use the service and to measure the standard of service provided.
3.7 The introduction of this software has changed the way Customer Services operate. Customers no longer have to queue to be seen and have a dedicated seating area while they wait to be called. While there were some technical issues that delayed the full rollout of the system, the information it now provides is being analysed to improve the way the service is being provided.
3.8 The North Shields office had the physical environment of the office affected by the installation of Q-Matic, as a result the office was re-carpeted and painted. All the offices have received new seating and notice boards with a stronger focus on the management of information displayed on these boards.
3.9 The surgeries have been operating since the closures in January and have had a mixed response. The surgeries have been well advertised in the local press, the buildings where they are held, the Council magazine, ‘What’s On’ and in
Libraries, other Customer Service Centres, Community Centres and other Council reception points.
3.10 The most well used surgery is in Longbenton, however, the remaining areas have been very poorly used and are increasingly difficult to justify in terms of cost and resources.
3.11 The surgery in Longbenton is the best used, however some of this can be explained by it being the only office in the North West Area operating on Wednesday.
3.12 Following several promotions for the surgeries, and a continued lack of interest by residents to use the service, Customer Services have withdrawn the surgeries in all areas from 14/09/05, except Longbenton, where the hours will be increased from two to three hours each Wednesday.
3.13 As a result of the closure of surgeries in other areas, Customer Services are now able to open Forest Hall on Wednesday afternoon, thus ensuring that at least one
Customer Service Centre is open at all times.
3.14 A table in Appendix C shows how many people have used the surgeries since January. The Pension Service and Jobcentre Plus have also reported very poor take up of services in this area when they have organised roadshows, surgeries and campaigns to increase benefit take up or raise awareness.
3.15 Financially, Customer Services continues to operate within budget, while still carrying the cost approximately £96,000 from centres that have been vacated. 4. Concerns
4.1 In general the alternative payment methods have been welcomed and have satisfied the requirements of the Council in extending the methods of payment for residents.
4.2 The queue management and information system has had a mixed response, due mainly to technical issues that meant the system was particularly slow in the first few weeks, leading to the assumption that the new operating procedures were a retrograde step. Since these have been addressed and the system is instant, the system has meant customers are initially seen more quickly, and are able to wait in comfort if they need to see another specialist after their initial contact.
4.3 The closures of the service centres, while perhaps not initially welcomed by the community have created three focal points for customers in Wallsend, North Shields and Whitley Bay, which aligns with the Council’s longer term aim of creating four satellite centres. There is also one shared service in Killingworth and Forest Hall.
4.4 It is these last two locations, where customers and the management feel the service is not meeting the standards it has set its self.
5. The evidence
5.1 As part of the National One Stop Shop benchmarking club, which has over 50 local authorities, two satisfaction surveys are carried out each year. Our first survey after re-joining the Benchmarking club was carried out in October 2004 (see Appendix D) and showed very high levels of satisfaction for the service provided, with positive comments from most customers.
5.2 The second survey was carried out in April 2005 See Appendix D, which also showed a high level of satisfaction, however there was a slight drop compared to October 2004.
5.3 Further investigation into why this fall had occurred highlighted the dis-satisfaction with the provision of customer services in the North West of the borough. See Appendix E.
5.4 The offices in question include Killingworth, Forest Hall and the surgery in
Longbenton. This part of the Borough is geographically more dispersed than the rest of North Tyneside and does not have a natural centre similar to North
Shields, Wallsend or Whitley Bay making the siting of a Customer Service Centre more difficult.
5.5 Forest Hall, Longbenton and Killingworth have advantages and disadvantages in their location, which are shown below.
Killingworth Advantages
• Near to one of the main shopping centres for the area. • Good public transport links
• Good car parking
• Good partnership working with Health, Libraries, Education and community sector • Near to Job Centre plus
• Operating from Council owned accommodation
• New fit for purpose accommodation that is DDA compliant • Provides the best location for the North West area
Disadvantages
• Centre is on the second floor
• The space is too small for a full Customer Service provision • Away from other services such as Housing
Forest Hall Advantages • Larger office
• In the centre of a busy shopping area • Close to Housing services
• Good public transport links • Parking available
Disadvantages
• Centre is on the second floor • No partnership working
• Poor accommodation that is not DDA compliant • Leased accommodation
• Poor layout of office space Longbenton
Advantages
• Most modern accommodation • Fully DDA compliant
• Good partnership working with Health, Libraries and the Community sector • Close to other shops
• Good parking
• Operating from Council owned accommodation Disadvantages
• The office is too small to be the main area office
• Poor transport links for those living outside Longbenton who need to visit Customer Services
• Very poor access for those living in Seaton Burn, Dudley, Burradon and Wide Open.
