Argyll and Bute Council Customer Service Charter

Argyll and Bute Council has launched its new Customer Service Charter as part of a number of activities aimed at further improving customer service standards. The Charter tells customers the standards of response they can expect from council employees depending on how they contact us. Its pledges were designed following consultation with the Citizens’ Panel as part of the Process for Change efficiency initiative.

It is important to us that our customers know the standards of customer service they should expect to receive and this Charter seeks to do that. Often such Charters are seen as just empty words, so to avoid this, the council will measure its performance against these standards and report back how we are doing. For example we have just completed our second annual Mystery Shopping Exercise, that has not only provided with information on how we are performing against our charter pledges, but also provides us with a benchmark of our performance against 40 other councils

All our employees are being made aware of the Customer Service Charter and the Council’s Chief Executive and Leader of the Council have also briefed employees and council members on the importance of the Charter and some of the other customer service improvements that are being undertaken.

The outcomes of the 2011 Mystery Shopping Exercise have been analysed and the council’s Senior Management Team approved the recommendations in the Mystery Shopping Report. The improvement activities identified as part of that report will now be progressed as part of the Customer Management Project and each Department will also review the findings that relate to their own services

The council has also begun a programme of internal mystery shopping exercise using volunteers from the Citizen’s Panel. Each of these will focus on one specific communication channel. The first exercise looked at the handling of email enquiries and a report of its findings and improvement recommendations was submitted to the Senior Management team in March 2012.

The Customer Charter will be widely publicised to customers, with posters in every council office and a pocket guide that customers can keep.

For more information or copies of the pocket guide please contact

Bob Miller
Customer Management Project Manager
Robert.Miller@argyll-bute.gov.uk
01546 604026