6. Proposal
6.1 As part of the Council’s wider accommodation strategy the Council applied for PFI credits to build three Joint Service Centres in Wallsend, Whitley Bay and North Shields. As its contribution the Council proposed to fund and redesign part of the White Swan Centre to create a larger Customer Service Centre, more office accommodation as well as other changes to parking areas and amenities.
6.2 Funding has been secured for a refurbishment of the current Whitley Bay site, as it did not meet current Health and Safety or DDA requirements. With this
refurbishment Customer Services is able to test and model its assumptions on how services might be provided in the future.
6.3 The findings from Whitley Bay will also help the development of the Customer Service Strategy including the Contact Centre currently being developed by the T1- Delivering 21st Century Services group later in the year.
6.4 While only part of the PFI bid was successful, capital funding has been agreed to go ahead with the planned changes at the White Swan Centre.
6.5 With an increase in size Customer Services in Killingworth would open for 4.5 days per week. Forest Hall CSC would close while the Longbenton service would remain as a Wednesday morning surgery.
6.6 With the development of the Joint Service Centre at Dudley which will also incorporate a joint Customer Service/Library provision, the North West of the Borough would have sufficient face to face access to Customer Services.
Appendices
Appendix A The most well used Paypoint and Post Office locations by area
Appendix B Average volume of telephone payments made at the Contact Centre and total number of payments made via the Internet.
Appendix C Number of people who have visited surgeries Jan 05 –
June 05.
Appendix D Customer Feedback Oct 04 Survey results
Customer Feedback April 05 Survey results Appendix E Customer Feedback Oct 04 North West results
Appendix A
The most well used Paypoint and Post Office locations by area. North West
Spar West View Dudley
Bithal News Hailsham Ave Longbenton Wine Cellar The Boulevard Longbenton Annitsford PO Barras Gardens Annitsford Backworth PO Church Road Backworth Hailsham Ave PO Hailsham Ave Longbenton Burradon PO Burradon Road Burradon Dudley PO Market Street Dudley Forest Hall PO Station Road Forest Hall Killingworth PO Killingworth Ctr Killingworth Longbenton PO Four Lane Ends Longbenton
Palmersville Osbourne Road Palmersville Benton Estate PO The Boulevard Longbenton
Seation Burn PO Front Street Seaton Burn Wideopen PO Park View Wideopen Wallsend
G Kidd Park Road Wallsend
Cellar 5 Tynemouth Road Howdon Mills Group Windsor Drive High Howdon Mills Group The Parade Battlehill Battlehill PO The Parade Battlehil High Farm PO Chicken Road Wallsend High Howdon PO Churchill Street Howdon
Wallsend PO The Forum Wallsend Windsor Drive PO Windsor Drive Wallsend Whitley Bay
Spar Park Lane Shiremoor
Park Lane PO Alwinton Road Shiremoor Shiremoor PO Ann Street Shiremoor West Monkseaton PO Earsdon Road Whitley Bay Whitley Bay PO Park Ave Whitley Bay North Shields
Barbaras Bedford Street North Shields Uppals Foodstore Wallsend Road North Shields Bagria Stores Verne Road North Shields North Shields PO Railway Street North Shields Cullercoates PO John Street Cullercoates New York PO Brooklands Terrace New York
Nile Street PO Nile Street North Shields Percy Main PO Burdon Street Percy Main
The Grange PO Blandford Road North Shields Tynemouth PO Percy Park Road Tynemouth
Appendix B
Average weekly transactions for Card Payments made to the Contact Centre.
Pre- Paypoint Post Paypoint / Post Paypoint Pre CSC Closure Post Closure
November 2004 December 2004 April 2005 Average Weekly Transactions Average Weekly Transactions Average Weekly Transactions 252 240 261
Sample week of Internet payments 09/05/2005 – 13/05/2005 Monday 35 Web payments
Tuesday 23 Web payments Wednesday 11 Web payments Thursday 13 Web payments Friday 14 Web payments Total 96
Appendix C
Surgery details between January and June 2005. Location Number of surgeries Number of enquiries Benefits Council Tax
Environment Housing Social Services Other Avon Ave 25 154 112 19 2 16 1 4 Battle Hill 13 27 14 4 0 6 0 3 Dudley 13 8 3 3 0 2 0 0 Howdon 25 65 30 11 1 18 2 3 Longbenton 25 646 383 57 9 133 35 29 Seaton Burn 12 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 Shiremoor 12 23 13 2 1 3 3 1
Appendix D
Results of our Customer Feedback Survey
459 customers were surveyed during
week commencing 11
thOctober 2004
Thank you for taking part, your views are important to us!
1.How often do you use the Customer Service
Centre?
Weekly 36.4%
Fortnightly
11.8%
Monthly or
less
51.8%
2.Why did you visit the centre today?
Payment
47.9%
Enquiry
52.1%
How satisfied are you with:
Very satisfied
or satisfied
Dissatisfied
or very
dissatisfied
3.The length of time you waited?
98.2%
1.8%
4.The convenience and accessibility of our offices?
95.8%
4.2%
5.The level of comfort and facilities in our waiting
area?
93% 7%
6.The opening hours?
84.1%
15.9%
7.The way our staff dealt with you?
99.8%
0.2%
8.The information that we gave you?
98.9%
1.1%
9.Our service overall?
98.9%
1.1%
10.Was anything particularly good or bad about our service? – A sample of
replies:
“Very friendly and helpful staff”
“Polite and Courteous”
“I have used the customer services for years, the girls are great, helpful and
friendly”
“Excellent could not be improved”
“The staff were very helpful and explained matters with great detail”
“The staff were extremely polite and helpful, I was dealt with very professionally”
“The office needs a refurbishment, it looks grubby”
“Not enough people working on the service desk”
“Toys should be available to keep children occupied”
Appendix D
Results of our Customer Feedback Survey
322 customers were surveyed during
week commencing 25
thApril 2005
Thank you for taking part, your views are important to us!
1.How often do you use the Customer Service
Centre?
Weekly 18.1%
Fortnightly
7.1%
Monthly or less
74.8%
2.Why did you visit the centre today?
Payment
12.7%
Enquiry
87.3%
How satisfied are you with:
Very satisfied
or satisfied
Dissatisfied
or very
dissatisfied
3.The length of time you waited?
93.2%
6.8%
4.The convenience and accessibility of our
offices?
94.7% 5.3%
5.The level of comfort and facilities in our waiting
area?
95.7% 4.3%
6.The opening hours?
92.2%
7.8%
7.The way our staff dealt with you?
98.5%
1.5%
8.The information that we gave you?
97.9%
2.1%
9.Our service overall?
96.3%
3.7%
10.Was anything particularly good or bad about our service? – A sample of
replies:
“Great service, staff very kind and polite”
“Staff very courteous and extremely helpful”
“Do not like the ticket machine”
“Good service now better with the ticket system”
“Changes in waiting room and ticket machine pleasing”
“Ticket system working very well, Excellent”
“The highest quality friendly staff willing to help and give the right information”
“Waiting time a bit long, staff were excellent”
“Limited disabled parking”
“Far too noisy and open”
Appendix E
Results of our Customer Feedback Survey
71 customers were surveyed during week
commencing 11
thOctober 2004
North West
How satisfied are you with:
Very satisfied
or satisfied
Dissatisfied
or very
dissatisfied
3.The length of time you waited?
100% 0%
4.The convenience and accessibility of our offices?
90% 10%
5.The level of comfort and facilities in our waiting
area?
98.5% 1.5%
6.The opening hours?
69% 31%
7.The way our staff dealt with you?
100% 0%
8.The information that we gave you?
98.5% 1.5%
9.Our service overall?
Appendix E
Results of our Customer Feedback Survey
40 customers were surveyed during week
commencing 25
thApril 2005
North West
